The 4-H community believes every child should have an equal opportunity to succeed.

With so many children struggling to reach their full potential, 4-H also believes young people in partnership with adults can play a key role in creating a more promising and equitable future for youth, families and communities across the country, said Heather VonDielingen, county extension director and 4-H youth educator for Purdue Extension Jackson County.

“We believe every child should have the skills they need to make a difference in the world,” she said.

Jackson County currently has 30 active clubs, and registration for the 2021-22 4-H program year opened Oct. 1.

4‑H is delivered by Cooperative Extension, a community of more than 100 public universities across the nation that provides experiences where young people learn by doing. For more than 100 years, 4‑H has welcomed young people of all beliefs and backgrounds, giving kids a voice to express who they are and how they make their lives and communities better.

“We believe youth perspectives are so important and a solution to eliminating the opportunity gap because young people come with new ideas and new ways of seeing the world,” said Jennifer Sirangelo, president and chief executive officer of the National 4-H Council.

Earlier this month, National 4-H Week was observed by clubs in Jackson County. Participating families joined in some fun activities during the week of Oct. 3 to 9 when members were encouraged to register for 4-H, thank 4-H volunteers, wear green, tell friends about 4-H and get involved with community service.

Vera Reichenbacker, leader of the Cortland Crushers 4-H Club, said the club had its first meeting for the new school year Oct. 10 at the Hamilton Township Volunteer Fire Department in Cortland. The group generally meets there once a month and occasionally will have offsite meetings.

She said a total of 29 members and 18 parents gathered for the event, and club membership is the highest it has been in a very long time.

“Last year, we started with 17 members, and now, our membership has doubled for the 2021-22 season,” she said. “It is amazing. I’m so excited to have so many youth sign up for the 4-H program.”

Reichenbacker and her husband, Jason, joined as club volunteers last year, and with the increase in membership, they believe there is definitely a sense of interest in the 4-H program.

“4-H has always been publicly stereotyped into being a farmer thing that is only about crops and livestock, but it is so much more,” Vera said. “4-H is a great outlet to explore curiosities and express talents through various projects available.”

She said the youth of Jackson County can experiment with projects, such as arts and crafts, photography, STEM, electrical, wildlife conservation, gun safety, woodworking and performing arts.

“The program is affordable and available to any youth in Jackson County in grades kindergarten through 12, and from the club aspect of the program, the youth have a chance to meet up with friends, participate in activities and help make decisions for the club,” Vera said. “We also have leadership opportunities available, whether it’s to hold an officer position, be a part of a committee or host a presentation for the club.”

She was not a member of the 4-H program growing up, but her mother was a member, and her grandmother was a youth leader. Their involvement inspired her to get her son, Jaxon, signed up for the program three years ago, and his cousin, Lyza Reichenbacker, who is a kindergartner, just joined 4-H.

Jaxon, a third-grader, said he likes 4-H because he gets to hang out with his friends and do fun things, and his favorite project was the iron bead craft he made for the Jackson County Fair this year.

For Community Service Day on Oct. 8, Vera said as far as she knows, Jaxon was the only one who chose to do the canned food drive option. He used his allowance money and collected about 50 items total to donate to Cornerstone Community Church’s fall giveaway.

“The members had various options to go out into the community for Community Service Day if they chose to do so,” she said. “We will be doing a community outreach project planned for February that we will do together as a group.”

Club member Taylor Carter said his favorite part of 4-H is learning about animals and other things during the meetings. Last year, the club went to a farm and learned about show cows.

“During 4-H Week, I sent letters to the trash collectors, my doctor and the firefighters at our local fire department,” Carter said. “It’s important to say thanks for what they do because they help our community be a better place.”

Mason Hudson decided to make a video to thank 4-H volunteers, and his mom used her phone since he doesn’t have one.

“I wanted it to be a video so Ms. Vera could see my face when I said thank you,” Hudson said. “Some things I like about being in 4-H are being around friends and learning new things together and the snacks.”

Hudson said he thinks other kids should join 4-H because it’s a lot of fun and they learn a lot. Their club does fun projects all of the time.

Sisters Hayley and Lilly Schuerman are both in the Cortland Crushers 4-H Club. Hayley, a sixth-grader, has been a member for three years, and Lilly, an eighth-grader, has been involved for six years.

Both said their favorite project is showing swine at the fair. They both like doing the fun activities, especially when the club went to Sky Zone at the end of the summer.

This will be Lexi Morris’ 10th year in 4-H and recently she became the club’s president.

“4-H has been one of the most influential organizations in my life and has provided me an amplitude of opportunities to lead,” Morris said. “With the majority of our members being so young, I am always so excited to get to be an example to them.”

She said they have been planning more fun activities within their club, which she believes is helping the club to grow.

Senior Zoe Plumer is the club treasurer and has been in 4-H since kindergarten, starting out three years in Mini 4-H, so this will be her 10th year in regular 4-H.

“Older youth should be a part of the 4-H program because it teaches you life skills, such as spending money, planning, working and doing things yourself,” Plumer said. “What I like best about being a leader for the club is getting to help guide the younger kids in the club and see them grow and be excited about learning new things and all about 4-H.”

Kirstie Newkirk has two sons in 4-H, Owen, 11, in fifth grade and Warren, 6, in first grade.

“We are involved in 4-H because it’s a family thing. We as parents were in 4-H, and we are continuing the tradition for our boys,” Newkirk said.

She said 4-H teaches responsibility and leadership and trying new things, even if it’s not farm- or ag-related.

“Our leader is fantastic, and we do a lot of fun activities together that my boys always look forward to,” Newkirk said.

Jennifer Rorick said her sons, fifth-grader Noah and third-grader Zach, like being involved with 4-H, and it gives them opportunities to learn and develop skills.

“It helps them learn at an early age to be active and involved as part of a team and community,” Rorick said. “The Cortland Crushers has helped both of the boys learn hands-on processes and challenged them to step outside their comfort zones.”

Vera said all of the club members’ parents are very active in their children’s development through the 4-H program and do a good job of communicating with her and getting the kids to meetings on time.

“At least one parent is asked to attend our club meetings if their youth are grades kindergarten through second grade,” she said. “Those parents are very supportive to me during club activities, and it’s always nice to have a few extra sets of hands and eyes.”

Jason Reichenbacker is a registered club volunteer, too. He helps Vera with setup and cleanup at the meetings and assists her with anything she needs during the meetings. Any parent can officially become a registered volunteer by applying through the Purdue Extension office in Brownstown.

If kids or parents are interested in finding out more about the Cortland Crushers 4-H Club, they may contact Vera at 812-521-7231 or follow the club on Facebook, Cortland Crushers 4-H Club. All other questions should be directed to the Purdue Extension office at 812-358-6101.

“I would love to see more youth get involved,” Vera said. “Enrollment for the 2021-22 season will run until January, so there’s plenty of time left to get started.”