Bexar County youth give back to community during One Day 4-H

Thousands of Texas 4-H’ers involved in hundreds of community service projects statewide

Writer: Paul Schattenberg, 210-859-5752, paschattenberg@ag.tamu.edu

Contact: Dr. Toby Lepley, 979-845-1211, t-lepley@ag.tamu.edu

Dr. Melinda Garcia, 210-631-0400, Melinda.Garcia@ag.tamu.edu

SAN ANTONIO – As 4-H club members and adult volunteers from Bexar County participated in One Day 4-H community service projects in and around San Antonio earlier this month, their counterparts throughout the state were engaged in similar projects, said Texas 4-H coordinators.

“One Day 4-H is a statewide community service initiative of Texas 4-H, which is administrated by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service,” said Dr. Toby Lepley, state specialist for Texas 4-H Youth Development, College Station. “One Day 4-H, which this year was Oct. 7, was the culmination of annual National 4-H Week activities. It was the day designated for 4-H clubs from around the state to join in a day of service to their community.”

Lepley said each year thousands of Texas 4-H youth, adult leaders and volunteers throughout the state participate in hundreds of community service projects statewide as part of One Day 4-H.

“During this day, 4-H clubs across the state showcase the variety of opportunities 4-H offers to  young people and highlight the work the organization does to make a positive impact on the state’s young people and their communities,” he said. “It also provides us an opportunity to do something positive for these communities as a way to say ‘thank you’ for their support.”

Lepley said last year almost 10,000 youth and adults affiliated with or working in collaboration with 4-H clubs from throughout the state contributed more than 15,000 volunteer hours valued at more than $350,000 by participating in at least 158 projects statewide.

“An estimated 106,722 people were reached or benefited from these projects,” he said. “About 20 tons of food were collected from several food drives and 4,465 care packets worth $35,000 were assembled for victims of flooding in Louisiana. More than 10 miles of roads and beach areas were cleaned and more than a ton of trash and recycling materials were collected. 4-H’ers also collected $12,918.44 in monetary donations for various nonprofit groups or causes and provided $6,986 worth of in-kind donations.”

Lepley said other One Day 4-H projects included visiting senior centers, helping at animal shelters and providing hygiene and comfort items for the homeless.

“The help our members and adult volunteers provided to Louisiana flood victims last year and to those affected by Hurricane Harvey this year shows they are aware of the variety of needs in Texas and beyond and are ready to pitch in when a disaster strikes,” Lelpey said.

This year in Bexar County, 4-H members and adult leaders were involved in activities ranging from cleaning windows to assembling relief packs to renovating tables and weeding gardens.

“We had about 60 kids from the Children, Youth and Families At-Risk, or CYFAR, program  and the Juntos 4-H program meet up with youth in the Knights 4-H Club at St. John Berchmans to clean that school’s windows, Giving Garden and athletic field,” said Dr. Melinda Garcia, AgriLife Extension program coordinator, Bexar County. “Community service is a cornerstone of the 4-H program, and these young people worked together to give back to their community.”

Garcia said 4-H emphasizes community service and strives to help young people understand and try to help those less fortunate.

Leo Trevino, program coordinator for Juntos 4-H at Leal Middle School and Harlandale High School, brought about 30 youth from that program to help at St. John Berchmans.

“One of the greatest gifts you can give is the gift of your time,” Trevino said. “These kids are spending a Saturday — when they might be watching TV or going to volleyball or football practice — cleaning windows, plucking weeds and picking up trash.”

Natalie Cervantes, AgriLife Extension 4-H youth development agent for Bexar County, said as part of One Day 4-H activities clubs throughout the county worked together to organize drives to collect items and assemble relief packs for Hurricane Harvey recovery.

“These 4-H’ers got the items together and put together about 300 relief packs, which included bottled water, snacks, bandages and bug spray, and delivered them to Shine Bible Fellowship in Katy, which was designated as a relief distribution site,” she explained. “These packs were distributed to relief workers who were helping with various Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts.”

In St. Hedwig, east of San Antonio, more than a dozen 4-H members and adult volunteers sanded and painted outdoor picnic tables at the local American Legion Hall, which they also use for  monthly meetings.

Debra Rayl, St. Hedwig 4-H club manager, participated in and helped coordinate the project.

“The younger kids sanded with sandpaper and adults used electric sanders to strip the tables,” She noted. “We got some of the smaller kids to paint the sides with rollers and the rest of us painted the tabletops and benches. We painted them red, and now they look a whole lot better.”

Two of Rayl’s children also participated in the project.

“I grew up in 4-H and now my children are part of the 4-H family,” Rayl said. “Ever since their first animal project five years ago, I’ve told them this is your chance to be responsible for something other than yourself. That idea of doing things for others is an important part of becoming a responsible person.”

Rayl said the St. Hedwig 4-H club also approved a $100 donation toward Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.

“Other projects from the Bexar County area included the Helotes 4-H club setting up an activity at the Buddy Walk for Kids and 4-H members in Greater Ball participating in a garden cleanup at Greater Ball Tabernacle Church,” Cervantes said.

For more information on One Day 4-H go to http://texas4-h.tamu.edu/events/oneday/.

To learn more about Texas 4-H, go to http://www.4-H.org or connect to Facebook at www.facebook.com/4-H or Twitter at https://twitter.com/4H.