10/06/2026
If you grew up in 4-H, or you’re raising a 4-H kid now, you already know it takes a village. Somewhere along the way there was probably an Extension agent who answered a million questions, a leader who gave up evenings and weekends, a livestock family who came running when you had no clue what you were doing, or someone who taught you how to clip, fit, sew, give a speech, finish a project or fill out that record book you swore was going to be the death of you. 😂 Maybe it was the parent who always had room for one more kid in the truck, the grandparent who never missed a show, the older 4-H’er who took a little one under their wing, or simply someone who showed up when you needed them.
I think when we’re kids, we don’t always realize just how many people are pouring into us along the way. We don’t understand what it means for someone to give up their Saturday, stay late after a meeting, answer the phone when an animal isn’t acting right, help finish a project at the last minute, haul us somewhere, teach us something for the tenth time or stand on the other side of the ring cheering just as hard as our own family. Then we grow up, and some of us get lucky enough to watch our own kids make that same journey, and suddenly we understand just how much those people gave us.
So for Day 2 of National 4-H Week, I want to do something a little different. Tag someone who has helped you or your child/children along their 4-H journey and tell them thank you. 🍀 Tell us what they did. Tell them what they meant to you. It doesn’t have to be some huge, life-changing moment either, because sometimes it’s the smallest things that stick with us the longest.
There are a whole lot of people out there who probably thought they were just helping a 4-H kid. Let’s remind them today that they were helping raise one. 💚
