4-H Connects Mentorship Club

My name is Isabel Poorbaugh and I am serving as the 2021 Pennsylvania 4-H State Council Vice President of Events. Throughout the year, our team is celebrating our theme, "Be Different Together" and this month I wanted to highlight a new project area in my county to call attention to the diverse amount of project areas PA 4-H covers! This past year, Fayette County 4-H has developed a new program titled "4-H Connects"; a club that pairs mentors with youth from across the county to aid in learning activities. I reached out to the leader of this club, Robin Mowry, to see how this club is, "making the best better!"

4-H Connects Mentoring Club is led by Robin Mowry, and she is responsible for overseeing the club and leading lessons as well as activities the youth participate in. I asked Mowry for a summary of the club's history and purpose, and she said that 4-H Connects is a peer mentoring program that partners youth with adult/teen mentors. The club teaches its mentees to improve their decision-making skills as well as choose healthy behaviors.

The leaders and mentors began training in March of 2020 via Zoom due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With proper precautions, they were able to meet with the youth in-person in February of 2021, and since, the club has been able to meet twice a month. So far, they have discussed handling stress, practiced good decision-making skills, and learned how to handle peer pressure. The youth have taken hikes, and they even discussed pool safety. The target audience of the club is youth ages 8-12.

I asked Mowry what the future of 4-H Connects looks like and she told me that her end goal for the club is to help the youth become prepared for making wise choices and increase their social skills; she hopes to assist with stress and time management and help them gain confidence to navigate life successfully. The club also wants to provide the participating youth with friends and mentors that can help them navigate throughout the lessons. When asked about hardships Mowry has faced with the club's development, she said that her biggest struggle was finding ways to keep both the mentees and mentors interested and engaged in each lesson and activity while finding lessons that relate to the youth.

The 4-H Connects club is special and different from what 4-H members may have experienced before. 4-H Connects implements important life skills and educational topics into fun and engaging activities, whether it be hiking to a local historical landmark to learn more about their county, to juggling a balloon to represent "juggling" stress, 4-H Connects is helping the youth to grow and learn. 4-H Connects is not exclusive to existing 4-H members, youth are participating from local school districts and clubs as well, which then introduces them to the 4-H program.

4-H Connects is a wonderful opportunity for youth to learn from others and learn by doing. It is a new club in Fayette County and is welcoming to youth ages 8-12 from all over the county and is the perfect example of all the amazing opportunities PA 4-H has to offer.