Promotion

4-H Can Take You Places!

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One of the goals of the Cloverbud program is to allow our youngest members the opportunity to see what the future holds. What projects are available in the future, how can you get involved in your county’s camp, fair and other 4-H activities?

We were looking for a creative new idea to involve Cloverbuds in their club and community; a fun way to help Cloverbuds be active and relate to the four H’s. In addition, we wanted to offer a fair activity. We have tried a variety of activities from show and tell to scavenger hunts at the fair. We encourage Cloverbuds to look at club booths to see what projects are available in the future.

We developed a 4-H passport for the Cloverbuds with the theme “4-H Can Take You Places”. The passport allowed Cloverbuds to record their involvement in various home, club and community events. The idea was that the members would complete the activity with the assistance of their advisors and parents. The adults would verify that the C loverbud completed the activity.

The passports were printed on cardstock and distributed to clubs based on their enrollment. Cloverbuds could keep their passports as a reminder of the adventures they had in 2020. Advisors simply submitted the names of the members having completed the minimum passport activities. Those members whose names were submitted would receive a prize. The Cloverbuds could win an additional prize by completing activities at the county fair.

Then along came the pandemic. As with most things, we had to revise the passport with available activities. Gone were our day camp, the community festivals, trips to the library and even visits with grandparents. We had to accommodate activities to the restrictions that would allow members to complete them while quarantined at home.

Thankfully, we did have a junior fair program this year, so the Cloverbuds were able to visit the fair to attend some of the 4-H related events. We did not have still project displays, so sadly they did not get the opportunity to explore what projects might interest them.  About 20 Cloverbuds did submit their passports to receive their prize. The items were purchased through our county endowment funds from the 4-H supply catalog. The passport can be adapted into a club activity, being more specific to your club and community.

The original and revised passports are shown below. The format is so that they can be printed as a folded piece to look more like a passport!

If you would like to have a copy of the passport sent to you via email, please send your request to Rhonda Williams at williams.418@osu.edu.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recruiting 4-H Cloverbud Members

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Recruiting for 4-H Cloverbud members can be as easy as “ABC.” Here are three great audiences where you may find new members:

Alumni- Former members of your county 4-H program may be great resources for new Cloverbud members.  Because Cloverbuds is a relatively new program (started in Ohio in 1995), some former members may have kids or grandkids who could participate, but they don’t know about the program. Advertise Cloverbuds in your 4-H newsletter or on your county Facebook page where you might catch the attention of alumni. Provide them with basic Cloverbud information: age requirements, locations of clubs who have Cloverbud members, and upcoming county-wide Cloverbud events.

Brothers and sisters of current members- This is often the best source of members for the Cloverbud program. Siblings of members often come to club meetings so be sure they are involved in Cloverbuds. An excited Cloverbud can be the one who keeps a family coming to meetings.

Community families- If you want to take your Cloverbud program beyond your past and current families, use your local newspapers. Plan an event for the 5-8 year old population and publicize it in your community. At the event, make 4-H Cloverbud registration available so families can sign up.

When building your Cloverbud enrollment, keep in mind that one adult is required for every six Cloverbud members. If you are successful with Alumni, Brothers and sisters, and Community families in growing your Cloverbud program, you may also need to look at recruitment of new volunteers. It can be a vicious circle- growing club membership and providing leadership for the growing clubs- but it’s a great problem to have.