Letter to 4-H Families

Dear 4-H Families,
Welcome to October! Now that normally scheduled club meetings have begun, the 4-H office is excited to see project work that is starting to take place in the local 4-H clubs. Although virtual project groups are not ideal, as the backbone of the 4-H program, we know the creativity of the 4-H leaders will prevail and providing engaging activities where 4-H members can meet and learn. If any project leaders need help planning their 4-H project groups, please reach out to the office for help, or directly contact Kristin (kristin@udel.edu).

A note about the blog. At the bottom of this letter, you will see a “table of contents” containing all the blog posts for the October news release. In order to stay up to date on the month’s news, finding the monthly educator letter (this post) will help summarize the list of events in the news for the month. We try to keep this letter as the first post on the blog, but you can always find the monthly letter by searching the month (first 3 letters) and the year (oct20). You may choose to print this post, to use the table of contents below as a checklist.

It is with mixed emotions that I share with you, Jenny Trunfio (the Kent County 4-H program assistant) has accepted the 4-H Program Coordinator position in New Castle County. This new position is a full-time position for Jenny, and she will be working with Kaitlin Klair and the New Castle County 4-H program, which supports two full-time 4-H staff. The Kent County 4-H program will begin to search for a new part-time 4-H program assistant later this month. In the meantime, please direct any questions or correspondence to myself or Caroline. After speaking with a few leaders and teens, I will share information about the junior council meeting date/time, which is currently meeting at the same time as the leader meetings. We will miss Jenny here in Kent, and appreciate the hard work and dedication, creativity, and organization she brought to many of our Kent 4-H programs! The good news is, we will still see her around in the 4-H program.

You may be hearing news about the budgetary shortfalls within the University of Delaware, and according to the information that has been shared with staff, the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, including the Cooperative Extension Department, is positioned well and we hope that effects will be minimal at this time. There will be changes to the University system, no doubt, and we may experience some effects of the budgetary shortfall in the future. If any changes to our current staff or programming arise, we will communicate that information as soon as possible.

Some important reminders:

Volunteers Needed – We are currently looking for a volunteer interested in helping to facilitate the Junior Council Group or the Exchange Group. If interested, please let me know and I can share more specific information (such as time commitment and responsibilities)

4-H Online opens Thursday 10/1 – Please enroll as soon as possible 😊

Delaware 4-H Foundation Grant Requests are due 10/1

Spirit Week – Starting this Sunday!! October 4-10

Yard Sign Contest – was due September 28, still accepting through 10/2.

World Food Day – Poster Contest Due 10/9 Canned Food Drive 10/14

Achievement Banquet – 10/18 Information on how to attend virtually will be shared in a direct email to all families. Please feel free to share the watch instructions with extended family members, as you wish.

Unfortunately, at this time, the Great Pumpkin Event has not been approved by the University, as a face to face event. There will be a virtual event scheduled, with information on how to participate.

I have gotten several inquiries requesting permission for small project groups to meet, however at this time, there is no approved face-to-face programming permitted. The University of Delaware administration (at the highest level) determines the restrictions and offers the approval for face to face events. I have every confidence in our leaders to operate safely, however, UD is being extremely cautious for everyone’s health and safety. Please know that the 4-H staff understands the impact of restricting face to face programming; the stress it places on our leaders, the withdraw it creates for our members. The 4-H staff is staying hopeful that as schools begin to successfully operate in person, 4-H face to face activities will be permitted to resume.

Recent judging contest scores will be released soon, this will include county placings and statewide placings.

I’d like to mention that National 4-H week is October 4th-10th, and to celebrate this week, Delaware 4-H is planning a fun “4-H Spirit Week”. Please note: litter barrel and window display contests will be moved to the spring. In place, each county is sponsoring a yard sign contest, with selected winners moving on to a state-level competition. Please see the blog post for information about participating in this fun contest. We will be printing the winning yard signs and sharing them throughout the county. I’m looking forward to seeing the ideas and creativity of our 4-H members and clubs as they design a promotional 4-H yard sign.

The Paper Clover campaign will take place October 7th-18th. Please be sure to stop by your favorite Tractor Supply Store and purchase a clover to support your local 4-H program. We do get those
funds in our county, so every clover helps! Thank you for your continued support of this initiative, it really makes a difference.

Delaware 4-H is supporting the “Delaware Goes Purple” initiative. This initiative encourages education and awareness around the topic of substance abuse. Delaware 4-H encourages you to discuss this current crisis with your club members and families. Attached are two pdf documents that explain the cause and ideas on how to help. Consider helping to support the cause within your club.

Delaware Goes Purple Brochure
Delaware Goes Purple How to Help

Join the 4-H TECH team teens as they lead us through the 2020 STEM Challenge activities “Mars Base Camp“!

For high school members looking for college scholarships: Scholarships that come through the 4-H office will be added to the post called Scholarship Opportunities. At any time, use the search bar to search for the keyword “scholarship” to read the post and check for any new additions!

We are also encouraging teens to consider applying for one of the National 4-H Summits, scheduled virtually for this year. The National Youth STEM Summit is Nov 6-8 and the application to apply is due October 14.

Yours in 4-H,
Kristin Cook, Extension Educator, 4-H & Youth Development

Important Information, Meeting Dates, and Deadlines Listed Below (click on the link for detailed information)

Special Message from Jenny Trunfio

National Youth STEM Summit Information and Application

Delaware 4-H is supporting the “Delaware Goes Purple” initiative

Poultry Project Group – Registration Required

4-H Yard Sign Contest Information

State Archery Contest Results

4-H Leaders Meeting – October 20th at 7:00 PM

Club News

4-H Online opens Thursday, October 1 for Enrollment

Delaware 4-H Foundation Financial Support Request due October 1st