Increasing Enrollment in Douglas County

One of our goals in Douglas County is to focus on positive youth development in our community by increasing enrollment in 4-H. This seems like a straight-forward goal.

I discovered that this is a more complex issue than it appears.

One part of my job as the Communications Specialist is to get out into the community and educate others about the 4-H Program. Here is some of the feedback I’ve received:

“It seems like 4-H is dying out. I didn’t know everything you offer.”
“Isn’t 4-H just riding horses?”
“I thought if was only for kids who live on farms.”

It quickly became clear to me that the general public is either not aware of 4-H or thinks 4-H is only for rural kids who own livestock or horses.

Boy do we have our work cut out for us! Not only do we need to increase awareness that 4-H is still a strong and active program, but we need to educate the public about the scope of projects and activities available.

Here are some things I’ve done, both big and small, in an effort to educate others:
- Made presentations to Rotary and Kiwanis clubs
- Increased number and scope of press releases
- Added 4-H information to various databases as I’ve run across them
- Joined a communications group to network with others and get new ideas
- Started a 4-H blog
- Plan to have a booth at the Parker Community Expo in September
- Made contact with various Mom’s Clubs in the county
- Scheduled a Public Service Announcement to be aired in April 2008

What efforts have you made to spread the word? No effort is too small when it comes to generating interest in the Douglas County 4-H Program. We welcome new ideas!

Your blog host,

Melody