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TENNESSEE 4-H IDEAS VOLUME 03 - Issue 34 IN THIS ISSUE 4-H S.O.S. Selects State Winners In Service
Learning UPCOMING EVENTS August 31
September 5-14
September 5-14
September 19-28
September 20
September 21-25
October 2-5
October 3-4
October 5-11
October 9-11
October 25
Tennessee 4-H Home Page: www.utextension.utk.edu/4H/ Online version of Ideas: www.utextension.utk.edu/4H/ideas03/ Ideas index: www.utextension.utk.edu/4H/ideas03/03-index.htm 4-H S.O.S. SELECTS STATE WINNERS IN SERVICE LEARNING 4-H Seeds of Service is pleased to announce the 2003 state winners in service learning. The winners were selected from 4-H service learning portfolios outlining service activities, focusing on leadership and reflection. These 4-H’ers will join Tennessee’s delegation to National 4-H Congress in Atlanta this fall. Congratulations to the following 4-H’ers:
Lori Jean Mantooth GRANTS AVAILABLE FROM CAPTAIN PLANET FOUNDATION Proposals for grants from the Captain Planet Foundation, which supports projects that organize children and youths to solve environmental problems in their communities are now being accepted. Grants generally range from $250 to $2,500. Additional information is available on the foundation's web site. Schools and nonprofit organizations that organize local environmental programs involving children and youths ages 6 to 18 may apply. The deadline to submit proposals is September 30, 2003. For additional information, contact Sona Chambers at captain.planet.foundation@turner.com or visit www.captainplanetfdn.org. Lori Jean Mantooth RECOGNITION OPPORTUNITY FOR EXCEPTIONAL 4-H VOLUNTEERS Recognize exceptional 4-H volunteers by nominating them for the 2004 Salute to Excellence Awards. 4-H volunteers are the backbone of our organization, and we are asking for your support in our efforts to recognize these outstanding individuals. Two national Salute to Excellence Awards are given annually. The “Lifetime Volunteer Award” is given to an individual who has spent 10 or more years volunteering for 4-H, and the "Volunteer of the Year Award" is given to an individual who has volunteered for 4-H less than 10 years. Awardees will be honored with a trip to the National 4-H Conference Center just outside of Washington, DC, and will be presented a monetary award of which a portion must go to a community service project of their choosing. They will also have their name engraved on the Salute to Excellence perpetual plaque located at the National 4-H Conference Center, receive a personalized plaque, and be recognized in The National 4-H Leadership Trust’s 4-H…The Power of YOUth. Anyone can nominate a 4-H volunteer for the awards. Volunteers may even nominate themselves. If you would like to nominate an amazing volunteer, please complete the form provided at www.members.n4h.org. If you are a National 4-H Council website member, enter your user name and password and click on the Salute to Excellence link to find the nomination form. If you are not a registered user of National 4-H Council’s website, you can sign up at www.members.n4h.org and then download the nomination form. Nomination forms must be sent in to the state 4-H office. The state 4-H office will select one nominee from Tennessee for the "Lifetime Volunteer Award" and one nominee for the "Volunteer of the Year Award". Nominations must be received in the state 4-H office by November 15, 2003. These applications will then be entered into a national competition, and one volunteer for each award will be selected as the national award recipient. Monsanto Company is the premier corporate sponsor for the National 4-H Salute to Excellence program. Monsanto Company partners with 4-H to highlight the vital role that volunteers play within 4-H and provide recognition for their unsurpassed commitment to the young people they work with. If you have any questions, please contact Patrick Hamilton (865-974-2128) at the state 4-H office. Patrick Hamilton REPORT SERVICE LEARNING PROJECTS As the new school year gets into full swing, don’t forget to encourage your 4-H clubs and project groups to report their service learning projects to the state 4-H office. Although the Learn and Serve grant that funds 4-H S.O.S. is ending in a few months, service learning will continue to be a priority for Tennessee 4-H as a methodology for teaching young people valuable life skills. The 4-H S.O.S. website will remain active as a source for great information about service learning and also as a way for groups to report their projects and see them posted on-line. 4-H S.O.S. has a goal of engaging 150,000 young people in service learning projects before the end of the year. We are considerably short of this goal due to lack of reporting. The projects are happening and the 4-H’ers are making tremendous impacts on their communities, but we cannot include their activities on the state database if we don’t know about them. So, encourage your youth to celebrate their accomplishments by reporting their projects to 4-H S.O.S. If you have questions about service learning and how to utilize it in your county, please contact Lori Jean Mantooth at 865-974-2128 or LMantoo1@utk.edu. Lori Jean Mantooth TENNESSEE 4-H PARTNERS WITH AMERICA’S PROMISE The state 4-H office would like to announce the formation of a new partnership with Knoxville’s Promise, a local effort of America’s Promise- the Alliance for Youth. America’s Promise is a national organization that strives to fulfill five promises to children and youth through collaborative task forces. The Five Promises are Caring Adults, Safe Places, Healthy Start, Marketable Skills, and Opportunities to Serve. Several communities across Tennessee have become Communities of Promise. 4-H is a key component in several of these local efforts in Tennessee as well as a national partner with America’s Promise. This partnership with America’s Promise has allowed a new
staff member to join the state 4-H staff. Ronnie Johnson will be
working on a part-time term basis in the state For more information about this new initiative contact Patrick Hamilton or Ronnie Johnson at 865-974-2128 or via e-mail at rejohnson@knoxvillespromise.org. To learn more about America’s Promise visit www.americaspromise.org or Knoxville’s Promise at www.knxovillespromise.org. Alice Ann Moore VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR NATIONAL PUBLIC LANDS DAY 4-H’ers are needed to volunteer for National Public Lands Day, the nation’s largest volunteer event to improve and enhance public lands - those special places where Americans go for recreation and to enjoy the outdoors. The 10th annual National Public Lands Day will be celebrated on September 20, 2003 in all 50 states. It is expected that nearly 80,000 volunteers will be working at 500 locations around the country. This is the largest hands-on volunteer effort to benefit America’s public lands. The focus this year is on improving and preserving habitats - the forests, mountains, prairies, plains, rivers, wetlands, urban streams, and cultural sites that are home to a rich diversity of animals, birds and plants. These opportunities can be GREAT service-learning activities for project groups and clubs! To learn about volunteer opportunities and to participate as a volunteer, please visit www.npld.com and go to the interactive map. Sites are listed with details on work that is planned and information about who to contact. You will find that several sites across Tennessee have volunteer opportunities available. Patrick Hamilton YOUTH IN ACTION/COMMUNITY SERVICE GRANTS
AVAILABLE National 4-H Council with financial support from the MetLife Foundation is offering more than $36,000 in community action grants. Individual Youth in Action/Community Service Grants will be in the amount of $500 to $2,000. Grants will be awarded in support of ongoing community service programs or to stimulate new and creative youth-led community service programs. Grants require youth teams to identify critical issues in their communities, develop activities to address these issues, and educate and involve other young people and adults in community service. Youth are to take leadership roles and be actively involved in writing the proposal and implementing the service project. Submitting proposals for community service projects that take place after the school day are encouraged as youth often lack structured activities and programs to participate in after the school day is done. Involving youth in community service projects after the school day provides them with new opportunities for leadership and education. Collaborative efforts reflecting the diversity of the community also are encouraged. The deadline to apply is October 1, 2003. For more information and to download and application, visit www.grants.n4h.org and look under “Community Service.” Lori Jean Mantooth THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK You can tell more about a person by what he says
about others than you can by what others say about him.
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