Hanscom 4-H Club makes a difference, prepares future leaders

  • Published
  • By Rachel Schluckebier
  • Student Writer
HANSCOM AFB, Mass. --  For a military child that moves often, it can be hard to find a way to make new friends and transition easily with each move. Furthermore, it can be difficult to find a place to learn useful skills for the future and to help one gain the self-confidence to achieve great things in life. 

However, there is one place where all of these things and more are available to youth worldwide: the 4-H Club. The 4-H Club is an organization available to youth between the ages of 5 and 18, and the club's mission is to "prepare youth to become independent and contributing members of society." 

The organization is available around the world, both on military installations and in civilian communities. The club allows its participants to learn new skills while giving back to the community. There are a variety of skill-building clubs in the 4-H Club that are available to interested youth, some of which include gardening, woodworking, wildlife, volunteerism, leadership development, performing arts, food science and sewing. 

Each 4-H Club Project Selection allows youth to work on various projects and then to present their finished work in various fairs and contests for cash prizes. The Hanscom 4-H Sewing Club recently participated in a fashion show in which the youth participants made various sewing creations, which they used to model and compete against other youth from several towns who belong to a 4-H Sewing Club. 

However, to the 4-H sewing club youth and their mentors, the club stands for much more than competition. 

Founded in 2007, supported by a University of Massachusetts extension, and run through the Hanscom Youth Center, the 4-H Club at Hanscom has brought children together under a common hobby and has helped them make many friends. Some of the 4-H Sewing youth, Rebecca Cyr, Reagan Stone and Riana Wirthlin, expressed what made the 4-H Club at Hanscom so special to them. 

"I've loved sewing since I was young. It's fun to use machines people don't really use every day. I could even show my kids how to sew one day, like my mom who showed me," said Riana Wirthlin. 

Rebecca Cyr also commented on why she thinks sewing is so important. "It's difficult, so it gives you a good feeling," she said, "It's a good skill to have in life. If you want to be a doctor, for example, it's a good skill to have."
Rebecca also voiced that the difficulty of sewing drew her to wanting to learn about it. "It's good because it's difficult. I think that picking out the pattern and the fabric is difficult," she stated. 

The girls also see greater benefits in the 4-H Club; the club is a self-esteem booster, a great way to smooth out moving transitions, an excellent way to make friends, and it also gives a great sense of accomplishment. "Before I moved here and joined the 4-H Club," Riana said, "I was really shy. But now, I am confident and am not afraid to talk and meet new people. It's really fun. You meet new people, and if you move it helps you make friends faster. It helps transitions." 

Reagan expressed the great feeling of accomplishment she gets when she finishes a project. "It feels really good when you finish something, after all that hard work. It shows you that you can do something." she said. 

This type of benefit and great feeling that comes from the 4-H Club is not limited to the youth participating, however. In fact, the Hanscom 4-H Leader, Robin Wirthlin, and 4-H mother Nicole Cyr have expressed a similar love for the club. Ms. Wirthlin expressed how wonderful and important the club is when she said, "I really enjoy working with youth. I love their enthusiasm-- it's inspiring. I've benefited so much from what I learned from my leader as a child in the 4-H Club- skills to benefit others. I've met wonderful people through the club, and I've really benefited by making friends throughout Massachusetts." 

Nicole Cyr felt a parallel joy in seeing the girls become excited about their creations. She said, "As a mom, seeing the accomplishment of the girls finishing the project from beginning to end brings me so much joy. It's great to see them learn that they can do it when they put their minds to it together. It's great to see them help each other problem solve." 

Ms. Wirthlin also commented on how important a cause it is to volunteer in the 4-H Club. She said, "The youth are the future leaders of the world. Anyone with a skill from woodworking to gardening can help the youth become better leaders for the future, and build skills. It's a great way to contribute to a worthy cause at a small investment. I've met wonderful people doing this. I've made so many friends."
Interested in getting involved? 

The Hanscom 4-H Club is currently in need of volunteers to be leaders and mentors to the 4-H Club youth. It's a great opportunity to make a difference in your community, to work with kids who will one day be future leaders and to meet great people. For more information, you can contact Robin Wirthlin via e-mail at robinow@byu.net.