The NEW 4-H Community Central is here!
We’re back! Over the past few months, Maine 4-H Community Central has been in a transition period from working primarily in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) programming with elementary youth to a focus on workforce development with high-school-age youth.
Meeting with 4-H staff twice per month, teens 14 and older participate in workshops focused around career readiness, leadership development, mentorship, and internship preparation. Teens earn a stipend for participation in internships one to four times per year, based on what sparks their interest. Internships will fall within four areas of the Maine workforce: Teacher Preparation, Maine Food Systems, Social Justice, and STEM.
Internship focus areas were chosen by the communities and align with the areas of highest need identified by Educate Maine and the focus areas of the CYFAR Program. Maine is facing an increasingly aging population and an employee shortage that will leave critical vacancies in the Maine workforce.
Community Central, in partnership with numerous community partner organizations, allows teens to explore various career and education possibilities and builds skills necessary for their personal and professional development as the future of the Maine workforce.
We are very excited for our first cohort of teens to join us in early spring and the summer internship opportunity of Teacher Preparation, in conjunction with the UMaine Summer of Science program.
Check out our updated website for staff contact information and program details!
This material is based upon the work of 4-H Community Central Maine, a project supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, United States (U.S.) Department of Agriculture, through a cooperative agreement with The University of Maine under award number 2014-41520-22235
General information about the CYFAR grant program can be accessed online at:
https://nifa.usda.gov/program/children-youth-and-families-risk-cyfar
For further information about the CYFAR-funded project highlighted in this publication, contact:
CYFAR Project Name: 4-H Community Central Maine
Principal Investigator: Kristy L Ouellette
Email Address: kristy.ouellette@maine.edu