Members from the Hopkinsville Rotary Club heard about the clubs and activities that Christian County 4-H hosts for youth in the community and how volunteers can help their efforts at Tuesday’s Rotary Club meeting.
4-H is an organization that provides activities and experiences for youth to help them learn positive skills and pursue their interests. Christian County 4-H programs focus on agriculture leadership, family and consumer sciences, communication and more.
4-H Youth Development Agent, Mary Anne Garnett shared she is on a team with two other agents and in 2023 they hosted activities for around 3,400 youth in the community.
Garnett says 4-H was known for teaching youth cooking and agriculture skills and children involved today can still learn those skills, but Garnett says they work to find out what children are interested in and how they can explore and learn more about those interests.
The local 4-H offers clubs that focus on cooking, shooting sports, sewing, maintaining livestock and much more. Garnett says the clubs they are able to offer partly depends on community volunteers. Garnett invites those with skills in different fields and activities to share what they do with 4-H children who may share the same interests.
Along with helping children find their interests, Garnett says they work with schools in the area to provide children with financial literacy. One activity they host is called the Reality Store where students act as working adults and learn how to budget.
To expand their financial literacy teachings, Garnett says they have recently started a program called, Money Sense for Graduates, where high school seniors learn how to write a check, learn the difference between their checking and savings account and much more.
Concluding her presentation, Garnett shared that without volunteers many 4-H programs would not exist. Many clubs are volunteer led and programs with schools often require volunteer support.
Those interested in volunteering with Christian County 4-H or learning more about the organization can contact their office at 270-886-6328 or Garnett directly at maryanne.garnett@uky.edu.