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Ritchie County 4-H

What is 4-H? 

4-H is one of the largest youth development programs in the United States involving more than 6.5 million young people and 540,000 youth and adult volunteers. The focus is on helping youth learn leadership, citizenship, and life skills by participating in projects and service.

Membership is open to any youth when he/she is in at least 9 years of age and is not older than 21 within the current 4-H year, which runs from October 1 – September 30. The Cloverbud program is open to youths ages 5-7 years of age. On a local level 4-H offers community clubs, specialty clubs, cloverbud clubs, county camp(s), club outings, Achievement Banquet, and more! In 4-H youth socialize, learn, and develop life skills in a safe, educational atmosphere.

Studies show that 4-H members
  • do better in school
  • are more motivated to help others
  • feel safe to try new things
  • achieve a sense of self-esteem
  • develop lasting friendships

Ritchie County 4-H News

Contact the Ritchie County Office for current news and to learn about upcoming opportunities in our local area. Ask us for more information about topics including:

    Recent WV 4-H News

    Week of August 3 - Energy Express on WVPB

    Monday, August 3, 2020, 9:30 a.m.

    Make it fly! Join Jennifer Robertson-Honecker, WVU Extension Service STEM Specialist, and her son, Ben, to learn how to make your own helicopter that you can fly at your home. ( For this activity, you will creative items from around your house to build your simple machine.) Want to enter the competition? Visit extension.wvu.edu/stemcare to learn more!

    Kerri Carte, Family and Community Development agent will make a yummy cucumber salad. ( For this recipe, you will need light mayonnaise, two cucumbers, two large tomatoes, two strips of bacon, pinch of salt and bibb or leaf lettuce.)

    Read Week of August 3 - Energy Express on WVPB

    Week of July 6 - Energy Express on WVPB

    Monday, July 6, 2020, 9:30 a.m.

    What’s that peeping sound? Join Sheldon Owen, WVU Extension Service Wildlife specialist, to learn about frog calls. Then, we'll hop on over for a reading of "Frog in the Bog" with Sheldon’s daughter, Alden.

    Baa! Next up, we’ll tour the farm and meet some sheep with WVU Extension Service Agriculture and Natural Resources agents Jody Carpenter and Tasha Harris.

    Read Week of July 6 - Energy Express on WVPB

    STEMCARE Water a Plant Challenge

     

    Hey West Virginia families, join us in participating in the Rube Goldberg “Water a Plant Video Challenge!”

    Are you and your family looking for something fun and challenging to do as a group? If you answered, yes, you will want to join us for some friendly competition. 

    Read STEMCARE Water a Plant Challenge

    Older WV 4-H News

    Ritchie County 4-H Clubs

    Find a Ritchie County 4-H Club

    Camp

    Contact the Ritchie County Office for more information.

    West Virginia 4-H Volunteer Opportunities

    West Virginia 4-H offers opportunities that can give your child an edge in life. Our program provides a variety of volunteer opportunities for youths, adolescents and adults.

    Caring Adults act as advisers and leaders for clubs, camps and activities. Each is selected, screened and trained by the WVU Extension professionals who guide the 4-H program.

    Neighborhood Clubs give older and younger members a place to belong, a place to identify and a place to practice positive values, build leadership and have fun!

    Special Events and Programs at the local, state and national levels support educational and developmental goals through camps, skill development events, exhibits, fairs and challenging contests.

    Individualized Learning Experiences let each child choose from more than 100 projects to develop unique interests and skills and explore new ideas. Each project is developed by experts to help children learn by doing.

    Leadership Development is nurtured with special emphasis placed on developing communication and decision-making skills.

    Adult Volunteer Selection Process Code of Conduct Procedures for Dealing with Volunteer Issues

    Ritchie County 4-H Clubs


    To protect the health and safety of our employees and community, many WVU and WVU Extension Service employees are working remotely. While we may not be physically in our brick and mortar offices, we are working hard to assist our fellow West Virginians in all 55 counties. For information about WVU’s efforts, check coronavirus.wvu.edu for more.