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Program Benefits and Accomplishments

Oregon Outreach, State-Strengthening Project, September 1997 - September 2002

Oregon Outreach is a project focusing on the ability of the Oregon State University Extension Service to connect with and involve the Latino community in the design, implementation, and evaluation of community-based educational programs for Latino youth. The project began in 1997 with funding received from a five-year State-Strengthening Project Grant funded by Families, 4-H and Nutrition, CSREES, USDA, Washington, DC. The activities reported below reflect the timeframe encompassed by the grant. Latino Outreach activities of the OSU Extension Service continue to be sustained and have expanded to include other counties and communities throughout the state.

Human Resource Benefits to Communities

• Educational program benefits to nearly 2,250 Latino youth and 600 Latino adults.
• Training benefits for about 80 Extension staff and 325 volunteers.
• Volunteer experience for about 375 adult and 250 youth volunteers; work experience for 14 student interns.
• Nearly 13,500 hours contributed by adult and youth volunteers.

Funding Benefits to Support Educational Programming

• $791,254 from a CYFAR grant to support programming for Latino youth and families.
• $499,225 from additional grants and gifts to support program efforts.

Benefits from Program Implementation and Delivery

• Demonstration sites established in four counties; small grants given to eight other counties.
• Four bilingual, bicultural staff positions created; a minimum of 4.6 FTE of state and local staff annually devoted to programming for Latino youth and families.
• Latino youth account for 22% of the 4-H club enrollment in the 3 counties involved in Oregon Outreach since the program began (compared to a pre-program enrollment of 5%).
• Community partnerships formed with more than 50 agencies and organizations having Latino interests; connections made with Latino programs on the OSU campus.
• Two community collaborations formed to address needs of Latino youth and families.
• Technical assistance in program planning, evaluation, volunteerism, and computer technology made available to county support staff.
• Staff experience gained in assessing needs and assets; building community support; and designing, delivering, and evaluating culturally appropriate programs.
• County and state project staff participates annually in national CYFAR conferences.

Expanded Resources in State and County Extension Offices

• Computers and other technological equipment to promote connectivity.
• 4-H informational and recruitment literature and video, member and leader forms, volunteer applications, and other organizational materials in Spanish.
• Materials relating to youth curriculum, cultural awareness, and program evaluation.
• Demographic data relating to Latino youth and families.
• Focus group data concerning programming for Latino youth and families and recruiting and supporting Latino volunteers.
• Access to CYFERNet program information and support.

Original Materials Produced

• Recruiting and Supporting Volunteers, OSU Extension publication.
• Bienvenidos a 4-H , 4-H informational and recruitment video in Spanish.
• 4-H Welcomes You!/Bienvenidos a 4-H!, bilingual promotional brochure.
• Curriculum materials for Web Wizards, Studio DV, Video Project Planning, and Summer Day Camp.
• Oregon Outreach website, designed to provide youth development professionals with information about the project and to make available resources for working with Latino youth (http://osu.orst.edu/extension/4h/oregonoutreach)
• A series of videos produced by the Video and Media Arts project.
• Bilingual club leaders' kits (tub of resource materials and binder in English/Spanish.
• Cómo a Comprar una Computadora (How to Buy a Computer), video/tv/streamed on the Internet.
• Bilingual website for sharing 4-H Web Wizards curriculum and technical expertise (http://www.4-hwebwizards.org).

Staff Development Programs Offered

• Building Bridges of Communication with Latinos, two-day workshop for Oregon Outreach staff, but open to others.
• Working with Latino Audiences, one-day workshop for Oregon Outreach staff and others.
• Extension Efforts to Reach Latino Youth and Adults, four-hour workshop for Oregon staff.
• Working with Latino Youth and Families, five-hour workshop for Oregon Outreach staff, but open to others.

Project Experiences Shared with Others

• Four presentations at annual conferences of the National Association of Extension
  4-H Agents.
• Six workshops, six poster sessions, and two round tables at national CYFAR (Children, Youth, and Families at Risk) conferences.
• Diversifying the Volunteer Base: Latinos and Volunteerism, article published in the Journal of Extension, 39 (4).
• Evaluating Latino Outreach Programs with Attention to Cultural Factors, paper presented at the national conference of the American Evaluation Association.
• Numerous project documents contributed to the national CYFERNET website, which also includes several hot links to the Oregon Outreach website.
• Two posters at the V2K: Volunteerism Beyond 2000 national conference.
• Presentation at the state Caesar Chavez Conference.
• One workshop and two posters at OSU Extension Annual Conferences.
• Two workshops at PNW Youth and Family Staff Development Conferences.
• Two presentations at the 4-H/Family and Community Development Conference.
• Two presentations at the 2001 Oregon Youth Development Conference.
• One seminar and one poster at 4-H staff development conferences.
• One workshop at the Northwest Mentoring Summit in Seattle.
• Two Oregon Outreach projects featured in both the 1999 and 2000 CYFAR Annual Reports.
• Two 1-hour presentations on local community access television.
• Youth-produced video submitted to the juried Northwest Film Festival.
• Numerous presentations to local parent, teacher, and civic and other organizations and groups, including six presentations on Latinos and volunteerism.

Expertise of Project Staff and Youth Recognized

• Oregon Outreach is invited to partner with Latino-service organizations and agencies.
• Other states request project information and materials.
• Project Director is guest lecturer for a North Carolina State University graduate class.
• Two project staff serve on the OSU Extension Diversity Committee.
• Intel endorses 4-H Web Wizards as a model program for other Intel sites.
• Youth from the 4-H Web Wizards and Video and Media Arts clubs presented workshop sessions at the 1999 and 2002 CYFAR National Conferences.
• Two 4-H Web Wizards participants asked to serve on two national 4-H leadership councils.
• 4-H Web Wizards developed a companion website for the PBS series, Conquistadors, that aired in November 2000 and May 2001.
• 4-H Web Wizards participated in the national launch of the CyberSeniors/CyberTeens initiative in 2001.
• The Oregon Outreach Project received the NAE4HA Diversity Award, presented at the organization's 2001 national conference.
• Hermandad Latina teen members were recognized in 2002 for community service related to their involvement in a soup kitchen, a community energy project, and a summer program for pre-school and elementary school youth-an award was presented at a Portland Fire (Women's Basketball) Game.
• A 4-H Web Wizards teen was one of 18 young people in the U.S. selected to participate in the AT&T Youth Leadership Program in recognition of community service efforts.
• 4-H Web Wizards youth presented a workshop at the 2002 National 4-H Technology Conference in Minneapolis.
• 4-H Web Wizards received the NetGeneration Congressional Youth Service Award in Washington, DC, in 2002.
• 4-H Web Wizards received the NAE4HA Educational Technology Award in 2002.

Organizational Change Impacted by Project

• Project activities served as a catalyst for increasing and maintaining OSU Extension's attention to diversity issues.
• OSU Extension administration hired a state diversity specialist as the result of a proposal submitted by the Oregon Outreach staff development committee.
• OSU Extension Communications dedicates staff time to support the development of publications in Spanish.
• Results of the CYFAR Organizational Change Survey, first administered in 1997 and again in 2001, showed positive trends related to overall project goals.
• Key accomplishments occurred in terms of integrating Latino Outreach programming into base Extension programs.
• Substantial progress made in institutionalizing components of locally delivered programs to help ensure their sustainability.
• Other program areas and sites reach out to Latino audiences, encouraged by Oregon Outreach success and support.