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Published on 05/28/19

Georgia 4-H youths receive grant to encourage healthier living

By Cristina Luisa deRevere

Six Georgia 4-H’ers have been awarded a $500 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation through the National 4-H Council to encourage healthier living for fellow 4-H members this summer.

The 4-H’ers that attend the National Youth Summit on Healthy Living were selected via an application process from Georgia 4-H Healthy Living Ambassadors and Health Rocks Actions Leaders. The 2019 group consists of Carlissa Stewart and Caroline Lord of Ben Hill County; Kaleigh Jordan of Johnson County; Kennedy Deveaux and Kayla Faulks of Cobb County; and Tianna Ramey of Habersham County.

While attending the summit, the group created the “Keeping Things Just Peachy: Healthier options at Georgia 4-H events” Youth Community Action Plan. The plan’s primary goal is to provide and promote healthier snacks and drinks at Georgia 4-H state events and build support for long-term changes in the future.

“Looking at the county health rankings data showed the group that although all their counties have some different challenges, healthy food and beverage choices affect us all,” said Courtney Brown, University of Georgia Extension 4-H specialist of Healthy Living Programs. “The group identified their Georgia 4-H statewide community as their target community. They noted that at many state 4-H events, sugar-sweetened beverages and less healthy snacks, like chips and cookies, are available and sometimes easier to pick up.”

This spring the group handed out water bottles and surveyed their peers about their snack and drink preferences at the Georgia 4-H Senior Conference held in April at Rock Eagle 4-H Center. The group will use this data to plan for healthier snack and drink options at Georgia 4-H State Council this June.

The youths hope to empower other 4-H’ers to make healthier living choices, not only at state 4-H events, but every day.

Georgia 4-H empowers youth to become true leaders by developing necessary life skills, positive relationships and community awareness. As the largest youth leadership organization in the state, 4-H reaches more than 175,000 people annually through the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension offices and 4-H facilities. For more information about Georgia 4-H, visit georgia4h.org.

Georgia 4-H empowers youth to learn, discover and create through youth-driven programming and partnering with other organizations to encourage healthier living.

Cristina deRevere is the public relations coordinator for Georgia 4-H.

Authors:
Cristina Luisa deRevere
Experts/Sources:
Courtney Still Brown
A group of Georgia 4-H members is using a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and National 4-H Council to teach their fellow 4-H'ers to make healthier snack and beverage choices. The students are showing handing out water bottles at the Georgia 4-H Senior Conference in April.
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