Minnesota 4-H State Ambassador
Hello!
My name is Maggie, and I am a second-year Minnesota 4-H State Ambassador from Dakota County. This February will be packed with great events led by Minnesota 4-H and the state ambassadors.
Hosting regional workshops
The state ambassadors have organized leadership events for 4-H’ers across the state to attend this year.
In February, we will host Building Leadership and Understanding (BLU) events for youth members in grades 6-9. Youth members in grades 10-13 will be attending Teens Engaged in Emerging Leadership (TEEL), which is led by older youth leaders and recent 4-H alumni. This year’s theme for BLU and TEEL is “Seasons of Growth.”
Through hands-on activities, youth will learn about leadership while connecting to their personal stories and experiences. We are excited to see 4-H’ers at BLU and TEEL grow their leadership skills and meet 4-H'ers from across the state.
February service challenge
Every year, millions of crayons are discarded in landfills by restaurants. Crayons containing wax are harmful to our environment because they have the chemical petroleum, which takes years to decompose in a landfill. The Crayon Initiative seeks to solve this problem by reconstructing the excess crayons and giving them to kids in hospitals.
For the February service challenge, you can help by collecting unused crayons in your community and donating them to the Crayon Initiative. You can also bring the collected crayons to a BLU or TEEL event.
Learn more about the monthly service challenges.
Black History Month
February is Black History Month. Spend some time this month learning about Black history in the United States.
The University of Minnesota is a land grant university, meaning that the school was created by a grant of land from the federal government. There are three types of land grant universities categorized by when they were established: 1862, 1890 and 1994. The 1890 land grant universities were established for African Americans as part of the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1890.
Today there are nineteen 1890 land grant universities in the United States, including Alabama A&M, Delaware State University and Lincoln University. As the USDA states, "These institutions strengthen research, extension and teaching in the food and agricultural sciences and attract more students into careers in agriculture, food, natural resources and human sciences."
Research Black history in your community this month, or take some time to learn about local Black history in Minnesota.
Winter Round Up
The state 4-H horse project will be hosting Winter Round Up the first weekend of February, which is one of the most exciting events of the year for the horse project.
Winter Round Up is when fellow horse project members from across the state come together for a conference to connect with other youth members and learn more about horses and leadership. Youth members that attend will have the opportunity to listen to interesting speakers and participate in educational workshops and many hands-on activities.
Maggie M., Dakota County
Minnesota 4-H State Ambassador