Source:
Marilyn Norman mnn@mail.ifas.ufl.edu, (352) 846-0996 ext. 225

GAINESVILLE, Fla. In a high-tech society, reading and literacy have take on even greater importance. A Florida 4-H program, “Tales From Teens: a 4-H Literacy Initiative,” is involving thousands of youth in battling illiteracy.

According to the 2000 Kids Count State Profile for Florida, 46 percent of fourth-graders scored below the basic reading level in 1998. The Florida Adult Literacy Survey revealed that approximately 1.7 million adults in Florida have reading skills below the eighth-grade level.

Youth organizers say they were trying to develop a service project that would impact both the doers and the served. “My 4-H club went to read and distribute books to migrant farm workers’ children,” said Sarah Riger, 17, of Naples. The experience touched her on a personal level because “for most of these children, it was their first opportunity to ever own a book, and it meant so much to them,” she said.

And she’s willing to back up her sentiment with money. Last week the State 4-H Council committee for the project, which Riger chairs, awarded mini-grants to two 4-H clubs and a district council so they can conduct literacy service projects.

The Trailblazers 4-H club will build a puppet theater with their grant and take it to a homeless shelter, a nursing home and an after-school program in Palm Beach County to make reading come alive. The District 5 4-H Council will read books onto audiotapes and donate them to libraries and agencies in five counties including Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Columbia and Union. The Salt N’ Pepa 4-H Club in Pensacola will set up a “reading nook” at an outreach center serving needy youth and establish an after-school tutoring program.

Young people raised the money to fund the mini-grants. The State 4-H Council committed $1,500, raised mostly in pennies to match a $1,500 grant they received from MetLife through the National 4-H Council.

This is not the first time the council has awarded mini-grants. The council funded seven mini-grants last year with another grant from National 4-H Council. The projects funded literacy programs in a public housing project near Orlando, a homeless shelter in Fort Lauderdale, rural libraries in north central Florida and a literacy day camp for at-risk children.

Many 4-H clubs are performing service projects without the assistance of mini-grant funds. “One of the four H’s is hands, and 4-H members pledge their hands to serving the community,” said Marilyn Norman, assistant dean for 4-H programs in the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS).

“Studies show that young people who are provided with an opportunity to give back to the community and develop positive assets are less likely to engage in at-risk or unhealthy behaviors,” Norman said.

Adult organizers say young people participating in the project learn organizational skills, how to be good citizens and how to analyze and solve problems. “Service learning is good for both the young people conducting the project and the community that benefits from their efforts,” she said.

Service learning is not just an educational phenomenon that benefits middle class kids. Organizers say that service-learning experiences can help youth from low-income families develop self-reliance, teamwork, communication and leadership skills.

In Panama City Beach, a 4-H club in a public housing project is organizing to beautify its neighborhood, clean up the playground so it is safer for children and raise funds to buy a net for a basketball goal.

“We have seen a difference due to youth becoming involved as citizen leaders in community service through this program,” said Paula Davis, a Bay County 4-H agent with UF who conducted the program last year.

“The evaluations said that youth had a better understanding that they were directly responsible for their surroundings and a sense of ownership for their community,” Davis said. The youth club officers attended meetings with the chamber of commerce and a community planning meeting, giving youth a voice at the table alongside adults in community improvement.

Research shows that young people want to work with adults more in making their communities better. A 2001 study conducted by the National 4-H Council revealed that a majority of young people (63 percent) believe that adults and youth need to discuss community needs together.

“Young people tell us that they want to be part of the solution and contribute in meaningful ways to society,” said Norman, who is leading an effort to involve young people as partners more broadly throughout 4-H programs. “Young people are not just passive recipients of programs. They have a lot to give and offer, but adults have to ask.”

Founded in 1902 as an outreach to rural youth, 4-H has 60 million alumni and involves 28 percent of youth in America, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Florida 4-H is the youth development program of the Florida Cooperative Extension Service, which is part of UF/IFAS. 4-H worked with more than 271,000 youth ages 5-18 last year in Florida and is active in all 67 counties. For more information about Florida 4-H, visit www.florida4h.org and to volunteer call toll-free 1-866-4HCLUBS.

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