Marrow Donor Drive Set
        The National Marrow Donor Program will be working with the Ramsey County 4-H Council for the third time on a Volunteer Marrow Donor Recruitment Drive on Wednesday, December 7. The Drive will be held in the Basement Meeting Room of the Courthouse from noon til 6 pm.

        Potential donors must be between the ages of 18 and 60, in general good health and not excessively overweight. After completing a brief health history, potential donors will have a small sample of blood drawn. The entire process takes about 15 minutes. We will need to supply greeters, form completion workers, refreshment servers as well as health history screeners and phlebotomists who are trained in that area. If you are interested in working at the drive for any amount of time, please contact our office. We are requesting that each club provide one (1) dozen cookies, doughnuts or other holiday treat. Those items can be dropped off at the Extension Office ahead of time or in the Historical Room on December 7^th.

        Two changes from previous drives will be in the scheduling of potential donors and funding. The drive is designed to work with four individuals every 15 minutes. Individuals can now call the National Marrow Donor Program directly at 1-888-811-1139 (it is a toll-free number) to schedule a specific time between noon and 6 pm, if they wish. Walk-ins are also welcome. We will not be doing the scheduling in our office as with the last drive in 1998, second there will probably not be a charge for the drive. Ramsey County 4-H has an account with the National Marrow Donor Program, which will cover the cost of processing the first 88 donors. If the pre-scheduled time requests go past 88 we will start fundraising at that time. A drive of 88 people for an area with our population base is already an above-average goal so it is unlikely fundraising will be necessary.

        We had hoped to include promotional material on the drive with this newsletter, but as they have not yet arrived from the National Marrow Donor Program, we will be distributing those closer to the drive.

Candy Sales Soon
        Within in the next week, several cases of candy bars will be arriving in our office. Based on the ending balance in the 4-H Council checking account, projected expenses for 4-H activities and event and discussion with the Executive Officers of the 4-H Council, a candy sale will be held November 10 through December 21. This will be a direct sales event – candy bars on hand for $1 each – not a presales event such as the fruit sale. Each 4-H family is to be responsible for selling ½ carton of candy bars – 26 bars. The 4-H Council will make a profit of 50 cents per bar. If a family is unable to sell their ½ carton, they are to contact fellow club members for assistance. Club leaders will be called when the candy arrives so they can pick up the allotted number of cartons for their club.

        To aid everyone in their sales, a table has been reserved for November 19 and 20 at the Holiday Mall Craft Christmas Craft Sale. Hours at the sale are 9 am – 6 pm on Saturday, November 19 and noon – 5 pm on Sunday, November 20. Clubs and independent members may sign up for one or two hour time clots of their choice. First come, first served. A table, chair and signs will be provided. Clubs are responsible for supplying their own candy, change and change box in order to help keep sales separate for each club.

        The candy bars come in a variety of flavors with the 4-H Clover printed on the label. They are very attractive and should be a relatively easy item to sell.

Enrollment Forms
        Enrollment forms have been sent to your 4-H leaders. This newsletter is being sent to everyone, those that have submitted their forms and those that are currently inactive because they have not turned in a form. This will be the only newsletter sent to those who haven’t turned in their enrollment form. So get those forms in, that way you won’t miss out on important dates and events. If you have questions or need help filling our your enrollment form please stop by the Extension Office and we’ll help you out.

 Beekeeping Essay Contest
        The foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees is again sponsoring an essay contest. The topic for 2006 is “Honey bees in Art and Culture”. The contest is open to active 4-H club members. Essays need to be 750-1000 words in length. Email Alice Amundson at abitz@ndsuext.nodak.edu for a copy of the announcement and rules for the contest.

“Make A Difference Day” Pillow Patrol
        Congratulations  to the 21 4-H members who participated in the Make A Difference Day sewing workshop! With the aid of eleven sewing machines and some helpful parents, the 4-H members completed 10 pillowcase/tote bags, which will be donate to the Ramsey County Foster Care program. Great effort everyone! Several of the 4-H members also made a bag for themselves at the workshop while other plan to use the pattern at home. If you would like a copy of the pattern, contact our office. We are considering doing another “Make A Difference Day” workshop in the future during the teachers convention break and would welcome any suggestions you have for topics and community service projects.

Friends of Our Troops Fan Mail
        Information on how to participate in this year’s “Friends of Our Troops” mail call is enclosed. Please note that the deadline for Christmas mail is November 25 and that there is a charge per letter/card. More information is also available on their web site: www.troopfanmail.net 

4-H Clover License Plates
The 4-H clover license plates have stirred a lot of interest. If you would like an application form please contact our office. All applications and checks need to be returned to the Foundation Office by November 18.

 Literature Ready
If you ordered 4-H literature on your enrollment form, it is now ready at the Extension Office. Please stop in and pick it up

Congratulations Ramsey County
        On behalf of the Board of Directors of the North Dakota 4-H Foundation, I want to congratulate Ramsey County on Qualifying for the Foundation’s County Rebate program for the first time! Because of this, a check was issued to the Ramsey County 4-H Council from the Foundation.

        The County Rebate program works like this. Each county is given a county goal based on the number of 4-H members in that county. When unrestricted annual gifts are made to the Foundation, the donor designates which county he/she would like to credit for their gift. When the county meets or exceeds their goal over the 4-H year, a rebate check for 25% of all gifts received throughout the year is issued to the county 4-H Council.

        The Foundation rebated more than $8,000 this year to County Councils across the state and we are very happy to include Ramsey County for the first time. We applaud your efforts and all the good 4-H programs in Ramsey County. Let’s make it two years in a row!

 

Tom McSparrow, CFRE
Development Director
North Dakota 4-H Foundation

Upcoming Ramsey County 4-H Dates
Nov-Dec        Candy Sales
Feb               Fruit & Candy Sales
March 15       Midterm Enrollment Changes due in Extension Office
March 15       Fruit & Candy Sale Forms due in Extension Office
April 1           Fruit & Candy Arrive
April 22         Lake Region Project Day
May 4           Ramsey County 4-H Communication Arts Contest – Our Saviors Church
June 9           Achievement Day Registration due in Extension Office
June 17         Ramsey County 4-H Achievement Day Horse Show
June 19-22    Extension Youth Conference
June 28-29    Ramsey County 4-H Achievement Days

Shooting Sports
We would like to organize more shooting sports classes. We need to know if the students that took the class last year would like an advanced class, would you like to begin a shooting club, or are there beginners that want to start classes. Please contact our office at 662-7027 with your suggestions.