4-H hosted camp at the Richland Rural Life Center in Madison Township this week. The overnight camp provided activities on a range of topics for 79 children through the ages of 9 to 14. Examples include living on their own, the importance of sharing, setting a table, washing dishes and developing leadership skills.
Dr. Judy Villard Overocker, County Extension Director from Ohio State at Mansfield, said, “The children really learn leadership skills and make new friends that last a lifetime this week.”
4-H was founded around the start of the twentieth century as a supplement to formal education. It is a national organization that hinges upon the philosophy of the four H’s: Head, Heart, Hands and Health. It aims to encourage children to develop skill sets used in the professional world like, public speaking, respect, setting and meeting goals, and much more. It also aims to cultivate students’ knowledge on gardening and environmental science, animals, computers, cooking, and a variety of other topics.
The program is unique to Richland County, because it works in part with The Ohio State University. For example, the camp hosted by Rural Life Center is not the only camp students can join this summer.
There are many supporters for the 4-H program. “I believe in the program and I am happy to help promote growth in the community,” said Cindy Powell, the head cook of the 4-H camp week. She has been involved for five years. Other helpers at camp include local high school students, ages 14 to 19, who serve as counselors for the week.
On Monday state specialist Dr. Bob Horton spoke to the students and Ptl. Adam Gongwer also visited camp to talk about drug awareness. Other local volunteers came to read to the students, or teach gun safety through a demonstration on skeet shooting.
Any child within the ages of 5 to 19 can join 4-H and volunteers who want to help can sign up on a short or long term basis through ohio4h.org. Volunteers for the camp held in the Richland Rural Life Center in June of every summer start training in December. There is no permanent staff, but some staff positions open up periodically.
For more information on the 4-H program visit the OSU extension website or call 614-292-4444.
Readers can also access additional camps and events information on the events page of their website.
For additional information on 4-H, visit the national 4-H website.
