Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Gurdon 4-H gets involved with community activities

When Gurdon 4-H Leader Linda Calley looked for ideas for a community service project for her group, she found that most of the suggestions were going to difficult, given the wide range of ages and interests of the children involved.

When sending packages to troops was mentioned, Calley said she jumped on the idea.

"This is something the all understand," she said. "It's good for the community and it's good for the kids."

4-H is a youth development program conducted by the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service. According to information from 4-H, leaders are trained by the county Extension Office. The leaders then focus activities on "leadership, citizenship and skills children will use throughout their lives."

4-H is typically associated with raising animals for show in local fairs, but children are also encouraged to participate in other community service projects.

Calley said she got involved with forming a Gurdon chapter because four of the children interested are her grandchildren. The local group meets monthly at the Gurdon Municipal Building at 6 p.m. on the last Monday of the month. The May meeting has been moved to May 24 because of Memorial Day.

There are usually around 20 members at the Gurdon meetings.

The 4-H Mission is to provide opportunities for youth to acquire knowledge, develop life skills, form attitudes and practice behavior that will enable them to become self-directing, productive and contributing members of society.

Calley said the local club has done a number of craft projects since its inception, all at the expense of Calley and her assistant leaders. When the group decided to send something to the troops, that expense was also borne by the leaders, including more than $50 in postage to mail the items.

Calley said the children made scripture bracelets of beads and leather. They also made cards for 140 people in the military. An assortment of candy finished out the package for mailing.

Calley said the Gurdon 4-H club plans to do another mailing later this summer. Among the most common requests of troops are socks and "any American food," Calley said. She said they are stocking up on Ramen noodles to send with the next packages.

For more information about the local 4-H, contact one of the local leaders, the Clark County Extension Office or Calley at 353-2170.

The 4-H Emblem is a four-leaf clover with the letter "H" on each leaf. The letters in the emblem stand for Head, Heart, Hands and Health - the foundation of all 4-H programs.

The 4-H pledge is: "I pledge my head to clear thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hand to larger service and my health to better living for my club, my community, my country and my world."