Dr. Richard Clark

Positive youth development focuses on building on the knowledge and skills of every youth. 4-H accomplishes this through hands-on, experiential education that encourages each young person to strive to reach their best possible outcome. So what does this look like?

• Active, experiential engagement of youth in learning – not just providing information.
• Connecting youth to their peers and caring adults in a positive environment that fosters friendship and teamwork
• Preparing youth with life skills to meet the challenges of daily life and work
• Emphasizing positive outcomes and not focusing on their failures
• Encouraging youth voice in decision making and planning of 4-H pro- grams
• Reaching out to all youth in our communities
• Encouraging long-term involvement in 4-H in order to make the most personal impact
• Utilizing service learning to engage youth in improving their own community, country and world
• Utilizing collaboration with other organizations to provide a breadth of opportunities for young people to develop to their full potential

4-H is changing lives, changing communities, and positively impacting our world!