A Successful Strategy for Initiating Hispanic 4-H Clubs

In 2004, a pilot summer literacy program gave Hispanic students the opportunity to improve their English reading and writing skills in a non-threatening and creative environment. The program included service-learning projects and interaction with local veterans. By the end of the summer, the group had evolved into the first Hispanic 4-H club in South Carolina. It was still active nearly 4 years later. Several students from the original program have been involved in organizing the 2007 offering of the now-annual summer literacy program. Such a program can be replicated in any location where there is a willing and creative core of planners and supporters