“National 4-H Week is October 2 – 8. This is an important week to highlight the incredible experiences that 4-H offers young people,” said Linda Hedges, Greenbrier 4-H Club leader. “In the following poem, by an anonymous writer, the story of 4-H is explained so well from its inception to the present. This is what the Greenbrier 4-H members and I believe.”
I Am 4-H I am 4-H. I am a four-leaf clover, in verdant green on a pure white hill. I was an idea that germinated and threw out its first green roots around the turn of the century. From a small beginning, I blossomed into the four-fold development of head, heart, hands, and health. I drew my first breath in the resolve of responsible men and women to help American youth. Nurtured by the farm, I now embrace the busy city. My goal is to learn, and my testament—to learn by doing. I am 4-H. Over six million boys and girls are under my wing. Almost 60 million alumni sing my praises and have walked my way in by-gone years. More than 500,000 volunteer leaders help me guide today’s youth in 200,000 organized 4-H groups. My voice is heard in Congress and the President of the United States knows my name. I am democracy in action, I am a citizen in the making. I am 4-H. I am old, yet I am forever young. I am local, I am state, yet my philosophy has gone around the world. I am the International 4-H Youth Exchange, a worker in the Peace Corps. I am an explorer of careers and a student of public affairs. I am hand-in-hand with the United States Department of Agriculture, the land-grant university, my unselfish local volunteer leader, and the great industries of our nation. I am 4-H. I am a girl with a lamb, a boy with his 4-H garden project. I am a youngster spending his or her first night away from home at camp, listening in wide-eyed excitement to a story by the campfire. I am a knock at the door to get out the vote, a future scientist, or a little girl’s first cake. I am a boy giving his award-winning demonstration in state competition. A 4-H girl, preparing to be a future homemaker by displaying her yeast rolls, her canned fruits, and her sewing ability. I am a boy with a service dog. I am a 4-Her teaching others by doing. I am a 4-H club urging everyone to conserve natural resources. I am 4-H. I am a growing thing, planted by great educators, cultivated by parents and leaders, nurtured by 4- H club members. My roots go deep, my ideals high. I have faith in youth, I shall spend my future in serving youth. In quest of the pattern of life, I bow my head and with confidence look to the days that lie ahead of me. To this end I have pledged my head, heart, hands and health—to greater loyalty, larger service, clearer thinking and better living for my home, my club, my community, my country, and my world. And, with God’s help I will be a finer woman or a better man. I am 4-H.
