The Wild Wescotts 4-H club aims to provide enrichment and educational opportunities for our members, welcoming youth members in grades k-2 (as cloverbuds) and grades 3+.  We compare ourselves to other school-aged activities or clubs....  It's just we don't have games or performances.  Our equivalent to "the big game" is the County and State Fairs where everyone (regardless of interest area) is invited to showcase their work.  

We provide learning and leadership experience for members through club meetings, activities, and project work.  Our primary purpose is for the educational enrichment of our youth members, in an environment that is safe for both their physical and mental well-being.  We practice inclusivity and mutual respect for families who live in diverse family situations.  We do this not to create commitment, rather to create opportunity.  With this lens in mind, here is how some of that comes to life with parent involvement:

Wild Wescotts adopts a stance on controlled substances in the same manner as our public educational systems.  We do not allow tobacco, alcohol, or any other controlled substances at our activities.  We will ask parents to leave activities if this is not honored.  If 4-H parents want to socialize outside of 4-H, that is completely up to you!

We prioritize the health, safety and enrichment of our youth above everything else.  If there are any instances where we believe a member's health, safety, or enrichment is at risk, we will take immediate action to prevent such risk.  

We understand that every family situation is different and aim to meet families where they are at.  Meetings and activities are designed to allow for flexible participation for both youth and their parents.  We know both youth members and their parents have various commitments to balance and we aim to provide an environment for learning, exploration, and fun (not a rigid or constraining commitment).

If we have events that DO have limited space, we will minimize those throughout the year.  When such an activity occurs, we will do our best to provide information in advance and sign-up opportunities so that youth have the first opportunity to participate, while maintaining supervisory needs so that children are properly attended.   If we cannot meet supervisory needs based on the number of participants expected, we will request help.

We encourage family involvement that is the right fit for your family.  We expect that our young or special needs members may need additional assistance with activities and encourage parent involvement as needed for their youth.  We expect that as our members age and gain independence that there may be less parent involvement.  In fact, some of the greatest opportunities for our middle and high school youth, is the opportunity for them to mentor younger members.  Parents, you are in the best place to understand the needs of your family, and expect that type of parental judgment takes place before activities.  So, parent involvement may be very situational and that's okay.    

Screened volunteers are adults (age 19+) who have chosen to commit to volunteering with 4-H and completed required applications, background checks, education, and orientation.  For the safety of our members, we will not leave youth members attended by only a non-screened non-relative adult.  So, if parental space is limited, then we will first ensure that a 4-H screened adult is present.  Any activity with limited space where youth members may be outside of the direct supervision of a parent will be indicated with a Screened Volunteer space on sign-ups, and we will let people know that space is limited.  The Application to become a Screened Volunteer is provided below and the process may take a couple weeks for background checks to complete.  If you are interested in becoming a screened volunteer, please let me know!  We are always looking for more adults to carry the work both at activities and all of the behind-the-scenes support & work!  This club is run by 100% unpaid volunteers.

Transporting youth members is the responsibility of their parents until those members have a valid driver's license.  If transportation will be provided by someone else, to or from activities, please let us know so that we can be sure to release youth to the right person.