Hawkins County 4-H

“Learning by doing” through hands on activities and community involvement empowers 4-H’ers to develop and strengthen life skills. 4-H is a unique educational program for students in elementary through high school to develop excellence in leadership and citizenship skills. As 4-H’ers, youth actively participate in activities, events and projects that develop and strengthen life skills and explore college and career options. 4-H offers over 30 different project areas and is open to everyone.

What is 4-H?

Youth participate in 4-H through school 4-H clubs, community clubs, special interest groups, after-school programs, camps and many other activities. Although there are many common activities, each county in Tennessee has its own unique programs and areas of emphasis.

Hawkins County’s program is available to all 4th-12th graders. Some experiences for Clover Buds (youth
younger than 4th grade) are also available. Each activity or event will list the specific age requirements.

To be 4-H member, there is no annual fee or sign up fee. Some activities do have a registration fee. Each activity will list the cost when advertised. Many activities and groups are free. Fundraising and scholarship opportunities are available for some activities.

In addition to 4-H Youth Development Professionals from the University of Tennessee and Tennessee State University, 4-H is a family affair. This includes the parent-child relationship, the extended family, and the network of community, state, and national supporters. It is a unique blend of government, private business, and volunteers working together to broaden the horizons of Hawkins County’s young people. 4-H Volunteers are carefully screened and trained to best serve youth in unique project work.

4-H is the largest Youth Development organization in the world. With this comes a strong reputation for excellence. Not only can students be members for nearly 9 years, showing grit, perseverance, and commitment, but the project work they experience allows them to deeply develop a variety of hard and soft skills employers seek. High School members can begin pursuing scholarships in the 9th grade. Beginning in 4th grade, students work to attain state level honors in Honor Club and quickly move on to All Star, Vol State, and other high level recognition through project work, leadership, civics, and volunteer service. Through hands on opportunities, students are “learning by doing” from a young age to master the skills needed to be a productive citizen in any career they choose.