In honor of National 4-H Week, we heard from the club leader for the Country Slickers 4-H Club, Lisa Sprangers who is also serving on the Wisconsin 4-H Leadership Council.
The Country Slickers club consists of about 30 members and they’re a little unique compared to other clubs in Outagamie County because they don’t have any youth who come from a farm, but they’re still in 4-H. This goes to show that the demographic of the organization is drastically changing and opening up to more urban settings.
Even though none of her members come from farms, they still have the chance to show animals at the fair with the help of local farmers who let the kids borrow animals. Besides the animal side of it, there’s plenty more that 4-H can offer. She explained that the project opportunities available to the kids are almost endless. Not only that but there are also great community service aspects her club tries to implement as well.
The Country Slickers have helped ring bells during Christmas time, helped collect food for a local food pantry, assisted in packaging meals and other useful products for those in need, and more. She said that this year they haven’t had the chance to do as much volunteer work as in the past, but they’re working on it.
Sprangers explains that the benefits kids can get from joining a club can be huge. For example, she explained how the first time she got up to speak in front of a crowd, she was only up there for a short period of time and no one could really hear her. After some time in 4-H, her confidence level has lifted dramatically and she has improved her public speaking skills significantly. “Some others have gained leadership, they know how to problem-solve, and a lot of life skills,” she said.
For more 4-H information, please contact your local UW-Extension office. You can listen to the full interview on our agriculture podcast page.
