Newton, IL (Oct. 4-10, 2020) — Every year, National 4-H Week sees millions of youth, parents,
volunteers and alumni come together to celebrate the many positive youth development opportunities
offered by 4-H. The theme for this year’s National 4-H Week, Opportunity4All, is a campaign that was
created by National 4-H Council to rally support for Cooperative Extension’s 4-H program and identify
solutions to eliminate the opportunity gap that affects 55 million kids across America.
With so many children struggling to reach their full potential, 4-H believes that young people, in
partnership with adults, can play a key role in creating a more promising and equitable future for
youth, families and communities across the country. In 4-H, we believe every child should have an
equal opportunity to succeed. We believe every child should have the skills they need to make a
difference in the world.
Jasper County 4-H will observe National 4-H Week this year by highlighting some of the inspirational
4-H youth in our community who are working tirelessly to support each other and their communities.
“We believe youth perspectives are so important and a solution to eliminating the opportunity gap,
because young people come with new ideas and new ways of seeing the world,” explains Jennifer
Sirangelo, President and CEO of National 4-H Council. By encouraging diverse voices and innovative
actions, 4-H believes that solutions can be found to address the educational, economic and health
issues that have created the opportunity gap.
Jasper County 4-H will have a daily update on Facebook celebrating 4-H Week. 4-H members,
parents, alumni, and volunteers are encouraged to wear their 4-H apparel on Wednesday, Oct. 7.
In Jasper County, more than 240 4-H youth and 50 volunteers from the community are involved in 4H.
One of the most anticipated events of National 4-H Week every year is the 4-H STEM Challenge,
formerly known as National Youth Science Day. The theme of this year’s event, which is expected to
see hundreds of thousands of youth across the nation taking part throughout October, is Mars Base
Camp. Developed by Google and Virginia Cooperative Extension, Mars Base Camp is a collection of
activities that teaches kids ages 8-14 STEM skills, including mechanical engineering, physics,
computer science and agriculture.
To learn more about how you can get involved, visit http://www.4-h.org/.
About 4-H
4-H, the nation’s largest youth development and empowerment organization, cultivates confident kids
who tackle the issues that matter most in their communities right now. In the United States, 4-H
programs empower six million young people through the 110 land-grant universities and Cooperative
Extension in more than 3,000 local offices serving every county and parish in the country. Outside the
United States, independent, country-led 4-H organizations empower one million young people in more
than 50 countries. National 4-H Council is the private sector, non-profit partner of the Cooperative
Extension System and 4-H National Headquarters located at the National Institute of Food and
Agriculture (NIFA) within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Learn more about 4-H at www.4-H.org, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/4-H and on Twitter
at https://twitter.com/4H.
