4-H Helps Youth Make Better Choices

By Hannah Stewart

“Youth dies in auto accident due to being intoxicated.”  This typical article, appearing in local newspapers across the United States, is an example of a youth who made a wrong choice.  What influences the choices our youth make today?  Statistics prove youth that are 4-H members make better choices in life.

What is 4-H?  It seems that many youth and adults think 4-H is a small club for rural farm people who raise farm animals, such as cows and swine, but 4-H is so much more!  There are a wide variety of 4-H projects ranging from Sewing to Robotics to Public Speaking.  4-H has over 7 million members, and can be found in every state in the U.S.  Believe it or not, 4-H is one of the largest youth organizations in the U.S.  4-H enriches our youth in a wide variety of subjects and it is for everyone everywhere!

Individuals might say, “There are clubs in the public school that allows youth to learn; for example, the Spanish club.”  These clubs are great; they aid youth in learning a language and culture of a country.  However, 4-H includes not only learning the project, but provides hands-on learning opportunities in a safe and nurturing environment.  This helps youth in developing life skills; such as, decision-making, goal-setting, communication and leadership.  Youth who volunteer at the club and county levels build even stronger life skills.  4-H youth are two-times more likely to get better grades in school and attend college.  Does the Spanish club or other clubs include this?

4-H has definitely helped me with my leadership skills in many situations.  For instance, during a gym practice some of the girls were making fun of another girl named Celia.  Even though Celia was insecure and came off as a little bit rude sometimes; it still was not right to make fun of her.  After all she is our teammate and a person with feelings.  I walked over to the girls and told them, “Guys, you need to stop making fun of Celia.”  When they asked why I said, “For one thing she is our teammate and we should be nice to her even if she is not nice to us.”  Without 4-H I would not have had the courage or the leadership to walkover there, and teach them to respect other people.

I have shared a small part of 4-H’s purpose, how it helps; youth build life skills, and a personal experience, where I have applied it to my life.  These are only a few drops in the bucket of how 4-H influences and helps youth make better choices