What's New in 4-H?

McKinley Tech "3-peat" Winner of the DC LifeSmarts Competition

UDC recently hosted the 4-H LifeSmarts Competition, a program that creates savvy consumers and develops marketplace skills among teens in a fun and engaging format. LifeSmarts Consumer Education for Teenagers, a program of the National Consumers League and is run locally through the division of the Center for 4-H and Youth Development, a land-grant program under CAUSES. For the third year in a row, McKinley Technical High School was named the winning team. 

Complementing high school curricula, Lifesmarts is run as a game-show style competition for 9th through 12th grade students every March. Teams from DC area high schools competed in the areas of personal finance, health and safety, the environment, technology and consumer law. 

Other participating high schools were: Calvin Coolidge High School, Columbia Heights Educational Campus, The Preparatory School of D.C. and the United Planning Powerhouse team. Each team included five youth and an adult coach.

As the D.C. champions, the McKinley Tech team will travel to Orlando, Florida, to vie for the National Championship April 26-29. Congratulations, McKinley Tech!

Jaime Brown introduces the competition.

CAUSES is committed to building strong, vibrant communities of active and engaged citizens. The Center for 4-H and Youth Development develops innovative programs that emphasize experiential learning opportunities for young people and their families. Through "hands-on" interactive programming, participants develop life skills, leadership abilities and an ethic of civic stewardship.

For more information or if you would like to volunteer for the event, contact LifeSmarts Extension Agent, Jaime Brown, at (202) 274-7136 or jsbrown@udc.edu. For more information on LifeSmarts, visit www.lifesmarts.org. Learn more about the District’s 4-H program here.

Continue reading for upcoming 4-H events! 

Upcoming Events

Operation Military Kids will host the OMK state team conference call on April 10. For more information please call Feifei Sun at (202) 274-7122.

• April is the month of the military child. On April 15, all across the country people wear purple on this day in support of military children. We ask that you join us in wearing purple on that day!

• Local high school students will visit UDC's Muirkirk Farm on April 24.

• Please join the Environmentors, CAUSES and the National Council for Science and the Environment on May 2, for the 22nd Annual DC Environmentors Awards, which celebrates students and mentors for their work and achievement over the course of the 2012-2013 program year. The ceremony will be held from 6-9:00 p.m. on UDC's Van Ness Campus, Building 42-A03. For more information contact Rebecca Bankhead at (202) 274-7081.

• Don't miss the next Volunteer Leaders Training on May 17, the last before the summer break. If you are an adult interested in volunteering, this training is a must! Email the completed registration form to Rebecca Bankhead. 

4-H Extension Agent Rachel Perry demonstrates her experiment at the DC STEM fair.