4-H is a youth development program that offers 3rd through 12th grade youth, ages 8 to 18, a wide variety of opportunities in various project areas. 4-H offers members hands-on experiences in leadership, community service, career discovery, building connections, and developing life-long skills.
Contact Your Local Office
Each county has programming that’s relevant to their local community, which means that many of the details of enrolling can differ. Connecting with your local County Extension Agent is the best way to learn about opportunities near you. You can call, email or visit your local county 4-H office for the next step.
Find A Local Club
The second step to getting involved in 4-H is finding a club in your county that fits your location OR what you want to do. A 4-H Club is an organized group of at least five youth from three different families who meet regularly with adult volunteers or staff for a long-term, progressive series of educational experiences. Usually, clubs’ contact info is located on your county 4-H website. Once you find a club you’d like to join, reach out. Contact the club to learn about its meeting schedule and its eligibility requirements. Depending on the club, you may need to call, email, or even show up in person during a meeting to start join and pay club fees where applicable.
Choose A Project
Learn about topics that interest you. A project is the “activity” you choose to do in 4-H. We have resources to help you learn about the activity, and volunteers or your agent in your county will help guide you along, as well. There are opportunities like community service, leadership, and contests that can be associated with your project! All 4-H members must be enrolled in one project. Check out the project list to find what interests you.
Tips for choosing a project:
- Select a project (or projects) you like.
- Consider the money and time it will take. Can parents/guardians help?
- Consider the space and equipment that you have at home.
- A 4-H project should be fun, serve a purpose, and be worth the effort.
- Select only the number of projects you can complete.
- Contact your local county club to see which projects are already offered where you live.
Enroll In 4-H
Signup on 4HOnline after you have found a project and club that is right for you! Adults and youth will need to enroll on 4HOnline and be active to be considered an official member of Texas 4-H. An active enrollment is required in order to register and participate in all 4-H meetings, activities and events. Each year on August 15th all membership in Texas 4-H goes to inactive and all youth and adult volunteers must re-enroll.
- Youth members are required to pay a $25.00 participation fee if enrolled by October 31st, and a $30.00 fee from November 1st to the completion of the 4-H year.
- Clover kids (grades K-2) if available in your county will be required to pay a $10.00 participation fee.
- Adults pay a $10.00 volunteer applicant fee.
There are 4HOnline family guides to help you navigate the system to get enrolled.