The Georgia 4-H S.A.F.E. Program hosted the largest BB Gun competition in the NAtion on Saturday, May 1, 2010 at Rock Eagle 4-H Center.

Georgia 4-H Facts & Information

4-H in Georgia is a unit of the University of Georgia (UGA), College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES), Cooperative Extension programs.

• UGA CAES has a County Extension Office in 158 of Georgia’s 159 counties
• 4-H is delivered by County Extension Agents, Program Assistants and Volunteers Leaders
• 94 county Extension Agents (UGA Public Service Faculty) are funded by State funds.
• County Extension 4-H Programs are also supported by local County Boards of Commissioners, Boards of Education, and private funding received from local businesses and private donors.
• At the state 4-H level, Georgia 4-H employs approximately 105 full-time positions. Of these, 14 are paid from state funds. The remainder are paid through generated fees at the 4-H Centers,  private donations and grants made available through the Georgia 4-H Foundation.

Mission:        To assist youth in acquiring knowledge, developing life skills and forming attitudes that will enable them to become self-directing, productive and contributing citizens.

Core Values:   Citizenship                
                      Leadership
                      Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
                      Communication
                      Family and Consumer Science

Current Issue Focus:  Healthy Living
                                Science, Engineering & Technology
                                Civic Engagement

Essential Elements of 4-H:  Mastery, Generosity, Belonging, Independence
to learn more:  http://georgia4h.org/main/headlines/fullstory.cfm?HeadlineID=83&imagefile=mudboy%2Ejpg

There are 156,000 4-H members in the state of Georgia in ages 9 through 19:

4-H Builds Life Skills

• Since 2000, 92% of 4-H members graduated high school as opposed to the state average of about 78%.
• Nationally  there are over seven million young people involved in the 4-H program which is the largest youth development organization in America.
• 4-H faculty taught healthy lifestyles to more than 175,000 youth last year.
• 4-H faculty made over 40,000 contacts with financial literacy programming.

Georgia 4-H operates five 4-H centers in Georgia: 
Rock Eagle 4-H Center, Eatonton
Wahsega 4-H Center, Dahlonega
Fortson 4-H Center, Hampton
Burton 4-H Center on Tybee Island
Jekyll Island 4-H Center

• The Georgia 4-H Centers served over 103,000 Georgia 4-H Club members and other citizens during the past fiscal year
• Less than 15% of the Georgia 4-H Centers’ operating budgets is derived from public dollars
• The remainder of the operating is derived from fee generation or from private donations
• Over 37,000 young people participated in hands-on, experiential learning experiences at one of the five Georgia 4-H Centers last year
• Nearly 10,000 young people participated in a summer camping program at one of the Georgia 4-H Centers last summer.

Key Programs:

• Georgia has the largest 4-H military youth enrollment of any state in the country
• Georgia 4-H, in cooperation with the US Department of Defense, works closely with military youth and families at all the major military bases in our state.
• 4-H Project Achievement  engages 10,000 youth annually in a process where 4-H members learn public speaking skills, do research, prepare illustrated talks, keep a portfolio of their accomplishments, and present an oral presentation. The skills learned in 4-H are used by individuals in the workforce every day.
• Georgia 4-H partners with Georgia FFA and the UGA Animal & Dairy Science Department to provide opportunities to Georgia’s youth to learn responsibility through livestock projects, programs and judging events. Yearly, nearly 2,400 young people complete a year long process to prepare over 4,500 animals for exhibition at the Georgia Junior National Livestock Show and other competitive events
• Nearly 5,000 youth participate in 4-H Project S.A.F.E. (Shooting Awareness, Fun and Education) Program annually. These young people learn concentration, sportsmanship and teamwork and are led by over 1,000 trained volunteers who give of their individual time to benefit youth.
• The 4-H program utilizes volunteers at local and state levels to implement the programs of Georgia 4-H. There are currently over 5,900 certified 4-H volunteers in Georgia that help the 94 county Extension agents deliver the 4-H program to 156,000 young people.
• On a biennial basis the Georgia Youth Summit bringing together 800 of Georgia’s brightest young people to seek their ideas on issues young people see facing our state. These issues and concerns are shared with public officials in Georgia who make policy which shapes the future of our state.

The Georgia 4-H Environmental Education (EE) Program:
As a part of Georgia 4-H, EE serves as a partner in education with public, private, and home school groups across Georgia and the Southeast.  The high-quality, research-based education programs are taught in the context of the real world environment at the five 4-H Centers. From the mountains to the sea, the Georgia 4-H Environmental Education Program is often recognized for its ability to bring school concepts to life and connect students to the natural world using the outdoors as a classroom without walls.  Georgia 4-H Environmental Education has an emphasis in the sciences, and complements history/social studies, language arts, and mathematics, and promotes team building, skill development, communication, and relationships. During the 2008-09 school year, the five 4-H Centers across Georgia reached over 37,000 participants and since its inception in 1979, the total program has served over 800,000 participants. Students showed a 45% increase in knowledge from the pre-test to the post-test.

Georgia 4-H Foundation:
This is a private partner of the Georgia 4-H program and seeks private donations to support Georgia’s programs, to provide awards, incentives, and scholarships to Georgia 4-H members, and to support the 4-H facilities by soliciting private funds to improve each of the five Georgia 4-H Centers.

If Life is a Highway, 4-H is Where You Learn to Drive

The University of Georgia 4-H provides educational youth development programs for over 156,000 young people ages 9 to 19 across the state of Georgia. Georgia 4-H, a partner in public and private education, is youth and adults learning, growing and working together to experience and accomplish the extraordinary. Georgia 4-H helps young people develop life skills in leadership, citizenship, communication and decision making skills.  University of Georgia 4-H county and state faculty expand the reach of 4-H by training and utilizing volunteers to reach youth in 158 of Georgia 159 counties.