CAES Newswire

 College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences UGA Cooperative Extension
Menu
Published on 05/28/19

Georgia 4-H youths receive grant to encourage healthier living

By Cristina Luisa deRevere

Six Georgia 4-H’ers have been awarded a $500 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation through the National 4-H Council to encourage healthier living for fellow 4-H members this summer.

The 4-H’ers that attend the National Youth Summit on Healthy Living were selected via an application process from Georgia 4-H Healthy Living Ambassadors and Health Rocks Actions Leaders. The 2019 group consists of Carlissa Stewart and Caroline Lord of Ben Hill County; Kaleigh Jordan of Johnson County; Kennedy Deveaux and Kayla Faulks of Cobb County; and Tianna Ramey of Habersham County.

While attending the summit, the group created the “Keeping Things Just Peachy: Healthier options at Georgia 4-H events” Youth Community Action Plan. The plan’s primary goal is to provide and promote healthier snacks and drinks at Georgia 4-H state events and build support for long-term changes in the future.

“Looking at the county health rankings data showed the group that although all their counties have some different challenges, healthy food and beverage choices affect us all,” said Courtney Brown, University of Georgia Extension 4-H specialist of Healthy Living Programs. “The group identified their Georgia 4-H statewide community as their target community. They noted that at many state 4-H events, sugar-sweetened beverages and less healthy snacks, like chips and cookies, are available and sometimes easier to pick up.”

This spring the group handed out water bottles and surveyed their peers about their snack and drink preferences at the Georgia 4-H Senior Conference held in April at Rock Eagle 4-H Center. The group will use this data to plan for healthier snack and drink options at Georgia 4-H State Council this June.

The youths hope to empower other 4-H’ers to make healthier living choices, not only at state 4-H events, but every day.

Georgia 4-H empowers youth to become true leaders by developing necessary life skills, positive relationships and community awareness. As the largest youth leadership organization in the state, 4-H reaches more than 175,000 people annually through the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension offices and 4-H facilities. For more information about Georgia 4-H, visit georgia4h.org.

Georgia 4-H empowers youth to learn, discover and create through youth-driven programming and partnering with other organizations to encourage healthier living.

Cristina deRevere is the public relations coordinator for Georgia 4-H.

Authors:
Cristina Luisa deRevere
Experts/Sources:
Courtney Still Brown
A group of Georgia 4-H members is using a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and National 4-H Council to teach their fellow 4-H'ers to make healthier snack and beverage choices. The students are showing handing out water bottles at the Georgia 4-H Senior Conference in April.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
Download Image
A Master Gardener with UGA Extension teaches a class at the GROWL Fulton County Demonstration and Teaching Garden. (Submitted photo) CAES News
Volunteers uplift statewide UGA Extension outreach programs 04/22/24 Sheri Dorn, Keri Gandy Hobbs
University of Georgia Cooperative Extension depends on thousands of volunteers who give generously to extend program impact and reach in support Extension missions. During Volunteer Appreciation Week April 21-28, UGA Extension celebrates the many volunteers who donate their time to facilitate 4-H, Master Gardener and Family and Consumer Sciences programming. Volunteers across Extension contributed over 324,200 hours in 2023, the equivalent of more than 155 full-time employees.
The 2022-2023 Georgia 4-H student board poses with green slime-covered Georgia 4-H Leader Melanie Biersmith after the 2023 $4 for 4-H celebration. Biersmith has agreed to subject herself to the slime again this year if the $74,444 goal is reached. CAES News
Support Georgia 4-H with a $4 gift on April 4 04/03/24 Josie Smith
The Georgia 4-H Foundation is encouraging friendly competition between 4-H supporters in each county in Georgia to benefit positive youth development during the “$4 for 4-H” fundraiser on April 4. In what has become an annual tradition, each Georgia county asks local donors to make online donations of $4 or more that day, with the goal of receiving at least four donations per county. Counties that receive four or more donations will turn green on a Georgia map that will be updated throughout the day on social media April 4.
The First Flock was established at the Georgia Governor's Mansion in July 2021. CAES News
Inaugural First Flock retires to 4-H center as 15 new hens move to Governor’s Mansion 03/18/24 Josie Smith, Lily Thomas
Georgia’s inaugural First Flock is retiring to Fortson 4-H Center almost three years after they came to roost at the Governor’s Mansion in 2021. Six members of the original flock traded places with 15 new hens during a ceremonial swap on Feb. 1 at the First Flock’s custom coop on the eastern side of the 18-acre mansion grounds in Atlanta. The idea for the project was hatched in 2020 when Georgia first lady Marty Kemp expressed her desire to include agricultural education via residential hens at the mansion.
web Capitol Day Group Photo on Oglethorpe Stairs CAES News
4-H’ers see leadership in action during Georgia 4-H Day at the Capitol 02/28/24 Josie Smith
The gold dome of the Georgia Capitol was complemented with shades of green on Feb. 14 as 4-H youth and adult leaders joined elected officials for the largest Georgia 4-H Day at the Capitol on record. With nearly 700 in attendance, outstanding 4-H’ers from counties across the state gathered to engage with legislators, observe leadership in action and learn about the civic process.
gwinnett county extension CAES News
Metro Atlanta Extension office growing capacity to reach diverse audiences 02/21/24 Sameeka Prabath Rajamani
As the population of Gwinnett County approaches the 1 million mark, with a highly diverse demographic profile, the county's University of Georgia Cooperative Extension office is preparing to serve its changing constituency effectively. Recently, the Gwinnett County Extension Program received a $250,000 budget increase from the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners to increase staffing and expand community educational outreach and engagement to underrepresented groups around the county.
As drug overdoses linked to opioids continue to rise, rural communities in particular struggle to control the epidemic. CAES News
Extension project focuses on education, outreach to address opioid crisis 11/27/23 Cal Powell
As drug overdoses linked to opioids continue to rise, rural communities in particular struggle to control the epidemic. More than 75% of the nearly 107,000 drug overdose deaths in 2021 involved an opioid, with higher rates of poverty and a lack of resources in rural areas being a significant factor in the alarming trend. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension is working with rural communities to address the issue, thanks in part to a three-year $350,000 Rural Health and Safety Education grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.