4-H Volunteer & All Star Homecoming Weekend

WV 4-H Volunteer & All Star Homecoming Weekend

State 4-H Contact: Nancy Yates

The purpose of this weekend is to provide leadership training and recognition for West Virginia 4-H Volunteers and West Virginia 4-H All Stars.

We will focus on the enhancement of leadership abilities and skills for working with the 4-H program as an adult.

The 4-H All Star Consecration Ceremony Recognition program will also be held this weekend.

WHO

WV 4-H Volunteers, All Stars, Adult Leaders, and Alumni (18 years or older) who serve, or want to learn more about serving, as volunteers with the West Virginia 4-H program.

WHEN

Friday, September 20, 2024 - Sunday, September 22, 2024

WHERE

WVU Jackson's Mill

COST

$75. Includes dorm lodging (cottage) and meals for the entire weekend. Participants must contact Jackson’s Mill for private lodging and will pay Jackson’s Mill directly for upgrades. Contact Jackson’s Mill at (304) 269-5100.

If your Retreat Fee is being covered, or partially covered, by your county or a scholarship, please choose "Submit and Pay Later" when completing your registration.

Check payments should be made out to West Virginia University and mailed to:

Nancy Yates
PO Box 6031
618 Knapp Hall
Morgantown, WV 26506

Please include "Volunteer Weekend" in the memo line of the check.

If you need to arrange other forms of payment please email Nancy Yates.

*Discover Cards are not accepted.

REGISTRATION

The 2024 WV 4-H Volunteer & All Star Homecoming Weekend registration has closed and the event has passed. Please stay tuned for news and announcements on next year's Volunteer & All Star Homecoming Weekend!

Event Details

The full conference program includes leadership learning sessions/workshops, WV 4-H All Star business meeting, ideas for 4-H club meetings and activities, leader recognition, informative speakers, Council Circle, reflections, fellowship and fun.

The program is designed especially for adult 4-H volunteers to enhance the lives of youth across West Virginia, and to acknowledge the tireless efforts of our volunteers!

It is an excellent opportunity for leaders to learn about the 4-H program, gain leadership skills, get new program ideas, make new friends, assist in discussing future plans and renew enthusiasm for the 4-H program!

Weekend Schedule

Service Projects & Workshops

• Mountain Food Bank Service Project
• Travel to Weston (possibly Gassaway) to help the Mountaineer Food Bank with one of the many projects that support feed and clothing efforts around the state.
• Jackson Family Cemetery Service Project
• Have you ever wanted to learn about the Jackson Cemetery, or how to properly clean and care for old headstones? Do you like getting your hands a bit dirty while you work? If you answered "yes" to any or all of these questions, join us to learn how to properly do preservation work on old historic cemeteries.
• A Practical Approach to Team Building
• In this workshop, leaders will participate in a few team building activities while also learning how to lead and debrief them. This will allow them to lead team building activities for their 4-H youth and instill life lessons into them.
• Basic Hand Sewing
• Learn the basics of sewing - standard hand stitches, hemming, sewing on a button, and tying knots. Be prepared to hand sew for personal use or teach a beginners hand sewing class with youth. Recommendations for sources for next steps with sewing will also be shared
• Reading with Children
• Reading is the foundation for all learning. This session will focus on learning how to read with a child instead of just to a child. Learn techniques on reading with children to enhance their reading skills and development.
• Expanding Youth Agriculture w/ Educational Skillathons & Quiz Bowls
• Skillathons provide opportunities for participants to learn a variety of subjects related to animal agriculture. Sample skillathon stations, sample quiz bowl questions, tips for conducting skillathons and quiz bowls and resource materials will be shared with participants.
• Realizing Youth Voice w/ 4-H Teen Leaders
• In this youth led workshop learn about partnering with older 4-H members to lead service, teaching and leadership programs. 4-H Teen leaders will share their experience with serving as Health Ambassadors, STEM hands-on activity leaders, Junior Camp Counselors, and service project coordinators. Take away ideas for connecting with older members, supporting the Thriving Model with youth, the role scaffolding and ensuring youth voice.
• Teen Vaping - Prevention and Resources
• What are the current facts and trends around teen vaping in West Virginia. Are you interested in resources for your youth? Do you have teens interested in being 4-H Teen Health Ambassadors?
• Holiday Cards 4 Our Military Challenge
• Spend your hour creating and personalizing greeting cards and letters to express support, care, respect and appreciation of our military heroes. The primary goal of the Holiday Cards for our Military Challenge is the collection and delivery of cards to deployed U.S. troops. Veterans, & Military Families. Take this activity back to your local 4-H programs to expand the efforts! https://militaryholidaycardchallenge.com
• Adulting: Why Credit Matters
• With the cost of everything rising, it’s easy to have difficulty managing your money. Between credit cards, car loans, student loans and more, it's easy to find yourself in financial trouble. This workshop is going to talk about credit and debt and how to best manage your money.
• Getting Creative w/ Cloverbuds
• Join Heather in finding new and creative ways to engage your Cloverbuds and other younger club members. We will be discussing crafting, creating, and building community.
• Exploring the 4-H STEM Challenge
• The 4-H STEM Challenge is an annual kit designed to inspire youth in grades 3-8 to explore Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) through engaging, hands-on activities. Distributed by STEMCARE and the WVU 4-H STEM team to county extension offices, these kits offer valuable resources for educational youth programs. In this workshop, volunteers will explore activities from the STEM Challenge that they can borrow from their local extension office to lead with 4-H youth during club meetings, camps, and other events.
• 4-H Middle Managers: Helping Youth to Find Their Spark
• Serving as a middle manager you can share your strengths to create opportunities for youths to learn their SPARK while adding depth to a local 4-H program. Learn from an experienced 4-H volunteer middle manager who has coordinated over the past 15 years - a county 4-H Wild Life Day, 4-H Archery club, 4-H Sewing Club Beginners, 4-H Sewing Club Advanced and a 4-H Food Workshop in collaboration with a CEOS Club. Take away ideas for sharing your skills to develop 4-H member's spark; planning/development tips; and lessons learned with coordinating short-term project clubs.
• Creek Clean-Up Service Project
• Gear up for some true Jackson's Mill service and experience the West Fork River. Rally together to remove trash, tires, and other waste from the river running through camp.
• Alex's Lemonade Stand & Cancer Care Bags
• This service project will be focused on a fundraiser for childhood cancer research. Participants will assist with preparing and hosting a lemonade stand before the evening banquet. Also, we will be preparing cancer care bags to donate to WVU Children’s cancer center.
• Learn and Grow w/ the WV Statewide Afterschool Network and Mizzen Education
• Learn and grow with Mizzen Education, a free learning resource platform for the 4-H and Youth Development community. This platform puts custom, grab-and-go content at your fingertips—and offers instructional support you can use every day to make your practice shine in clubs, county activities, and camps. See for yourself! Join thousands of youth-serving professionals who use Mizzen to take their programs, and practices, to the next level. (WV Statewide Afterschool Network and Mizzen Education)
• Breaking Barriers: Promoting Physical Activity, Embracing Diversity, and Fostering Inclusion for Individuals w/ Disabilities
• Breaking Barriers will explore how to break down barriers for inclusion that may exist for 4-H games and activities. Discover why physical activity is so important for every body - abled or disabled - and how 4-H can foster positive strategies to promote physical activities utilizing universal design. Come to learn and experience inclusive activities that can be incorporated into your 4-H meetings.
• WVU Storybook STEM Lessons for Cloverbuds and Young 4-H'ers
• Participants in this workshop will explore and receive materials for two Storybook STEM Cloverbud lessons developed by the WVU Extension 4-H STEM Working Group. Lessons for this year will include a fraction activity with the book "Enemy Pie" and a sound wave activity with the book "Building an Orchestra of Hope: How Favio Chavez Taught Children to Make Music From Trash."

REFUND POLICY

Refunds can be requested until September 5th but will incur a $25.00 processing fee which will be withheld from the refund. Refunds can take up to 10 weeks to be processed and may come in the form of a pre-paid Visa card mailed directly to the registrant.

Cancellations and request for refunds must be emailed to Nancy Yates.

There will be no refunds for no shows.

WVU is an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer -- Minority/Female/Disability/Veteran.
In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, and reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs).
The WVU Board of Governors is the governing body of WVU. The Higher Education Policy Commission in West Virginia is responsible for developing, establishing, and overseeing the implementation of a public policy agenda for the state’s four-year colleges and universities.
Reasonable accommodations will be made to provide this content in alternate formats upon request. Contact the WVU Extension Service Office of Communications at 304-293-4222.