Maine 4-H Community Central

Supporting Youth Thriving Through Discovery

Maine 4-H Community Central is a transformative program designed to empower and connect middle schoolers in Lewiston and Portland, Maine. The primary focus is on fostering personal development and community engagement through our innovative 4-H Discover Series. Participation is open to all members of community partner programs and includes youth who reside in public housing, including immigrant and refugee youth and low socio-economic status youth and families.

The program unfolds in three distinct series throughout the year:

•   Self-Discovery – participants enhance their confidence, self-awareness, goal-setting abilities, wellness practices, and personal standards. 
•   Discovery of Others – participants strengthen teamwork, communication skills, and the ability to navigate peer pressure effectively within their immediate circles, including peers, families, and school.
•   Discovery of Community – participants broaden their horizons by exploring and discovering the broader community and the world. Activities in this series promote empathy, social justice awareness, and a sense of belonging. 

After middle school, participants can join a high school club where they further build social and cultural capital by designing and delivering mentoring activities to middle school program participants.  

Maine 4-H Community Central is not just a program; it’s a holistic journey that nurtures the personal growth of middle schoolers while fostering a sense of connection and responsibility to their communities. Community Central aims to create a generation of empowered and socially conscious leaders who will continue to make a positive impact in Maine and beyond.

Building on Past Success

From 2019 – 2024, workforce skill development with teens was the primary focus,
with elementary youth remaining engaged through teen-led STEM activities in the summer. Teens worked with 4-H staff and community partners to design program opportunities based on what sparked their interest.

From 2014 – 2019, Community Central engaged over 3000 elementary students from Lewiston and Portland in experiential STEM-based learning at public housing, school, and community partner sites. During this time, over 200 teen leaders built leadership and workforce skills as mentors and teachers for their younger peers.

Teen teachers Nimo (left) and Marwo (right) at the 2019 True Leaders in Equity Summit with Jennifer Sirangelo (center), past-president and CEO, National 4-H Council.

College Readiness and Workforce Development

Through the design and delivery of workshops and mentoring activities to their middle school peers, high school participants strengthen skills necessary for thriving in the Maine workforce and higher education.

“I’m working in a professor’s lab this summer. We are researching bacteria that usually live in the soil and trying to develop antibiotics for those bacteria! If there is anything I could do for 4-H from school, I would be happy to help. Participating in 4-H is really what inspired me to pursue science further and I’m so grateful.”

— Past Community Central Teen Leader

Program Staff

Kristy Ouellette (Bio)

Principal Investigator
Extension Professor, 4-H State Leadership Team & Positive Youth Development Specialist
kristy.ouellette@maine.edu | 207.353.5550

Mitch Mason

Co-Principal Investigator
Extension Professor, 4-H Youth and Family Development
mitchell.mason@maine.edu | 207.781.6099

Laura Personette (Bio)

Co-Principal Investigator, Program Coordinator
4-H Youth Development Professional
laura.personette@maine.edu | 207.353.5550

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 on the Children, Youth, and Families at Risk page,(NIFA/USDA).

For further information about this CYFAR-funded project contact:

CYFAR Project Name: 4-H Community Central Maine
Principal Investigator: Kristy L Ouellette
Email Address: kristy.ouellette@maine.edu