What is 4-H?

4-H is a non-profit, youth-run leadership club for children ages 5-19.

For over 100 years, 4-H has offered young people the chance to learn by doing.

4-H (Head, Heart, Hands, and Health) aims to prepare kids for our modern world.  Members have many opportunities to practice public speaking to lead others, to support the community in service activities, to aspire to healthy living, to meet other local youth,  and to try activities of their choice!

History

Since its humble beginnings 1902, 4-H has grown to become the nation’s largest youth development organization. The 4-H mission is  simple: help young people and their families gain the skills they need to be proactive forces in their communities and develop ideas for a more innovative economy. That idea was the catalyst to begin the 4-H movement, and those values continue today. As one of the first youth development organizations in America, 4-H opened the door for young people to learn leadership skills and explore ways to give back. 4-H revolutionized how youth connected to practical, hands-on learning experiences while outside of the classroom.

How does 4-H work?

The Belmont 4-H Club has a small farm and club house located in the Crystal Springs area that is shared with the Burlingame- San Mateo 4-H Club.

The club offers “hands-on” projects and activities, led by adult volunteers, for youth ages 5–19. Each youth member enrolls in the projects they are interested in, plus they attend monthly general meetings, fun days, farm clean-up days, and service activities. There are also county competitions where members can showcase what they've learned in their projects. A unique aspect of 4-H is that the club is run by the youth officers and members, so members learn leadership, good citizenship, and active participation in governance.

Not just cows and cake.

We have a wide variety of projects you can join. In 2023 we are offering:

• Rocketry

• Public speaking

• Tabletop gaming

• Hiking

• iSprout (a special project for 5-8 year olds that is designed to be age-appropriate and samples across 4-H)

• Sewing

• Knitting

• Equestrian (you do not need your own horse)

• Jewelry making

• Creative writing

• Laying Hens (chicks are raised to pullet-sized at the farm and sold back to the feed store as a club fundraiser)

• Compost (using the compost generated at the farm)

• Gardening (on pause temporarily until the garden boxes at the farm are fixed)

• Steer (through Burlingame-San Mateo, steer are kept at the farm)

• Swine (through Burlingame-San Mateo, pigs are kept at the farm)

• Lamb (through Burlingame-San Mateo, lambs are kept at the farm)

• Goats: Market and Dairy (through Burlingame-San Mateo, goats are kept at the farm)

• Poultry: Market Chickens, Show Chickens, and Market Turkey (through Burlingame-San Mateo, birds are kept at the farm)

• Rabbits: Market and Show (through Burlingame-San Mateo, rabbits must be kept at home)

Additional projects may be offered based on whether we get adult volunteers to lead them. The county also sometimes offers projects.

Who governs 4-H?

In California, 4-H is run through the University of California. We're managed by the County Co-operative Extension office, the same people who do other outreach from the university into the community, including the Master Gardeners program. Learn more here.