4-H welcomes new members, volunteers to growing group

Keeping children interested in 4-H is one of the goals of a rural youth fair being held Sept. 9, says the group's administrative director in P.E.I.

"This is our biggest event of the whole year," said Kelly Mullaly.

She describes the rural youth fair as a day to showcase and celebrate what 4-H members have been doing.

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"We want 4-H to be accessible. A lot of people have the misconception that if you're not in 4-H you can't be a part of 4-H."

Mullalysaid this is the organization's opportunity to open the doorsand help people discover what it'sall about maybe even recruiting some new members along the way.

Volunteers key to success

"We have over 500 members right now, ages nine to 21. But what's really impressive is our volunteers. We have 300 volunteer leaders who are parents and individuals in communities right across the province."

Mullalysaid the leaders help the members with the projects they take on throughout the year.

"We couldn't do it without them."

When asked the secret to the large membership and volunteers,Mullalysaid she credits it to the organization being family based.

"If your child is signing up to be a part of 4-H then we need you to be a part of it as well," she said.

Mullalypoints out you don't have to live on a farm to be involved in 4-H.

"The program is evolving," she said.

She said the one thing 4-H gets a lot of credit for is helping members refine their public speaking skills, even though many dread having to do it.

"Our members learn to research, write and present speeches...and they tell us it was brutal and torturous but at the end of the day that skill that they walked away with helped them."

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