This past summer in Richland County, youth had new opportunities to interact with science and art thanks to Wisconsin 4-H AmeriCorps members who joined Extension under a special grant. Through a partnership with the Brewer Library in Richland Center and UW–Madison Extension’s 4-H program, AmeriCorps members Izeah Currier and Autumn Carter offered a six-week series called Adventureland. Each week, youth participated in activities, science lessons, games, and art projects.
Currier and Carter worked with the community’s 4-H Extension Educator, Kaleen Craddock, to develop a curriculum using 4-H lesson plans that fit Brewer Library’s needs. A favorite session was the Art & Science of Bubbles, in which youth made bubble art and tested several bubble recipes. They made giant bubble wands to take home and, of course, they talked about the science of bubbles. Adventureland was such a success that AmeriCorps members decided to take it on the go, such as in Memorial Park in Cazenovia, a village of 363 people.
“We were able to work with the village and get that set up,” said Carter. That led to a new partnership with the Village Clerk, who helped them promote the program to residents. “It all started with an idea for a place.”
Through funding from Serve Wisconsin, Wisconsin 4-H works with AmeriCorps to bring more resources to youth-serving organizations in Wisconsin communities. The goal is to build partnerships with local organizations to give local youth greater access to new programming.
The role of partnerships in meeting the needs of youth and families is important for making a long-term impact on Wisconsin youth. Since 2020, community-based organizations throughout Wisconsin have reported a decrease in their capacity to provide services and programming, especially for youth-serving organizations.
“We hear organizations say that they’d love to do more. They just don’t know how, don’t have time, or don’t have dollars,” said Melinda Pollen, Wisconsin 4-H AmeriCorps Program Director. When Pollen and her team saw the data in 2020, they realized that 4-H had the expertise to work with local organizations to bolster their capacity. In 2022, Wisconsin 4-H officially partnered with AmeriCorps to bring more resources to youth-serving organizations in Wisconsin communities. Their efforts are making a difference in counties across the state, including:
Richland County: Members partnered with the Smart Farm, a program at Richland County Campus Foundation. Through 4-H volunteers and clubs, youth had the opportunity to plant and harvest vegetables throughout the summer. They donated produce to the local food pantry and pumpkins to a nursing home.
Washington County: AmeriCorps members worked with Casa Guadalupe Multicultural Center Inc. to build a stronger partnership. They were able to carve out time in the school year and in their afterschool programming, for AmeriCorps members to lead 4-H activities, leading to 140 Hispanic/Latino/a youth participating in seven after-school clubs.
Dodge County: Partnering with libraries, members provided local youth with opportunities to learn about STEM topics. Their library partners reported that the programs provided younger youth with something different, while also helping the library provide outreach that they were required to complete.
Focusing on partnerships
This year, AmeriCorps members partnered with 134 organizations. Those partners say that their organization is stronger because of the AmeriCorps members’ work. Specifically, they have reached new, more, or different young people, are able to offer new programs, and have increased the capacity of their organization.
- Members connected with 159 organizations, 134 of them with the agreement to start programming.
“The more we can engage our patrons and families, the more valued our library becomes. The fact that our AmeriCorps members provided materials and led the program for us this summer allowed me and my staff to work on other important tasks as well as to connect directly with the families who attended.” -Library partner
- Members worked with 116 unique youth and adult volunteers, who reported 545.75 hours
“The [city] community is an older community. Finding and reaching kids to come into the library has been a challenge for us. Some do not realize that [city] has a library (we are a small, rural library) and transportation is needed to get to us. We are trying many different things to improve on this challenge. Teaming up with the county 4-H program helped open a door to new faces!” -Library partner
- Members had 5,407 youth educational contacts
“This has been a HUGE draw to our library because of this programming. Kids come here after school specifically for this! They bring parents, grandparents, and siblings and friends. It is a safe place for everyone that offers educational but FUN learning opportunities.” -Library partner
Pollen considers the partnership between AmeriCorps, Wisconsin 4-H, and local organizations as a win-win-win. “Our community partner organizations, our non-profits, have indicated they want to do more, offer more, reach more – and this partnership with AmeriCorps gives us, and them, capacity. So this is truly a marriage of local need,” said Pollen.
