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Other County Programs

Benton County

Contact: Tammy Skubinna

The Fiesta Mexican 4-H Dance Club, now in its fifth year, performed 12 times in 2007, including at the Corvallis Fall Festival, the Albany Art & Air Show, the Benton County Fair, and at church, school, and university events.  Other 4-H activities included the Day of the Dead celebration and the recruitment of Latino youth for the 4-H Teen club.

In the spring of 2004 and 2005, the 4-H agent worked with a group of Latino students who organized a Latino fashion show at their high school.  Funds raised were for 4-H scholarships for graduating Latino students.  In 2006 four $500 scholarships were given.

To foster relations with the Latino community, the 4-H agent participates as a member of the Linn-Benton Hispanic Advisory Committee.

Clackamas County

Contact: Janet Nagele

The Clackamas County 4-H Latino Outreach program continued to expand in 2006. In addition to the Soccer Club, after school program, and traditional regional and statewide events, the program introduced new opportunities. In early 2006 the program received generous funding from the Weyerhaeuser Foundation to start a natural resource career exploration program for middle school and high school youth. The Weyerhaeuser program enrolled 15 members who participated in events such as overnight educational campouts to local forests and field trips to Oregon State University to learn about the College of Forestry and the career fields its graduates are prepared to enter.

The Outreach program also started a community Latino culture club in Sandy at the Sandy Vista apartment community. The club offers several culturally relevant projects such as piñata making, Mexican embroidery, and other textile projects. The club is working on setting up a booth at the Clackamas County fair where they can hold a fundraiser for their club.

Another new project for the program is the Clackamas County 4-H Forestry Club. This club is a culturally and racially integrated club made up of traditional 4-H members and Latino Outreach members. The club is focusing on learning forestry skills for the 4-H Forestry Field Day competition in October and plant identification for a forest plant pressing project for county fair. The club also takes educational field trips to local forests.

In early 2007, 4-H entered into a partnership with Baker Prairie Middle School in Canby. A community club has been started with the intent of teaching Latino youth and families life skills as well as familiarizing them with and making them more comfortable with the public school system.  The club is still in its beginning stages hosting open gyms and movie nights, but it will begin to take on other projects soon.

A new approach to outreach programming for the summer of 2007 will be the involvement of two teachers from Mexico. Clackamas County 4-H will host two teachers for the month of June.  The Mexican teachers will work with classroom teachers at the Baker Prairie Middle School, facilitating Latino family connections with the school and  helping teachers to become more culturally competent. Approximately one third of the school enrollment is Latino. In addition, the Mexican teachers will work with the two Latino community clubs in the areas of soccer, folkloric dance, and cultural arts. It is hoped that Clackamas County will be able to reciprocate the exchange by sending 4-H staff and teachers from the middle school to Mexico in the winter of 2008.

Hood River County

Contact: Jesus Acosta

About 15 youth are currently involved in the 4-H Hood River Mexican Folkloric Dance Club which performs often at public events throughout the area, including the county fair.  The 4-H Art Club teaches the fundamentals of art to youth.  It gives youth a chance to practice and enhance their art skills and also provides an in-depth view and history of selected artists, past and present. Visits to local galleries and art museums are made to show youth the many ways artists express themselves. The 4-H Photography Club offers youth the opportunity to learn the basics of camera operation and how to take good quality pictures.

Morrow County

Contact: Bill Broderick

The agent works with the Umatilla County Extension agent and others to plan and implement the Attitudes for Success Multicultural Leadership Conference targeted to Hispanic youth in grades 6-12. About 280 youth annually attend the conference, which provides a series of educational workshops addressing leadership and community action, communication skills, college life, study skills, and career exploration. In addition to workshops, college recruiters, area technical training schools, military branches, and other agencies provide educational and career information.

Umatilla County

Contact: Patricia Dawson

Umatilla County 4-H is partnering with area schools and the Educational Service District Migrant Education Program to organize and conduct 4-H project clubs for Latino youth in grades 4-12. Currently, 4-H sewing and expressive arts clubs are in place. 4-H also reaches Latino youth by delivering educational activities in partnership with local after school programs.

Every spring Umatilla County 4-H joins with neighboring Morrow County 4-H to host the Attitudes for Success Multicultural Leadership Conference. Latino youth in grades 6-12 join together in the one-day conference, participating in a variety of workshops. The primary goal of the conference is to encourage youth to stay in school, graduate, and pursue continued education. A secondary goal is to increase awareness of the opportunities available to Latino youth in their communities and how they can use their leadership skills to make positive contributions to those communities.

Updated March 2006.