Volunteer Extension Cord (VEC) is a way to advise you about Texas 4-H Volunteer Development. This newsletter is e-mailed to County Extension Agents, Texas 4-H Faculty, District Extension Administrators, and Regional Program Directors. In addition 4-H volunteers who are active in VLAT or their District Adult Leaders Association (and we have your e-mail address) will receive VEC. To add an e-mail address to our list, send a message to texasvolunteer@tamu.edu and type subscribe followed by your name, county, district and e-mail address.
We are always looking for news items, county and regional highlights, recognition of volunteers and other information related to volunteer development. Please send information to the following e-mail texasvolunteer@tamu.edu
IN THIS ISSUE:
1. Texas 4-H “Kits for Kids”
2. Children’s Literature on Floods and Natural Disasters
3. Notable Volunteer Recognition Days
4. The 100 Best Communities for Young People
5. Hope Venture Grants
6. Let’s Just Play Giveaway
7. GIS Software Grants
8. Youth Nutrition and Fitness Grants
9. Captain Planet Foundation
10. The Great Outdoors
11. MENTOR creates free toolkit
12. 4-H and the Latino Community
13. The National Pork Producers Council - Scholarships
14. The National Junior Swine Association – Youth Leadership Conference
15. Community Tree Planting Grants
16. Points of Light Youth Leadership Institute
1. Kits for Kids - On behalf of the Texas 4-H Faculty, I would like to say THANK YOU to all of the Extension personnel, volunteer leaders, and 4-H youth who contributed money and/or items for the Texas 4-H "Kits for Kids" hurricane project!
"Unbelievable" is the word that keeps coming up in our daily conversations. The news is filled with stories on budget deficits and trade deficits. Texas 4-H and Texas AgriLife Extension Service personnel and families had shown enormous generosity for the Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina....and then, right in our own backyard thunders Hurricane Rita. Would there be an "empathy deficit"?
"Unbelievable" was the word that came to my mind when I walked into the Texas 4-H Center auditorium and saw the boxes and boxes of items sent from the county and district levels for the 4-H "Kits for Kids" project.
571" Kits for Kids" bags were assembled, by youth, and are being delivered to six Texas counties most devastated by the hurricanes- Jasper, Newton, Orange, Jefferson, Hardin, and Chambers. Extra stuffed animals, donated by the Glory Be Company, were sent to support the 4-H Military "Huggables" project.
Please extend this sincere note of "THANKS" to your 4-H clubs, volunteer leaders, Extension office, and all others participating.
2. CHILDREN'S LITERATURE ON FLOODS AND NATURAL DISASTERS As youth from Hurricane Katrina and Rita begin to settle into our communities, there are several good resources available to assist agents in talking to the youth and their peers about their experiences. Below is a link that contains bibliography information about specific children's literature that may be helpful. Reading about floods, understanding what causes floods, and talking about natural disasters in general will help children who have experienced a flood to communicate their feelings and fears. http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/disaster/teacher/floodbib.html
3. Notable Volunteer Recognition Days
NATIONAL VOLUNTEER WEEK To recognize and celebrate the efforts of volunteers at the local, state and national levels
April 23-29, 2006
April 15-21, 2007
April 27-May 3, 2008
JOIN HANDS DAY To bring young people together with adults to create new and better relationships by working as a team within their own neighborhoods
May 6, 2006
May 5, 2007
May 3, 2008
MAKE A DIFFERENCE DAY To inspire and reward volunteers. Everyone who helps others on this day and submits an entry form is eligible for a national or local award and for a cash donation to a charitable cause. Every award recipient will appear in USA WEEKEND Magazine and on www.makeadifferenceday.com.
October 28, 2006
October 27, 2007
October 25, 2008
NATIONAL FAMILY VOLUNTEER DAY To call families across America to work together in volunteer service to strengthen their families, communities, local businesses, and non-profit organizations
November 18, 2006
November 17, 2007
November 22, 2008
4. The 100 Best Communities for Young People America's Promise Alliance for Youth has announced the top communities for young people. Ranging from small towns to urban neighborhoods, each keeps five essential promises to young people: caring adults who are actively involved in their lives; safe places in which to learn and grow; a healthy start toward adulthood; an effective education that builds marketable skills; and opportunities to help others. http://www.americaspromise.org. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9456318/site/newsweek/
5. Hope Venture Grants / Music Television (MTV) / Youth Venture: Offering Assistance to Hurricane Katrina Victims PROGRAM: Music Television (MTV) and Youth Venture are offering the Hope Venture Grants to support young people who want to launch a venture that will aid those affected by Hurricane Katrina. First priority will be given to proposals that support the creation of sustainable ventures that aid the citizens and communities who have lost so much from this disaster. A second priority will be for proposals to start organizations solely for the purpose of raising and distributing funds for those in need. Hope Venture Grants will be offered every week for the next six months to groups of two or more young people (ages 13-20) with the most compelling venture ideas to assist the people and communities affected.
DEADLINE: March 17, 2006. FUNDING: Individual awards up to $1,000. ELIGIBILITY: Groups of two or more individuals between the ages of 13 and 20 years old. Any team member under the age of 18 must obtain the signature of a parent or legal guardian on all written documents submitted in connection
with this promotion.
CONTACT: Susan Hamilton, Youth Venture, Attn: Hope Venture Grants, 434 W. 33rd Street, Twelfth Floor, New York, New York 10001. You may visit the website at http://www.youthventure.org/index.php?tg=articles&idx=More&article=1276&topics=368.
6. Let's Just Play Giveaway / Nickelodeon (Nick): Playing Throughout the Nation PROGRAM: Let's Just Play is a nationwide program dedicated to promoting fun, sportsmanship, team spirit and fitness. Let's Just Play will work with parents, schools and other community organizations to put fun back into play and play back into YOUR day. DEADLINE: Entries must be postmarked by May 31, 2006, and received by midnight, June 7, 2006. FUNDING: Individual awards up to $5,000. ELIGIBILITY: Six to fifteen year olds as of May 31, 2006, with assistance from a parent, teacher or after-school program director, can apply through their after school community based nonprofit 501(c)3 organizations. Winner's school or organization must: (1) be an elementary or middle school, grades K through 9, (public or not-for-profit private) and/or an after-school community based 501(c)(3) organization; (2) use the prize for play and/or physical activities; and (3) be willing to sign an affidavit stating that it will use the prize as described. SEE WEBSITE FOR ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY DETAILS. CONTACT: Nickelodeon, P. O. Box 929, New York, NY 10108, Attn: The Let's Just Play Giveaway, (212) 846-4333. You may visit the website at http://www.nick.com/all_nick/everything_nick/ljp_grants.jhtml.
7. GIS SOFTWARE GRANTS FOR 2006 In recognition of National 4-H Week, ESRI has announced it will offer a software grant program for U.S. 4-H clubs in 2006. Proposals will be accepted from 4-H groups to conduct community mapping projects using GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and GPS (Global Positioning Systems) technologies.
4-H members are preparing for 21st Century careers. Many of these will be in geospatial technology -- identified by the U.S. Department of Labor as one of the fastest growing job categories in the U.S. Geospatial knowledge will be essential for success in science, engineering and technology careers. Many traditional 4-H programs are beginning to integrate geospatial knowledge, building a strong foundation for future learning.
ESRI will award grants of GIS club software and learning resources to U.S. 4-H groups whose community mapping project proposals are approved. Since 2004, forty-four states have been awarded ESRI GIS software grants for 4-H clubs to carry out community mapping projects. These projects apply spatial technologies to natural resource, agricultural and community awareness 4-H projects in both rural and urban neighborhoods. 4-H GIS/GPS community mapping projects have contributed to their community's understanding of biodiversity, climate change, deforestation, environmental pollution, food production, freshwater supply, health and disease, mountain development, poverty reduction, rural development, tourism, urbanization and other key issues. More about 4-H GIS/GPS projects can be found on the Web at http://www.4-h.org/tech/gisgps and http://www.tnstate.edu/iager/gisgps/main.htm.
Proposals for ESRI GIS software grants for U.S. 4-H will be accepted from January 1 through March 30, 2006. Applicants will describe their existing GIS/GPS programs and efforts, if any, and their plan for using GIS in their local program for 2006. To register for notification of the 4-H grant application and selection guidelines, please register to receive an email notification from ESRI on 4-H grant opportunities at http://www.esri.com/grants.
If you have a question about the ESRI GIS grants for 4-H, send an email to 4-HGIS_external@esri.com or go to http://www.esri.com/4-H. To learn more about 4-H GIS/GPS integration projects, contact CSREES national program leader Tom Tate by phone at 202-720-2727 or email at ttate@csrees.usda.gov.
8. Youth Nutrition & Fitness Grants / General Mills: Keeping Children Healthy PROGRAM: General Mills Foundation, Champions Youth Nutrition and Fitness Grants are designed to encourage communities to help improve the eating and physical activity patterns of young people, ages 2-20. Grants will be awarded to agencies who work with communities that demonstrate the greatest need and likelihood of sustainable impact on young people's nutrition and activity levels. DEADLINE: February 1, 2006. FUNDING: 50 Grants of $10,000 each. ELIGIBILITY: Nonprofit 501(c)3 organizations. CONTACT: General Mills, Inc., P.O. Box 9452, Minneapolis, MN 55440. You may visit the website at http://www.generalmills.com/corporate/commitment/champions.aspx.
9. Captain Planet Foundation: Supporting Hands-On Environmental Education Projects PROGRAM: The Captain Planet Foundation awards strive to support innovative, hands-on environmental education projects for children and youths (grades 7-12) that will help them build problem-solving skills and environmental awareness. The Foundation's objective is to encourage innovative activities that empower children around the world to work individually and collectively as environmental stewards. DEADLINE: December 31, 2005. FUNDING: Grants range from
$250 to $2,500 each. Smaller grants are more common. ELIGIBILITY: Nonprofit 501(c)3 organizations. CONTACT: Captain Planet Foundation, 133 Luckie Street, 2nd Floor, Atlanta, GA 30303, (404) 522-4215, email: captain.planet.foundation@turner.com. You may visit the website at http://www.turner.com/cpf.
10. The Great Outdoors The Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation, International Paper and National Geographic Explorer! Magazine is collaborating on a grant program that supports outdoor classrooms. All K-12 public schools are eligible to apply for funds to build a new (or enhance an existing) outdoor classroom. Grants range from $2,000 to $20,000. Apply now! The first round of winners will be announced in January. Visit http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=pg&p=AboutLowes/outdoor/index.html for more information.
11. MENTOR Creates Free Toolkit for Mentoring Programs at All Levels The Elements of Effective Practice Toolkit from MENTOR contains materials and information to help you start or maintain a quality mentoring program. The free toolkit can be downloaded from the MENTOR website. The new toolkit can help you, whether you are new to mentoring or have been working with young people for many years. It is designed to accompany MENTOR's Elements of Effective Practice, or guidelines to ensure quality mentoring.
The Elements of Effective Practice has four components: program design and planning; program management; program operations; and program evaluation. The toolkit includes step-by-step instructions designed to help mentoring programs implement and adhere to each of the four parts. The Elements of Effective Practice Toolkit also contains more than 160 tools and templates that mentoring programs can customize according to their needs, depending on whether they are starting or strengthening a program. The toolkit includes almost 100 references to additional resources and a "Checklist of Program Progress" for existing mentoring programs to help them confirm that they have the proper components in place to grow a quality, sustainable program.
To download the free toolkit from MENTOR, visit: www.mentoring.org/eeptoolkit.
12. 4-H and the Latino Community Did you know Latinos will make up half of the growth of our country during the next two decades? This group comprises 14 percent of the US population, or about 41 million people, and nearly 14 million are under age of 18. The population is expected to reach more than 55 million by 2020. 4-H is a diverse organization that welcomes youth of all cultures from all parts of the country. National 4-H Council is looking at ways to reach out to Latino communities in our country through 4-H programs. We'd like to know if you're doing any work with this community, and if so, if you could share with us what you are doing. Email Gretchen Hilburger at ghilburger@fourhcouncil.edu to share your work and ideas. ¡Muchas gracias!
13. The National Pork Producers Council is offering four $2,500 scholarships available to undergraduates interested in pursuing a career in swine production. Can you help me get this information into the hands of as many students as possible that might be interested in applying for one of these scholarships? The details of the scholarship can be found at http://www.nppc.org/CMEPorkIndustryScholarshipProgram.pdf
14. The National Junior Swine Association will hold its fifth-annual national youth leadership conference in Modesto, Calif., on May 26-28, 2006. The theme for this year's conference is "Goin’ for the Gold." Youth ages 14-21 will be challenged to make the most of their opportunities in life while broadening their knowledge of important swine industry issues.
Keynote speaker Matt Lohr of Broadway, Va., will captivate conference participants with his fun, inspirational, motivating programs drawn from his life experiences including visiting with former President George Bush, riding a bull, hiking the Grand Canyon, flying a plane, climbing Mt. Fuji, running for political office, winning a new Dodge truck, and witnessing the amazing birth of his daughter. Lohr has traveled over one million miles across all 50 states and eight countries entertaining both students and adults. He served as national FFA vice president. He is a former middle school teacher and an active partner in his family's beef, poultry, and crop operation. He is currently serving in the Virginia state legislature.
An exciting group of swine industry speakers and topics are slated for the conference. Topics include swine welfare, DNA testing and finding your place in the purebred swine industry.
In addition to these speakers, youth will tour Yosemite Meats Company, Fisher Nut Company, Small Town Genetics, Pork Power Farm and the Modesto Junior College Swine Teaching Farm. As well, youth will participate in workshops organized and planned by the NJSA Board of Directors.
Applications are due to the NSR office by April 21, 2006. These applications can be obtained by contacting the NSR office at P.O. Box 2417, West Lafayette, IN 47996-2417, or by phone at (765) 463-3594, or online at www.nationalswine.com. The conference fee is $100. All rooms, meals, activities and a t-shirt will be included in this fee. A $130 option is also available which includes a hooded sweatshirt.
15. 2006 4-H Community Tree Planting Grants
Deadline: February 1, 2006
Contact: schaconas@fourhcouncil.edu
Funding provided by Deft, Inc. Grants between $500-$1,750
Application Deadline: February 1, 2005
The 2006 4-H Community Tree Planting Grant Program offers a limited number of youth grants in the amount of $500 to $1,750 to 4-H/Extension groups in local communities, in counties, and at the state level. This program provides opportunities for young people and adults to take action with ongoing community tree planting and/or reforestation projects or to stimulate new and creative youth-led projects. Youth are empowered to lead the planning, implementation, and evaluation process with minimal mentorship from adults. Youth will learn how their leadership can result in community collaborations that amplify the impact of their project.
Grants are offered only to 4-H/Extension Programs in the United States and its territories. If you are not a part of 4-H, we encourage you to contact your local Cooperative Extension office and become a project collaborator!
The application can be found at http://www.fourhcouncil.edu/GrantsTreePlanting.aspx on the bottom of the page under “Related Links.” Completed applications are due on Wednesday, February 1, 2006. If you have any questions, email schaconas@fourhcouncil.edu.
16. Points of Light Youth Leadership Institute Training Seminar. The Points of Light Youth Leadership Institute is a state-of-the-art training program designed to teach leadership and community service skills to high school-age youth. Once you attend this training seminar, you will be certified to implement our unique service and leadership curriculum with young people in your community.
PYLI equips young people to make meaningful contributions to their communities and begin a life-long journey of leadership and service. The program teaches them:
* A broad array of leadership skills
* The ability and desire to contribute to their communities through meaningful service
* An understanding of how to apply leadership skills to design and implement community service projects
DETAILS February 15-17, 2006 8:00AM-5:00PM each day Orlando, FL Registration: $550 includes all program materials and breakfast and lunch each day.
Apply Now - http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=yyjrqqbab.0.vhuj8qbab.mzrxepbab.3683&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pyli.org%2Fapply.html
TO PARTICIPATE:
Start by completing an online application. Once approved, you'll receive a registration form and other details about the seminar.
2006 Healthy Lifestyles Grants - Awards of up to $7,000 Each Deadline: January 13, 2006. Contact jleatherman@fourhcouncil.edu Funding provided by Cargill and Kraft Foods, Inc. Promoting community-based, innovative and fun programs to educate youth ages 5-12 about nutrition, physical activity and healthy lifestyle choices through formation of youth-adult partnerships and community collaboration. Grants of up to $7,000
Application Deadline: January 13, 2006 The 2006 Healthy Lifestyles Grant Program offers approximately 24 grants of up to $7,000 to 4-H/Extension Programs to foster community-based, innovative and fun programs to address reversing the climbing trend of obesity among young people ages 5-12. The grants can be used to fund new programs or enhanced/expanded current programs that include information on nutrition, physical activity and healthy lifestyle choices through the formation of youth-adult partnerships and community collaboration. Plans must include involving and educating family members through personal participation, information and activities in nutrition, health and physical activities. A public awareness and outreach campaign must be initiated to increase community awareness of youth obesity issues and the benefits of fitness, nutrition and healthy living.
The application can be found at http://www.fourhcouncil.edu/GrantsHealthyLifestyles.aspx. Click on "2006 Healthy Lifestyles RFP" at the bottom of the page under "Related Links" to open or download the application. Completed applications are due January 13, 2006. If you have any questions, email jleatherman@fourhcouncil.edu.
Angela B. Burkham
Extension Program Specialist
4-H Volunteer Development
ab-burkham@tamu.edu
6500 Amarillo Blvd, West
Amarillo, TX 79106
Voice: 806.677.5600
Fax: 806.677.5644
"4-H is a community of young people across America
who are learning leadership, citizenship, and life skills"
Texas A&M System -