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Oct. 6-12 is National 4-H Week
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Posted on Oct 04 2019
Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios is joined in this photo by Northern Marianas College interim president Frankie Eliptico, NMC Board of Regents chair Charles Cepeda, 4-H Marianas members, and NMC-Cooperative Research, Extension, and Education Services officials, after Palacios proclaimed Oct. 6–12 as National 4-H Week in the Marianas. (Contributed Photo)
To highlight the important role that 4-H plays among the youth in the CNMI and to showcase the incredible ways that 4-H inspires the youth, Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios has proclaimed the week of Oct. 6-12 as National 4-H Week in the Commonwealth.
After signing the proclamation at the Northern Marianas College yesterday, Palacios credited the NMC-Cooperative Research, Extension, and Education Services with hosting the 4-H Program, as well as the Youth Affairs Office and the Division of Youth Services for their help in spreading the youth empowerment message of the 4-H program.
Founded in the 1950s, 4-H is America’s largest youth development organization, supporting nearly six million youth across the country. The program has helped over 15,000 youth in the CNMI to become confident, independent, resilient, and compassionate leaders.
“This organization is providing life-long skills to a lot of people across the nation,” Palacios said. “And so, it is something that we need to try to improve and perpetuate in the Commonwealth.”
NMC interim president Frankie M. Eliptico said that 4-H “[plays] a very critical role not just here at NMC in developing leaders, but also in developing leaders for our whole community.”
Eliptico also praised the 4-H Club for getting $20,000 from having won the “Raise Your Hand” initiative last July, beating all 50 states, as well as territories, in the nationwide call-to-action for 4-H alumni, supporters, and friends to vote to win funding for their 4-H state program.
Robert Suzuki Jr., who served as the first president of 4-H at NMC, started the club in 2015. “For us to have this avenue to gain skills like leadership, responsibility, citizenship, giving back to our communities is what made us fall in love with this program,” Suzuki said.
4-H is delivered by Cooperative Extension, a community of more than 100 public universities across the nation that provides experiences where young people learn by doing through hands-on projects in important areas of health, science, agriculture, and civic engagement.
For more information about 4-H in the CNMI, contact the Family, Community and Youth Development program of NMC-CREES at 237-6841.
