Mere words cannot express the joy of finally having an in-person 4-H meeting in seven months. Happy Hart had their first club meeting since the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we are able to do just about anything. We have many guidelines to follow in order to have a meeting, but that didn’t stop us from taking advantage of an outdoor meeting. We are unable to interact with the community in person, but that hasn’t deterred us from continuing to help our community from a distance.
The club got together on October 3 at Creekside Park in Rushford to elect our club officers, balance our budget, and complete the paperwork needed to charter our club for the current 4-H year. Additionally, we worked on several community pride projects.
What is a community pride project? It is a way to serve our neighbors and learn something at the same time! We help make our community better for everyone in it by discovering what it means to be an active citizen and to act on the things we believe in. It is service learning. We identify community needs, plan a service project and execute it.
New this year, we colored fall and Halloween pictures for several nursing homes. Pictures will be distributed to Speltz Assisted Living and Lewiston Senior Living in Lewiston, Lake Winona Manor in Winona as well as Country Terrace of Wisconsin in Ladysmith, Wis. Along with this new activity we also participated in a yearly one called Cards for Christmas. Cards for Christmas is an activity of creating Christmas cards, which Winona Health hands out during patients’ stays over Christmas. Both of these activities were completed by youth of various ages and enjoyed by everyone.
#Opportunity4All is the theme for National 4-H week 2020. All youth are welcome to join and participate in 4-H! You can contact Winona County Extension Educator, 4-H Youth Development, Kim Stehr 225 W. 2nd Street, Winona, Minn. 55987 or call (507) 457-6440 to find a club in your area.