National 4-H Week is underway, celebrating the impact of 4-H and the millions of young people involved in the organization across the country.
National 4-H Week brings together six million youth, 3,500 youth development professionals, 500,000 volunteers and 35 million alumni to celebrate the incredible impact of 4-H and its mission of preparing young people to be “Beyond Ready” for life and careers.
One example is 13 year old 4-H member Cooper Lawhorn. The four-year 4-H member recently took part in the first-ever Presidential AI Challenge, developing a proposal for an app called PantryPal.
Cooper says,” I am in the club of 4-H called the 4 C’s, and they’ve just given me so much insight throughout this project. They’ve given me resources and links and just so many people who are helpful. And they also gave me a really nice award after the competition, because they were a part of the presidential AI challenge. They gave me this little plaque and it’s just great.”
Cooper’s project demonstrates how 4-H encourages young people to take what they learn and apply it to real-world challenges, while developing skills in technology, creativity, problem-solving and leadership.
He encourages everyone, “Do not give up, and don’t be afraid to start something new, because if no one ever started anything new or thought that their idea maybe wasn’t good enough, even the smallest of ideas can make an impact.”
For Cooper and millions of other 4-H members, that means being prepared to lead, innovate and make a difference in their communities.
Consider investing into Cooper’s community outreach project here.
Watch the 4H4U Podcast with Cooper here:
