Virtues of Club
Marianne Bird
4-H Youth Development Advisor, Sacramento County
As the oldest and most established of our program delivery modes, the 4-H Club model lies at the heart of our organization. Members past and present profess its richness, freely sharing the impact of the 4-H Club experience on their lives. Their involvement left them changed...more confident, better prepared, more competent. It also nurtured an incredible commitment to our organization.
There is something wonderfully powerful about the Club experience, and I can guess why. The club is a place we find affirmation, hearing encouraging words as we work hard or take risks to try new things. It's a chance to belong, to be part of a group. That belonging is symbolized in the clothes we wear, the language we share, and the rituals we participate in. Clubs provide young people with the chance to look ahead and make future plans: becoming old enough to hold an office, experienced enough to help as a teen leader, skilled enough to serve as an All Star. 4-H clubs offer children a sense of ownership and power as they make decisions, put plans in place, and work to bring their ideas and dreams to fruition.
Clubs can also fill an important social niche: we find friends there and adults who care. Those friendships are nurtured through shared experiences over time...sometimes a long time.
These are the things that build commitment, stir passion, and give energy to our work in the organization. It's why 4-H volunteers, filled with positive memories of their time the organization, are ready to insure their own children and community youth benefit from the same experience.
Yes, there is something undeniably compelling about the Club experience. And though membership in our clubs may be dwindling statewide, (which is certainly something to examine), that does not negate the fine things that happen as children participate month after month, year after year, in a program we know to be life-changing. It's powerful, indeed.