Governor's Conservation Achievement Award
As a result of the impact that hurricanes Katrina and Rita brought to Louisiana, Lafayette Parish 4-H Junior Leaders reacted with a wonderful service-learning project. After Hurricane Katrina devastated the southeastern part of the state, the Lafayette 4-H Junior Leaders came together to assess the needs of the suddenly bigger population of Lafayette due to evacuees. They were not able to volunteer in the shelters themselves due to age requirements, but they found additional ways to assist people. They teamed together with The Family Tree counseling services to distribute 5,000 Hurricane HERO Courageous Kids packets. Then, Hurricane Rita hit a little closer to home for these Junior Leaders. The group came together to discuss the needs of the community.
Next, the planning began. It was decided to create a network with 4-H'ers in Cameron Parish who were directly impacted by the storm. The 4-H members were given a tour of the devastated area and introduced to the stages of grief, listened to personal testimonials and asked questions exploring their feelings based on being present in a disaster.
First, the 4-H Junior Leaders assembled packets on managing stress in times of crisis for the students in the Cameron Parish School System and their families. The next effort was the livestock project. At the parish and district livestock shows, a livestock and horse equipment drive was conducted, and at the state show, the supplies were distributed to Cameron Parish exhibitors. Cameron Parish 4-H'ers were invited to attend Lafayette Parish events since many of their activities were cancelled due to the storm. Lafayette 4-H Junior Leaders also raised money for Cameron Parish 4-H'ers to attend such events as 4-H Camp and 4-H University. In addition to what Lafayette 4-H Junior Leaders accomplished by themselves, they teamed up with Bob Thibodeaux to participate in the Acorns of Hope project in which they planted acorns in Cameron Parish along the coastline.
Members participated in the Hurricane Rita Anniversary Celebration sponsored by the America's Wetlands Campaign. This celebration was a chance for the 4-H'ers to let people know about the progress that was made. Periodically, there was reflection throughout the project. It was focused on disaster-related topics. Students shared experiences through group settings, interviews and personal journals; there was also an online evaluation completed.
Lafayette Parish had an article published in the Clover Corner News in result of this project. Below is the link to the article: http://4hblogs.org/ccn/archives/2009/04/lafayette-4hers.html
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