4h creating community networks spring '11 newsletter

8/7/2019 4H Creating Community Networks Spring '11 Newsletter

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Food, Fun, and Cookies

CreatingCommUNITY

NETWORKSChester County/Spring 2011

Newsletter

Youth at Cedar Woods Community Center inKennett Square enjoyed the teamwork of makingand decorating homemade sugar cookies as anactivity with the afterschool nutrition and cookingprogram provided by 4-H Creating CommunityNetworks. The youth participated in 4-H and MyPyramid nutrition games, learned how to make their

own healthy trail mix and the dos and donts oftable etiquette. The Cedar Woods group also createdgift bags for the freshly made cookies to bring homeas holiday gifts for their families.

Dancing the Winter Blues AwayDuring the chilly days of January and February the beat of hip hop,

hands clapping and foot stomping could be heard after school Thursdaysat Park Spring Community Center in Spring City. Ursinis College

students Danielle Chmeweski and Gina Masciarelli in collaboration with4-H Creating Community Networks, challenged the Park Spring youthages 8 to 18 years, to move to the rhythm or create their own beats aspart of a weekly 4-H after school program instructing youth on nutritionand dance as a fun way to stay fit. Creative body movement, rhythmcircles, step/stomp dance, and hip hop moves got the youth moving andtransferred valuable lessons in self management, self confidence andteam work.

At the end of the program the group was asked if they thought dancewas hard. Most hands went up in agreement that dance required a lot ofpractice. When asked if they thought dance was fun, all hands went upand a roomful of smiles lit up the room.

Above: Park Spring youth created a rhythm circle which involves

each individual expressing a unique rhythmic beat until the whole

circle is participating at once. This activity along with dance helps

youth develop self-confidence and aural comprehension skills.


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4-H Creating Community Networks4-H Creating Community Networks served over1025 at-risk youth in Chester County in 2010. Our

collective organization of Chester County Extension4-H staff, volunteers and collaborators brought adiverse range of enrichment programming such asnutrition education, gardening, theater arts, dance,literacy and team sports to after school programsand off site summer day camps.

How We Serve

OutreachEducationCollaborationMobilization

Who

We

Serve

Staples/Kennett Square: $1,000.00 in-kind schoolfor suppliesHerr Foods Inc.: $1,000.00The BARD Foundation in Philadelphia: $3,000.00CCRES: $2,700.00

The November 11, 2010 2nd Annual Be ASweetheart Event (Adoption Fair): $4,535.00Robert and Jennifer McNeil and the SpringbankFoundation: $10,000.00Phoenixville Community HealthFoundation: $8,000.00CARing For Kids Foundation and, Concordville

Nissan * Subaru : $18,000.00 in-kindcontribution of new winter coats

4H Care Packages: $3,000.00Stroud Water Research and West ChesterUniversity National Science Foundation GrantAward: In-Kind staffing support for two WCUcollege students.Pet Supplies Plus Store #9044, Avondale, Pa:In-Kind Donation of $1,000.00 in pet foodThe American Mushroom Institute: $1,500.001675 Foundation: $8,000.00Pottstown Area Health & WellnessFoundation: $10,000.00Marshall-Reynolds Foundation: $5,000.00

The Oxford Area Foundation: $125.00The Law Firm of Perna & Albracht: $400.00

Donors

4H Creating Community Networks programs are entirely supported on the financial investment and generosity of foundations,corporations, businesses and individual donors, since 2005. 4H CCN programs serve the most needy and underprivileged children, youthand families in Chester County. There is no other program like 4H CCN in building teams of service providers that reach out to isolatedindividuals and families. The 4H CCN Program budget for 2011 is $137,000.00. Wont you join our team in 2011 to make a financial giftto 4H Creating Community Networks? Help us to make our budget goal by May 1, 2011. To make a contribution for 2011, please makeyour check out to (Chester County Cooperative Extension) and mail to: Laurie Szoke, 4H CCN, Chester County Cooperative Extension,601 Westtown Rd, Suite 370, West Chester, PA 19380. All contributions are tax deductable. Thank you for your support!

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!


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Penn State Graduate joinsChester County Extension

Katie Poppiti recently joined ourExtension staff in March. She is a 2009Penn State College of Ag Sciencesgraduate. Katie interned with the 4-HCreating Community Networks programin the summer of 2008. She is currentlycoordinating the 4-H EmbryologyProgram. She will also be working withsome other 4-H programs over the nextseveral months including Pony Partners

4-H Club as wellas the Avon Grove

CommunityGardens. Katiehopes to educatesome new 4-Hmembers ingardening andnutrition throughthe work with thecommunity gardens.She also wants tohelp more youth

become aware of families who are in needof food sources within their communitiesand how gardening education can help

them create their own food sources. Katieis also excited to share her love of horseswith 4-H Pony Partners students as theygain knowledge about horses andconfidence working and interactingaround horses/ponies.

New 4-H Horse Club to startin Spring 2011

Pony Partners is a 4-H Horse club thatwas designed for students who would notnormally have the opportunity to interactwith horses.

Students will be learning about horses

and gaining basic horse skills throughhands on interaction with horses. Theywill have the opportunity to work directlywith the horses at least once per session.

Each student will be completing a 4-Hproject to present at the 4-H Fair.Our program runs April to October.

If you have any question about theprogram, registrations or Schedulingcall or email:

Amy [email protected]

Camps and Summer Programs

GSEP /4H Anson B Nixon ParkCamp ~ June 20-24ECO Camp at The Garage YouthCenter in Kennett Square~ June 20-244H CCN Program Sites

~ June 27-August 19Chester County 4H Romano CenterFair ~ August 8-13Chester County Fair Tours August9th & 10th

Page 3Creating Community Networks

Jasmine Townsend, Shaila Tucker and Wanitta Berry areLincoln University seniors who will graduate with a BS in SocialService through the department of Sociology and Anthropologyand, have been participating in an internship through 4H CreatingCommunity Networks since September 2010. Jasmine, Shaila,Wanitta and, Ashley Valle (who graduated in December 2010)worked with the Kennett Middle School After The Bell program,with intergenerational activities with the residents of the FriendsHome in Kennett, with the Lincoln Community Association 4Hclub, with the CCIU Migrant Education Program at two locationsin Oxford at the Church of the Immovable Boulder and, at the Not-tingham Elementary School.

Jasmine Townsends home town is Bronx, New York and, herfuture career goals include being a guidance counselor or juvenileprobation officer. Her favorite subjects are math and human ser-vices and, her favorite sport is basketball. Her favorite hobbies areshopping and Internet brows-ing. Jasmine would like to work to

create opportunities for people toknow less violence and poverty. Jas-mines philosophy is, to help youthand people in general and, to encour-age everyone day to day to be thebest that they can be! Jasminesmost memorable moment was her 1stday at Lincoln University.

Wanitta Monique Berrys home town is Brooklyn, New Yorkand, her future career goals include being an administrator for chil-drens services and, a Clinical Psychologist. Wanittas most

memorable moment was her highschool graduation. Her favorite

subject is English and, her favoritehobbies are writing and singing.Wanitta would like to make a dif-ference in the world through workin curing those diseases that mostaffect the lives of children. Herphilosophy for life is, to be anadvocate for children with mental disabilities.

Shaila R. Tuckers home town is New Ha-ven, Connecticut and, her future career goalsinclude being a Criminologist, working withthe FBI and/or working with juvenile at riskyouth who are in trouble with the law. Shailasmost memorable moment was her seniorprom. Her favorite subjects are English and

Social Science and, her favorite hobbies are reading, friends, shop-ping and texting. Shaila would like to work to make a differencein the world by changing the perception of racism and, to changethinking from violence to peace. Shailas philosophy is,Honestly, I would just like to have a positive impact on some-ones life. If I could help just one person make a positive change,then I will have fulfilled my purpose.

We thankJasmine, Shaila, Ashlee and Wanitta for all of theircontributions to the Chester County 4H program in creating com-munity networks and to the organizations of COSECHA.

Lincoln Interns Study to Make a Difference

Whats Newand Up Ahead in 4-H CCN


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Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences research and extension programs are funded in part by Pennsylvania counties, the Commonwealth of Pennsyl-

vania, and the U. S. Department of Agriculture.

Visit Penn State Extension on the web: extension.psu.edu

Where trade names appear, no discrimination is intended, and no endorsement by Penn State Cooperative Extension is implied.

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16802-5901: Tel 814-865-4700/V, 814-863-1150/TTY.

When the call went out to the Girl Scouts of theBrandywine Valley Service Unit for them to adopt familiesin need this past holiday season, the girls did their best to getthe message out to the community. Families served by theChester County Health Department, Chester CountyDepartment of Human Services, Chester CountyIntermediate Unit Migrant Education Program and 4HCreating Community Networks, were given the gift of hopethrough the kindness and committed efforts of Girl Scoutsand their families in the Brandywine Valley.

Several troops were able to step up and adopt families,while others who had already committed to helping throughanother agency, donated what they could to families.

A parent from one of the troops circulated the 'wish list'through the Waterford neighborhood of Chadds Ford.Thanks to the generosity of many, the 'wish lists' werefilled in time for the holidays!

The Brandywine Valley Service Unit also conducts a 'BabyBundle' collection in the spring which benefits mothers andbabies who are served by a number of organizationsincluding 4H CCN. The girls stand outside of local drug andgrocery stores requesting donations of baby items (formula,cereal, food, clothing and diapers) and, package them up to bedistributed throughout the community. Many troops have 'babyshowers' where they collect items on their own. This programhas been successful in this area for the past ten years. The spring

Baby Bundles collection is scheduled for Sunday, April 3

rd

.The service unit has also begun to network with other agency'sin the area to run Fill the Needevents, where donations to avariety of organizations doing good work in the community arecollected and, volunteers get to socialize and brainstorm witheach other about solving issues within the area. When thesegroups work together, pulling their resources, the community ona whole benefits. A Fill The Needevent was held on October 1st

at the Kennett Friends Home, hosted by Patrice Bradour,Activities Director and Karen DAgusto, GSEP Service Unit

Manager, and benefitted the Kennett Food Cupboard, Tree TopsAnimal Rescue (Landenberg), the Kennett Family Center of the

Chester County Maternal Child Health Consortium and, FluffysBlankets, a project of 4H Creating Community Networks.The girls, their families, volunteers and staff of Girl Scouts of

Eastern Pennsylvania and, the Brandywine Service Unit, havebuilt a bridge of giving and care that is now a tradition ofcommunity in helping organizations to collaborate in reachingout to help.

Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania BrandywineService Unit Reaches Out to Families

Above (left to right): Brandywine Valley Service Unit Girl Scouts Kelsey Walden,

Nicole Bernstein, and Alexandra Abram help collect and organize baby care items to

be distributed to families in need through out the local Chester County community.

4h creating community networks spring '11 newsletter

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