Come join in the fun at the Louisiana Operation: Military Kids Spring Camp Lagniappe. This camp is open to all military youth who are five to 18 years old. Activities will be planned for all age groups.

Sabine Parish 4-H members have been collecting goodies this season to wish the homeless animals at the Sabine Parish Humane Society a “Purr-fect Christmas from Furr-H!”

During their meeting on January 11, New York Life’s Youth in Governance 4-H Clubs at Success Preparatory Academy mapped their community. The activity was part of their curriculum in public adventures and designed to get the 4-H Club member to think about their community.

Shout out to VIET for celebrating MLK, Jr. Day by doing a day of service and helping beautify their community by planting trees and cleaning up the neighborhood!

Five Louisiana 4-H members recently returned from CWF. 4-H's premier summer national conference at the 4-H National Youth Conference Center in our nation's capital.

Grant 4-H donated Christmas wreaths to residents at Colfax Reunion Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

“What positive outcomes in youth, adults, and communities result from the presence of critical elements in a 4-H experience?” A group of evaluators reviewed the basic and applied research on characteristics of effective programs for youth development. From this process, eight essential elements were identified focusing on belonging, mastery, generosity and independence.

Agents can use these grant resources to fund pet-related service projects.

The State 4-H Citizenship Board is promoting a statewide pet food drive with donations to local animal shelters in each parish.

The Louisiana Sustainable Community Project, Reading to the HEART -- a partnership involving the LSU AgCenter and local agencies -- targets youth and families in two Louisiana parishes: Rapides and Madison. Drawing on the latest research in reading motivation, the projects seeks to help children develop specific reading development skills and also to educate parents and guardians on ways to support their children’s literacy advancement.

Program flyer for the Reading to the HEART program. Reading to the HEART is an exciting family reading program featuring computer technology projects, book discussions, arts & crafts projects, photography, scrapbooking and family portfolio development, and other family literacy events.

Are you looking for ways to stretch your technology budgets for literacy programs? Information on Web-based resources you can use in literacy programs, including lesson plans, computer project, online books, "the arts" and professional development are included in the PowerPoint presentation Stretch your technology budget: Using Web-based resources in literacy programs.

The purpose of the School-Home Links Reading Kit is to encourage greater family, school and community involvement in the education of children and to improve their skills and achievements in reading and other language arts.

During the reading challenge, participants may read on their own or with family or friends. Listening to someone else read -- in any language -- or reading to someone else also counts toward the total minutes children read books, newspaper or magazine articles, comic books, newsletters or other printed materials.

The RTTH Program is a partnership between the LSU AgCenter and local community and faith-based partners to bring the findings of evidence-based reading research to the educational community and families with an interest in helping all people learn to read well. As depicted in the research poster, logic modeling of the RTTH Program is helping us assess the effect of reading interventions on reading motivation and proficiency.

During the 2010 - 2011 year, members from all over the state have participated in service-learning projects. Take a look at the projects completed over the last year.

Each summer a Louisiana 4-H CWF Delegation heads to the National 4-H Youth Conference Center in Chevy Chase, Maryland. The Citizenship Washington Focus (CWF) conference gives 4-H youth the opportunity to explore, develop, and refine the civic engagement skills they need to be outstanding leaders in their home communities and at the national level.

Reflection is a very important part of the service-learning cycle. On this page, there are some resources and ideas to assist you in reflection. To read more...

The Back Pack Project provided nutritious, kid-friendly food items to over 200 youth in the Vernon Parish schools during the holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter/spring break. Back packs were filled with these items – peanut butter/crackers, cereals, fruit, juice, pudding cups, granola bars, etc.

Information about the service-learning cycle.

The celebration stage is the point on the service-learning cycle where you celebrate the accomplishments of your project. Take a look at the resources provided for ideas and assistance on celebration.

Come climb aboard the USS Kidd for an overnight experience for the whole family! The USS Kidd is a World War II destroyer that is docked in downtown Baton Rouge. This camp is open to all military youth five to eighteen years in age and accompanying adults.

The Lafayette 4-H Jr. Leadership group has working on an environmental service-learning effort since 2005 spurred by an evacuation of their Junior Leader planning retreat due to Hurricane Katrina. Initially the response was focused on response to human needs and has continuously developed with a strong emphasis on environmental restoration due to the impact of hurricanes.

The Green Teens of Calcasieu parish started as a result of the involvement of the Calcasieu 4-H Junior Leader club in a tri-parish service-learning effort called What Happens in the Environment Stays in the Environment! The 2007 original project involved 253 4-H youth leaders and 25 adult leaders from the tri-parish area. After the completion of the effort, a core group of teens thought there was still more learning and work to be done, thus the creation of The Green Teens.

The Cameron Parish 4-H Jr. Leader group is a teen group that focuses on leadership development and service. The group involves youth from throughout the parish and all parish high schools. The Cameron 4-H program always includes an environmental program through both educational and service efforts.

The group collaborated with local businesses to conduct the voter registration drive and the “get out the vote” campaign. Educational lessons were conducted on political propaganda, local elected officials and the effects of campaign materials on voters' decisions.

Youth produced videos as part of a Louisiana 4-H Operation Military Kids (OMK) educational program at Louisiana 4-H University (4-HU) Clover College. The educational video was produced by 4-H'ers and OMK youth to promote compassion for and awareness of the difficulties facing family members of U.S. military personel who have or will be deployed to combat zones.

To download file, right-click and select "Save Target As."

The Vernon Parish 4-H Teen Leader club won this year’s Service-Learning Group Award for their “Hulking Out Cancer” project. After learning that one of their 4-H members had lLeukemia and recognizing that many of their family and friends had either survived or died from cancer, the Vernon Parish 4-H’ers were motivated to raise funds and awareness for cancer education and research.

Join kids from across Louisiana for fun in the great outdoors. Each year, Operation: Military Kids organizes camping opportunities for the families of our military service members. Contact the LSU AgCenter 4-H OMK program coordinator for dates and details.

Here are 2011 State Service-Learning Records Competition winners.

The Jeff Davis and Lafayette 4-H Jr. Leaders were rewarded for their work throughout the 2009-2010 school year with an awards trip to San Antoino, Texas, from July 12-15, 2010. Jr. Leaders are involved in 4-H service projects in their parishes and assist 4-H events throughout the year to be able to attend the awards trip. To find out more...

In an effort to educate communities and garner support for military families, the 2011 4-H University Clover College hosted an educational track called “Lights, Camera, Action! -- Speak Out for Military Kids.” For the second year in a row, 4-H members had the opportunity to learn video-making skills and create public service announcements encouraging support for military families throughout Louisiana.

Louisiana Operation: Military Kids presents the Back to School Bash Camp. Campers will enjoy their time learning skills and participating in activities related to Science, Engineering, and Technology (S.E.T.). Possible subject areas will be movie makeup, robotics, wetlands, wind energy, and much more!! The camp will be filled with games and activities to gain a true camping experience.

Citizenship Impact Report

Webster 4-H Junior Leader Club members are pictured with March board game donations from parish schools to their "Rainy Day Box Collection" for 4-H Summer Camp.

The Crescent City Connections: Youth and Families with Promise mentoring program will focus on using mentoring, core values and common language to promote positive youth fevelopment through academic and social skills in youth ages 10-14 in a designated area in Orleans Parish.

Military families in Louisiana will hit the links on March 12 at The First Tee event at J.S. Clark Park in Baton Rouge. Sponsored by Louisiana 4-H, OMK and BREC, the parks and recreational agency in East Baton Rouge Parish, the day will bring together children with a parent or parents in the military to learn valuable life and golf skills. This event is free to all military families and youth.

Reasons to start a Hero Pack Service-Learning Project in your area.

This is a PowerPoint about Service-Learning to learn how you can make a difference in the youth in your parish and in the community.

Provides vision and goals of the 4-H Volunteer Leaders Association.

Youth from Tensas parish participated in the Tensas Community Garden service-learning project. The goal of this project is to gain cooperative and leadership skills and provide produce to the community. To find out more...

The Catahoula 4-H members participated in the Tobacco-free service-learning project. The goal of this project was to reduce the use of tobacco products among the students in Catahoula Parish as well as the general population. To learn more...

An initiative since 2005, Service-Learning is an important part of the Louisiana 4-H Youth Development Program and the LSU AgCenter. Learn more about service learning in 4-H.

It’s important that the service-learning project belongs to the participants and their community. Young people and community members should work together to identify community needs, plan service activities and evaluate the impact of the service-learning project.

As the service-learning project comes to a close, efforts need to be made to help youth continue to use their new knowledge and skills to make decisions, solve problems and grow as caring, contributing members of their communities.

Project monitoring is a very important part of the service-learning cycle. We must monitor our projects to keep them on the right track. To learn more...

Needs assessment is at the beginning of the service-learning cycle when we are attempting to figure out what our project is going to be. Learn more...

Here are some recommendations for adults who are participating in service-learning with youth.

Evaluation is a step of the service-learning cycle. It is where you evaluate the project and make changes where they are needed. To learn more, look at the following resources.

Service-learning is a teaching method that combines academic instruction, meaningful service and critical, reflective thinking to enhance learning and civic responsibility. Use this rubric to evaluate the progress of your service-learning project while you're doing it and once you've completed it.

The meaningful service checklist will help you to determine if you have met all of the hallmarks of meaningful service.

Service-Learning is a more meaningful process to the people involved than is community service. We must keep this in mind when conducting a service-learning project.

Here are some scenarios of meaningful service. To learn more...

Here is a resource of what makes service meaningful. Read to find out more...

You'll find the Service-Learning Preparation and Planning Sheet invaluable as you plan your next service-learning project. The sheet provides a framework for success for your service-learning project. .

This is the step in the service-learning cycle where we plan what needs to be done in the project and get adequate materials for it.

Here are some situations designed to provide an opportunity for you to think about and design effective service-learning projects to addresses the needs outlined in the situations.

It is important for youth to have the voice when it comes to service-learning. To learn more...