Community Service

Service to others has always been an important part of the 4-H club program. One part of the 4-H pledge states, “I pledge my hands to larger service.” An entire section of the 4-H Summary Record is dedicated to the documentation of community service done by each 4-H member.

4-H groups conduct community service projects in local communities where they meet. These projects include community beautification, collecting donations for food pantries, raising money for charities and volunteering in nursing homes, to name just a few.

Massachusetts 4-H also conducts statewide community service projects. Past projects include the distribution of backpacks with school supplies to needy children, the collection of new toys to benefit children in the Foster Children Evaluation Services at the UMass Medical Center and the Hurricane Katrina relief effort to benefit 4-H families in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Currently we conduct a statewide food drive in October and November.  The project is supported financially by Cumberland Farms and all Cumberland Farms stores in Massachusetts serve as food drop sites in November. Support curriculum is available on this web site and through your local 4-H office.

The Cumberland Farms funding is also used to provide mini-grants to individual 4-H clubs. Projects most likely to receive funding during 2010-11 will be those designed to serve a need within the local community. Please see the application for more details.

Get involved in the MA 4-H 2009 Food Drive - 4-H Cares About Community

Food Collection Reporting Form

Click here community service mini-grant application

Contact your local 4-H office for additional information about on-going community service projects or for resource materials.