Ohio 4-H Family Guides Now Available
4-H Project Requirement Guide
2023 4-H Calendar
Winter Project Fair & Officer Training
Officer training will be incorporated into the Winter Project Fair this year. There will be stations for each officer position. Members who participate in one of the officer stations will receive an officer pin as well as a certificate of participation.
What: Winter Project Fair & Officer Training Day
Date: Saturday, February 11, 2023
Time: 11:00am - 1:00pm
Where: Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center
Food concessions will be available.
Annual Club Financial Summaries
2. From the county website (download, save, and email)
EquiSTEP - Equine Safety, Training, and Education
EquiSTEP is an annual statewide requirement for all youth participating in Ohio 4-H Horse Program activities. EquiSTEP replaces the statewide requirement of reading the Horses, Safety, and You (191R) resource and viewing the Every Time, Every Ride and Horses, Kids, and Ethics videos for youth and their families who are new to the 4-H horse program. The EquiSTEP curriculum focuses on helmet safety, equine safety & handling, equine health & nutrition, and sportsmanship and is designed to rotate topics every year. The topics for the EquiSTEP program are shared below and will rotate as the member completes the course annually.
STEP 1: Head (Helmet Safety)
Helmet Safety Video (Every Year)
STEP 2: Hands (Equine Safety & Handling)
YR 1 Equine Behavior
STEP 3: Health (Equine Health & Nutrition)
YR 1 Assessing Horse Health
STEP 4: Heart (Sportsmanship)
YR 1 Winning & Losing
Here is the link to enroll in/access EquiSTEP: go.osu.edu/equistep2023
To complete EquiSTEP individually, a participant must enroll using their own unique email address. (Participants should not use their school email addresses as the course enrollment invitation will be blocked by the school’s email system.) Participants must view all five videos (introduction and STEPS 1-4) which last approximately one hour in total. Once the videos are completed, participants will be able to access the 10-question quiz. Participants must complete the quiz associated with the training and achieve a minimum score of 7 (out of 10) in order to pass the training. Once the quiz is successfully completed, participants will need to complete the course survey to trigger a certificate of completion. The certificate will be emailed to the participant’s email address as well as their county’s 4-H email address (countyname4h@osu.edu). The participant must select their correct county to trigger the email to the correct email address and they must click on the submit button at the end of the survey to trigger the email.
The EquiSTEP Program is required for ALL 4-H Horse members beginning in 2023! Failure to complete the online course will result in the members' inability to participate in the Franklin County Fair.
Ohio 4-H Conference
The 2023 Ohio 4-H Conference is designed to bring together 4-H volunteers and teens (age 13 and older) from across the State of Ohio. The objective of this event is to learn together and from each other in order to improve our abilities to deliver the Ohio 4-H Program to its members. The educational selections offer something for everyone and have the ability to satisfy every taste and need.
When: March 11, 2023
Where: Greater Columbus Convention Center
Registration Deadline: February 1
Cost: FREE for Franklin County 4-H Members & Volunteers
Registration information can be found here: https://franklin.osu.edu/program-areas/4-h-youth-development/teen-opportunities
New 4-H Volunteer Orientation
Volunteers help make 4-H possible and are an essential part of the overall program. More than 300,000 youth and adult volunteers participate in the Ohio 4-H program each year. 4-H volunteers have the opportunity to contribute their time, energies, talents, and knowledge to help develop youth in a positive, educational way. The Franklin County 4-H program is dependent on its incredible adult volunteers to reach the youth of our county. Each time a new volunteer gets involved with the 4-H program, the number of children that benefit from 4-H programs increases!
Save the Date: Walk & Serve and Clover 5K
4-H Walk & Serve
The 2023 Franklin County 4-H Walk & Serve will be held on Saturday, April 15. Mark your calendars and invite all of your family and friends!- Area 4-H clubs adopt a local non-profit organization.
- The club members learn about that organization, how it serves the community, and how they can help meet some of those needs.
- The clubs purchase and prepare all of the supplies needed to make/assemble a cool project to be completed at the event by the public that comes to the event.
- Example: Great Expectations and the FC Shooting Sports Club adopt Mash Pantry. They purchase supplies to make dinner kits for veterans. Then at the event, the club members help the public assemble the dinner kits.
- Grant funds are available to help clubs purchase supplies.
All Franklin County 4-H Clubs are encouraged to consider working with a non-profit organization and participating in the Walk & Serve this year. Contact Amy Fleshman with questions at amy1peter3.4@gmail.com
Clover 5K
Get your walking shoes ready. The annual walk/run has been a valuable fundraiser for the Franklin County 4-H program and we're excited to announce its return for 2023! The Clover 5K will be held the morning of the Walk & Serve on April 15. Look for registration materials soon.
Information will be available soon for both events at www.4HCouncil.org (site currently under construction).
State Junior Fair Board Applications Now Open
The State Junior Fair Board is comprised of representatives from several different youth organizations in Ohio including 4-H Youth Development. State Junior Fair Board members help strengthen and coordinate State Fair activities in a fast-paced, action-packed month at the Ohio State Fair. Junior Fair Board members are expected to attend meetings and stay at the fair for the entire 12 days.
To apply for this opportunity, members need to complete the online application that will be posted here: https://www.ohiostatefair.com/p/get-involved/jfb
Forestry and Wildlife Conservation Camp
Join Ohio 4-H & Hocking College professionals at Canters Cave 4-H Camp, April 28-30, for a weekend of learning about forestry and wildlife education, fishing, hiking, tree, climbing, ODNR careers & college opportunities and more!
- Open to campers completing grades 7-11
- Registration deadline is April 1, 2023
- Cost is $110
- Registration Info Here
OSU Extension, Franklin
For an accessible format of this publication, visit cfaes.osu.edu/accessibility.