4-H Grows Here in Johnson County
4-H Grows True Leaders is the new National 4-H Council’s campaign to “give young people across the country a forum to put their voices into positive action and rally the nation to invest in the next generation of true leaders.” National 4-H http://4-h.org/
The 4‑H National Youth Survey on Leadership conducted online by Harris Poll among 1,501 ninth through twelfth grade students. Ninety percent (90%) of young people say they are concerned about the future leadership of America, and two-thirds are more confident in the next generation of leaders than in the leaders they see today.
More than 1,500 youth nationwide responded to the survey, which revealed:
- Most youth (81%) think leaders today are more concerned with their own agendas than with achieving the goals of their organizations.
- Seventy-six percent (76%) say leaders are focused on different priorities than what matters most to them.
- Half of youth rate government and political leaders as having weak leadership (51%), among the highest relative to other groups of leaders examined in the survey. Overall, weak leadership is related to not accomplishing what is promised (59%); not working collaboratively (56%); and not offering new solutions (53%).
- Most youth (96%) think leadership is important to addressing the country’s most pressing issues; but only one in three young people says they have the skills they need to be prepared to lead.
“America is facing a critical need for more leaders — true leaders — who are prepared with the skills to deal with the problems of today and the challenges of tomorrow,” said Jennifer Sirangelo, president and CEO, National 4‑H Council. “A true leader leads by example, works well with others, tackles tough challenges head-on and sticks with a job until it’s done. This campaign is giving youth a platform to ask for more support in preparing them to lead and to be recognized for their positive contributions.”
Johnson County 4-H has adopted this new campaign and is focusing on getting the word out that 4-H Grows Here! The possibilities for youth to demonstrate leadership through the 4-H program is unbeatable compared to other youth servicing organizations.
Sirangelo continued, “We want more people to know that 4‑H was founded with youth empowerment at our core, and we are still a youth empowerment organization — with 4‑H’ers leading all kinds of positive solutions for the diverse issues our country faces today.”
The new 4-H year kicks off October 1st and we encourage you and your family to check out a 4-H Club or program near you.