Discover what's happening in youth development!
![Teen sits at a table in the U.S. Capitol with two flags, a bookcase, and a door behind her.](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/Emma%20Stanford.jpg?h=42646406&itok=_FnGO07P)
University of Minnesota Extension's 4-H Youth Development program helps youth find the power of human connections.
![Club members provide education about horses, and riding, and serve as support alongside the horses.](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/Challenged%20Rider.jpg?h=3efff771&itok=T1SpH9Tb)
4-H volunteers Rachel Kucera and Julie Hellendrung work with their club members to bring 4-H and horse experiences to youth not yet involved in the program– specifically those with disabilities.
![A group of youth members wearing green 4-H polos pose with Senator Amy Klobuchar.](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/20230309_085518.jpg?h=c8280d18&itok=ujY6FR5G)
Thirteen 4-H’ers from Minnesota had the opportunity to participate in Ignite by 4-H – a four-day experience in Washington, D.C.
![A group of youth standing around a video camera on a tripod as a man talks.](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/Ace%20Allgood%204-H%20volunteer.png?h=f6872ed6&itok=Kwv5D_p5)
4-H volunteer Ace Allgood helps youth explore their "spark" and inspires them to become better storytellers through the 4-H video project.
![A woman doing sign language in front of a classroom of kids and adults.](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/F.Lee_Ramsey_1.jpg?h=23210290&itok=j4vAq3RR)
As a deaf person, 4-H volunteer Felicia Lee didn’t know what to expect when she signed up to work with a hearing 4-H program in Ramsey County, but she and the youth members have been positively impacted.
![Two adults with a group of kids wearing 4-H shirts and smiling at the camera.](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/B.Johnson_Roseau_1.jpg?h=01ab08c4&itok=X0PHeAP5)
4-H alumna and volunteer Beth Johnson received the 2023 Minnesota 4-H Salute to Excellence Outstanding Lifetime Volunteer Award for her years of dedication to 4-H youth.
![A group of adults and youth smiling at the camera with Allysa Kelton in the foreground wearing a name tag.](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/A.Kelton_Brown_1.jpg?h=19eaa156&itok=0lK_I7Uc)
Brown County 4-H volunteer Allysa Kelton has received the 2023 Minnesota 4-H Salute to Excellence Volunteer of the Year Award for her exemplary service to 4-H.
![Nicole Cash, Dakota County 4-H'er](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/Learn%20by%20Doing%20-%20Nicole%20Cash%201.jpg?h=8b391dc5&itok=_2wb_MlC)
Minnesota 4-H alumna Nicole Cash was selected as one of four 4-H Youth in Action award winners in 2023.
![A gazebo in a garden](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/butterfly%20garden%20-%20scott%20county.png?h=1191248d&itok=WRRnHsIF)
4-H Outdoor Wilderness Leadership and Service (OWLS) Program participants create and implement service-learning conservation projects that benefit their local area.
![A portrait of Kimberlee Bell](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/KimberleeBell.jpg_.jpg?h=96281f56&itok=vc5iwS4x)
Kimberlee Bell credits 4-H with teaching her a wide range of important skills, which led to her being a U.S. foreign service officer for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).