NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
May 11, 2000
The North Dakota 4-H Foundation Inc. has established the Building Leaders for the 21st Century Grant Program and earmarked $50,000 to partially fund educational projects during the current fiscal year, which runs from Sept. 1 to Aug. 31. The projects receiving funding must include educators from the North Dakota State University Extension Service. Thus far, three grant applications have been approved.
"A key criterion for these projects is that each helps achieve the Foundation's goals, the most basic of which is to strengthen and bolster learning opportunities for youth, volunteers and youth leaders," says Arleen Bunt, 4-H Foundation development director.
The first project to receive Foundation funding is called "Creating Connections Through Technology." With $1,900 from the Foundation, this $4,000 project involving the Grand Forks County 4-H program will establish a county-based Web site. County extension staff and 4-H volunteers will use the Web site to promote 4-H and provide information, forms and 4-H news to 4-H families, as well as others in Grand Forks County communities, says Kim Jones, 4-H extension agent in Grand Forks County.
"Grand Forks County will be the first North Dakota county to establish and maintain a 4-H Web site," Jones says. "For families without Internet access, paper copies of 4-H forms will be available, as well as through disks or CD-ROMs. In addition, we will provide training for youth to develop their technology skills and to find creative ways to transfer and share those skills."
In Bismarck, a youth mentoring project called "Learn To See the Best of Me" has received $1,125 from the 4-H Foundation and $3,065 from other sources. The teens who participate in this program will be referred by the juvenile court system, explains Jill Hennessy, 4-H extension agent in Burleigh County. The teens will teach elderly citizens about computers and other aspects of electronic technology.
"The project focuses on hands-on activities that will not only aid the elderly but also allow the youth who participate the opportunity to understand the importance of character education, community involvement and leadership roles," Hennessy says.
The largest 4-H Foundation grant thus far, $3,600, has gone to a project that will benefit residents living in many western and central North Dakota counties. Called "Global Positioning Training for Youth," this nearly $7,500 project will expose youth to the concepts of the Geographic Information System (GIS) and the Global Positioning System (GPS), says Jim Hennessey, extension agent for livestock systems in Mountrail County.
"The GPS training will include an explanation of satellite positioning, navigation according to longitude and latitude, and locking in coordinates," Hennessy adds. "The youth who take part in this training will then teach the concepts to other youth attending the Western 4-H Camp, and they will also be available to train local community residents at 4-H workshops and other gatherings within the counties in the coming months."
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Source: Arleen Bunt (701) 231-8569
Writer: Beth Payne
Editor: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136