Tag Archives: 4-H

Russian Delegation Visits VCE Arlington

Posted on February 6, 2015 by maraea

At the end of January, VCE Arlington had the pleasure of hosting a delegation from Russia and showing them the valuable work that Extension does in our community. The visit was sponsored by the U.S.-Russia Peer-to-Peer Program and funded through a grant that Extension was jointly awarded from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. The two day visit was packed with activities.

The visit began with a volunteer showcase where Extension and partner organization volunteers talked about their programs and volunteer experiences. Presentations were given by volunteers and leaders from Master Gardeners, Master Food Volunteers, Master Financial Education Volunteers, Energy Masters, Master Naturalists and 4-H. Hard to believe that all of those organizations are affiliated with VCE Arlington!

After a lunch prepared by our own Master Food Volunteers, our guests visited officials from an important Extension partner, Arlington County, and continued to see Extension in action with a visit to the Save the Earth 4-H Club at Barrett Elementary School.

Saturday’s activities included a visit to see the work done at AFAC where Master Food Volunteers give regular healthy food demonstrations. The agenda continued to be food as they attended a training for the upcoming 4-H Food Challenge. They rounded out the day with a visit to Wakefield High School for the ACE Energy Journey Game.

Our agents and volunteers appreciated the interest and feedback from our Russian visitors and we hope that the visit was a valuable one for them as well.

They are on to further US travels in Ohio and Utah to meet with nonprofits in those states and we wish them safe (and hopefully warmer) travels.

MFEV Bill Guey-Lee talking about his experiences

Volunteer Showcase

visit to the Barrett Elem. 4-H Club

Virginia Cooperative Extension celebrates 100 years, showcases Arlington and Alexandria programs

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Megan Kuhn

Volunteers Bill Guey-Lee and Desiree Kaul manage the Master Financial Education display at Virginia Cooperative Extension’s breakfast showcase at Fairlington Community Center.

Virginia Cooperative Extension‘s breakfast showcase, highlighting Arlington and City of Alexandria programs, made the news.

A few 2014 highlights:

Staff and Master Financial Education volunteers started Money Smarts Pay, which combines money management classes with financial coaching to help participants adopt positive financial habits. Extension partnered with Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing and The Arlington-Alexandria Coalition for the Homeless to offer Money Smarts Pay to affordable housing tenants.
Staff and Master Food Volunteers addressed childhood obesity by organizing healthy cooking classes for teens in foster care and low-income teens, and 4-H Food Challenge events.
VCE–Arlington, with Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment, won the national Extension Housing Outreach Award.

Read the full story here.

#IAM4H Afterschool Leadership Training Series

Posted on September 16, 2014 by rbmorris

Are you 4-H? If you answered no… here’s your chance to get involved. With start of the 2014-2015 4-H Year only a few days away, Alexandria 4-H would like to give everyone an opportunity to join the Revolution of Responsibility! Our adult volunteer leaders are the true backbone of our program and without their caring and positive attitude we wouldn’t have the ability to impact the lives of so many youth; BUT we always have room for more.

The #IAM4H Afterschool Training Series is a series of learning sessions designed to introduce a 4-H programming opportunities available to: parents, teachers, afterschool programmers, childcare providers, faith-based organizations, and other caring adults wishing to improve the quality of their current youth development program. 4-H Afterschool is unique in that it “trains the educators” so that you can go back and implement 4-H programming in any youth development setting.

NYSD 2014

These sessions are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Each session is from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Lee Center Exhibit Hall (1108 Jefferson Street, Alex. VA 22314). The first training, on Monday October 6, 2014, will focus on the 2014 4-H National Youth Science Experiment: Rockets to the Rescue. Registration deadline is Wednesday October 1, so SIGN UP NOW. To register please log on to: www.tinyurl.com/Alex4HVolTraining

For information please contact Reggie Morris, Alexandria 4-H Youth Development.

Check out the link below to learn about additional training sessions!

IAM4H Afterschool Leadership Training Series

It’s National Volunteer Week! THANK YOU! And How to Get Involved…

Posted on April 9, 2014 by maryev8

This week we celebrate National Volunteer Week.
It is time to say THANK YOU to all our volunteers.
Cooperative Extension relies on volunteers, and we believe that active citizen involvement in our programs ensures success. The work of volunteers at state and local levels helps leverage our paid faculty and staff resources into a much greater impact and benefit for the people of Virginia.

For Extension Volunteer Stories see http://www.ext.vt.edu/news/centennial-articles/stories/index.html

Get Involved
There are many ways you can get involved as a volunteer with Cooperative Extension to bring your talents and skills to benefit the community. Some of them are listed below. If you are interested in volunteering, but not sure in what way, contact our offices: Arlington 703 228 6400 and Alexandria 703 746 5546. Staff will be happy to help you find a way to share your time and talents.

Here’s how to get involved volunteering locally with Cooperative Extension programs:

Arlington and Alexandria Extension Leadership Council (ELC)
The Arlington and Alexandria Extension Leadership Council is composed of interested residents, Cooperative Extension staff, and county and city liaisons who identify community issues and help ensure programs are responsive to real needs. Also, the ELC advocates in support of local programs and staff, and promotes greater awareness of the work of the Extension staff and volunteers. The ELC meets every two months. If you are interested in joining, please contact the Arlington or Alexandria Extension Office and come to an ELC meeting. ELC 2014 Brochure

.4-H Youth Development
4-H stands for head, heart, hands and health.

Every 4-H program benefits from this integrated approach to civic engagement and hands-on learning – and the dedication and service of caring volunteers. If you are interested in contributing your time to help further the development of youth in our community, please contact Reggie Morris, 4-H agent for Alexandria rbmorris@vt.edu or Emily Reiersgaard, 4-H agent for Arlington, emilyr@vt.edu

Master Gardeners
Master Gardeners encourage and promote environmentally sound horticultural practices through sustainable landscape management education and training.

Here serving Arlington and Alexandria we have the Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia. Master Gardeners training will be offered in the fall. For details contact: Agriculture and Natural Resources agent, Kirsten Buhls kbuhls@vt.edu or Arlington’s Interim Master Gardener Coordinator, Jocelyn Yee jyee@arlingtonva.us

Arlington Regional Master Naturalists
The Arlington Regional Master Naturalist program is part of a statewide corps of volunteers providing education, outreach, and service dedicated to the beneficial management of natural resources and natural areas within their communities. If you’re interested in becoming an Arlington Regional Master Naturalist, go to http://armn.org/contact-us/

Master Food Volunteers
Master Food Volunteers help support Extension’s family and consumer sciences (FCS) agents through education and outreach programs related to food preparation, nutrition, food safety, and physical activity. Contact FCS agent Katie Strong kstrong@vt.edu for information about programs and trainings in the Arlington and Fairfax area.

Arlington Energy Masters http://www.arlingtonenvironment.org/energy/
Arlington’s innovative Energy Masters program promotes a more energy efficient and sustainable Arlington community. We engage professionally trained volunteers in retrofitting, weatherization, and water conservation techniques serving low-income apartment residents. If you are interested in applying for the 2014-2015 program later this summer, please complete the volunteer interest form.

Master Financial Educators
Financial volunteers receive a comprehensive training on budgeting, retirement planning, home buying, and many other finance topics, instruction in counseling techniques. Volunteers can choose to help individuals or community groups with financial education programs – including learning to reconcile debts, set goals, budget spending, and organization to improve money management skills. Please contact Jennifer Abel jabel@vt.edu for details of the next training.

Volunteering Counts!
Here is how volunteering counts in Arlington and Alexandria.
In 2012: the Arlington and Alexandria staff and volunteers of Virginia Cooperative Extension reached over 50,000 people with 650+ education programs. 850+ active volunteers contributed over 32, 000 hours. That outreach was conducted with a local office staff of about a dozen people. That’s the power of volunteers!

Interested in volunteering statewide or at national level for Virginia Cooperative Extension? See: http://www.ext.vt.edu/volunteer.html

19 April – join us for a Family FUN RUN, WALK or JOG at the beautiful NOVA 4-H Center and benefit 4-H Camp Scholarships!

Posted on March 25, 2014 by maryev8

Feeling like a spring day out and a fun run, walk or jog in a beautiful setting in the foothills of the Shenadoah near Front Royal?

Bring the whole family out to the NOVA 4-H Center on Saturday April 19th morning and run, walk or jog to raise money for your County’s 4-H Camp Scholarships.

On Saturday, April 19th, at 9:00 AM, the NOVA 4-H Center will be hosting a kids 1 mile fun run, a 4-K (about 2.4 miles) and a 4-mile run/walk, to raise money for 4-H Camp scholarships. Every cent raised by your county will go to your county!

Click here: http://www.nova4h.com/4-for-4-h-registration if you would like to register on-line

T-shirts and medals for the first 75 folks to register and treats for all at the finish line.

As an added bonus, the NOVA 4-H Center will match the amount raised by the County who raises the most money, up to the cost of one full scholarship.

Look forward to seeing you on the day, bring your shoes and dress for the weather. You might also take time to visit the extensive grounds of the NOVA 4-H Center and hike up to the Appalachian Trail!
Any questions? Please contact the NOVA 4-H Center www.nova4h.com
or call 540 635 7171

Inspiration and Impact:

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Mary

In January, Arlington and Alexandria VA Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners and 4-H Youth Leaders and agents trained Arlington County staff on some Junior Master Gardener projects. Tomorrow staff at Westover Library are hosting Kids in the Garden – a program inspired by what they learned at the Cooperative Extension training.
The kids will plant some seeds to take home – and see how they grow…

Look out for more youth gardening activities this season at the libraries and in Arlington County Dept of Recreation after-school programs.

And let’s grow these inspirational and successful VA Cooperative Extension training programs!

Poster by Westover Library staff.

Alexandria / Arlington 4-H Leadership Program Explores Natural History

Posted on January 23, 2014 by rbmorris

Teen 4-Hers from Alexandria and Arlington braced the winter cold for a Saturday of exploring at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. These young people are participating in a year-long special interest 4-H project focusing on career exploration in partnership with the Arlington Alexandria Coalition for the Homeless and the Smithsonian Office of Fellowships and Internships. The program is designed to assist the participants in acquiring the skills and knowledge base necessary to become thriving members of workforce.

The students have adopted the mission statement: “As a group we will: Have fun and work as a team, to communicate, learn, and prepare for our jobs and goals. We will become more organized, confident, and successful, and choose a career path this is just right for us.

In April the participants will spend a week at one of the Smithsonian museums completing a brief internship based on a career field of their choice. We are always looking for volunteers to come and speak to the group; if you are interested please contact Reggie Morris 4-H Agent at 703-74-5546.

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Alexandria Parks & Recreation Power On! & Power Up! with 4-H

Posted on October 29, 2013 by rbmorris

Alexandria 4-H and Alexandria Recreation Power-On & Power-Up Programs partner to offer 4-H educational opportunities to the participants of these out of school time programs. Power-On & Power-Up programs sites are located in recreation centers and schools throughout the city of Alexandria. Students participate in a wide range of activities from creative and performing arts to fitness and health, all designed to provide a safe and wholesome atmosphere for youth to thrive in during the hours directly following dismissal from school. On Wednesday October 16, 2013 representatives from each of the programming sites assembled at Mt. Vernon Recreation Center to learn what it takes to be a 4-H after-school leader. Training attendees completed a variety of hands on activities and discussed several different ways to implement 4-H programming at their site. Alexandria 4-H looks forward to continuing this working relationship with Alexandria Parks, Recreation & Cultural Activities and expanding the reach of the program to a new audience.

Maps & Apps… Leading the way to success in science!

Posted on October 29, 2013 by rbmorris

Arlington and Alexandria 4-H programs combined to celebrate Columbus Day by participating in the Maps and Apps science experiment. 4-Hers ages 8-14 came out and learned about GPS and GIS principles met new friends and got a glimpse of what 4-H can offer in their local communities. Arlington County Forester Vincent Verweij provided a brief presentation on how he utilizes GIS technology as a part of his job and showcased a hand-scrupled clay model of the park where are event took place.

4-H National Youth Science Experiment!

Posted on August 28, 2013 by snagurny

We will be hosting a local National 4-H Youth Science Experiment Event! Every year National 4-H Council presents a national science experiment. In the past these experiments have dealt with a variety of topics like robotics, wind power, and even biofuel. This year’s experiment is entitled “Maps and Apps” and is all about GPS and GIS technologies and solving problems using techniques associated with them. The best part is, you don’t even have to know what that is to be able to complete this experiment! Come learn what it takes to make a good map using modern technology that Columbus and his crew didn’t have! Hear about GPS and GIS technologies from the professionals who use them every day in their jobs. The event will consist of a presentation and then the actual conducting of the experiment.

Our event will be held on October 14th, from 10 AM – 12 PM at Four Mile Run Park’s old Duron Building. 4131 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, VA. There is no cost, and light refreshments will be provided.

See the flyer or the event page on the Arlington County 4-H facebook at www.facebook.com/ArlingtonCounty4H

You can register for this event by filling out this registration form!

More about the actual experiment itself can be found on the National 4-H Website at 4-h.org

Don’t hesitate to contact the extension office if you have any questions or would like additional information. snagurny@vt.edu or (703) 228-6404