CAES Newswire

 College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences UGA Cooperative Extension
Menu
Published on 12/06/07

Georgia 4-H program delivers global awareness

By Stephanie Schupska
University of Georgia

Dimple Bansal spent a weekend in August going through the Georgia 4-H Global Ambassadors Program. Inspired by the knowledge and experience, she organized an Operation Christmas Child gift box drive at her high school this month.

“Being a global ambassador motivated me to go out and do more things for the global world,” said Bansal, who attends Berkmar High School in Lilburn, Ga. “You feel good when you’re not giving to yourself, when you imagine a child’s face when they see a box of toys only for him or her.”

Operation Christmas Child collects shoeboxes filled with toys to send to children around the world in desperate situations, places such as war-torn countries and regions devastated by natural disasters.

Bansal and four other Georgia 4-H’ers are the first to take the 36-hour program. The other high school participants were Nick Evans from Clayton County, Ethan Craigue from Coffee County, John Scott from Madison County and Jerico Phillips from Carroll County.

“I’m very proud of her,” said Jeff Buckley, who is the 4-H global and citizenship programs coordinator with the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. “I was very impressed with the overall level of knowledge of global issues that all the ambassadors brought to our training weekend. It made me feel good about youth in general, about the future.”

During the program, the ambassadors learn and debate global topics and how they impact life in Georgia. “One of the main goals of this is to help Georgia 4-H’ers become more competitive,” Buckley said.

Buckley charged the ambassadors to first do something in their communities. They have a few months left to complete their projects.

“I encouraged them to do a project they were interested in,” Buckley said, “exposing them to some options that they could take back to their counties.”

With her project, Bansal has shown her friends that there’s more to life than just high school and that being globally involved is important. “Some people at my school, they haven’t been outside Atlanta,” she said.

But Bansal has.

In 2001, she moved to Valdosta, Ga., from India. One of the first extracurricular activities she chose in south Georgia was 4-H. She’s been involved since.

Buckley said 4-H is doing other things to increase Georgia students’ awareness of cultures, languages and traditions other than their own. For examples, students can participate in exchange programs or monitored online correspondence.

For more information on Georgia 4-H global programs, go to the Web site www.georgia4hinternational.org or call (706) 542-8735.

Stephanie Schupska is the communications coordinator with the University of Georgia Honors College.

Experts/Sources:
Jeff Buckley
DIMPLE PUSHPENDRA BANSAL
The holiday season can be a time of anticipation and joy, but balancing multiple commitments and personalities across families and friends can be a source of stress for hosts and visitors alike. Like preparing parts of the meal ahead of time to spend more of the holiday with guests, taking time ahead of the day to set expectations can go a long way to ensuring enjoyable gatherings, said Ted Futris, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension specialist and professor of human development and family science in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. CAES News
Manage holiday stress with kindness, boundaries 11/21/24 Maria M. Lameiras
The holiday season can be a time of anticipation and joy, but balancing multiple commitments and personalities across families and friends can be a source of stress for hosts and visitors alike. Much like preparing parts of the meal ahead of time allows you to spend more of the holiday with guests, setting expectations ahead of the celebration can go a long way to ensuring enjoyable gatherings, said Ted Futris, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension specialist and professor of human development and family science.
Conner Hall CAES News
CAES welcomes 2024 cohort of Rural Scholars 11/20/24 Maria M. Lameiras
The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences welcomed its fourth cohort of students chosen for the CAES Rural Scholars Program this fall just weeks after celebrating the program's first graduation. Georgia Orman, one of four inaugural Rural Scholars in CAES, graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education. The new scholars for 2024, all from Georgia, are Ela Ash of Ocilla, Lauren E. Coley of Cochran, Amelia Housley of Canon, and London O’Steen of Ambrose.
Women play a vital role in rural American farming, but much of that work is "invisible," like raising children or household chores, according to a new UGA study. (Getty Images) CAES News
The women and stress behind rural farming in America 11/19/24 Leigh Hataway
Recent research from the University of Georgia suggests the unique stresses from farm life may be taking a toll on one of the pillars of the families that make your dinners possible: the women who keep farming families running. “If we don’t control our food sources, we don’t control our health and safety,” said Anna Scheyett, lead author of the study and a professor in UGA’s School of Social Work. “It’s a matter of national security that farmers survive in the United States. And one of the big factors in helping farms survive is women.”
Mergoum at Creature Comforts CAES News
That's the spirit! 11/18/24 Maria M. Lameiras, Claire Sanders Kinnard
Wheat breeders spend years meticulously crossing varieties to coax the best traits out of each species, carefully propagating plant varieties that are healthier, heartier and better suited for the environments where they are grown. Professional brewmasters are equally painstaking when choosing the components that will give their beers a specific flavor profile.
Contest-winning concept becomes viable business for alumnus who developed solar-powered, self-propelled chicken coop as a student. CAES News
Poultry in motion 11/14/24 Sean Montgomery
Chris Ayers emerged from his orange and black rough-terrain vehicle with an ear-to-ear grin. “This is Chiktopia,” he said, sweeping his arm wide to indicate the back half of a 3,600-square-foot warehouse on his family’s farm in Ball Ground, Georgia. “This is where I manufacture and assemble the chicken coops. Everything is done entirely from over here.”
UGA Grand Farm Site Plan web CAES News
UGA Grand Farm wins stage two of 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund competition 11/13/24 Jordan Powers
Startups in the agricultural technology sector face significant barriers on the path to establishment, including access to training and capital. These barriers are heightened for underrepresented entrepreneurs seeking to start new companies. The University of Georgia Grand Farm, part of a historic partnership between the University of Georgia and Fargo, North Dakota-based Grand Farm, aims to change that.