{"id":10888,"date":"2018-01-19T10:19:19","date_gmt":"2018-01-19T15:19:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/?page_id=10888"},"modified":"2025-11-24T13:57:33","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T18:57:33","slug":"community-central-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/community-central-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Maine 4-H Community Central"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Supporting Youth Through Discovery<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The program unfolds in three distinct series throughout the year:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u00a0 <\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Self-Discovery &#8211; participants enhance their confidence, self-awareness, goal-setting abilities, wellness practices, and personal standards.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u00a0 <\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Discovery of Others &#8211; participants strengthen teamwork, communication skills, and the ability to navigate peer pressure effectively within their immediate circles, including peers, families, and school.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u00a0 <\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Discovery of Community &#8211; participants broaden their horizons by exploring and discovering the broader community and the world. Activities in this series promote empathy and a sense of belonging.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">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.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maine 4-H Community Central is not just a program; it&#8217;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 leaders who will continue to make a positive impact in Maine and beyond. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Building on Past Success<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-15705 size-medium alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2019\/05\/Nimo-Jennifer-4H-Pres-Marwo-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"Teen girls standing with 4-H president\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2019\/05\/Nimo-Jennifer-4H-Pres-Marwo-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2019\/05\/Nimo-Jennifer-4H-Pres-Marwo-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2019\/05\/Nimo-Jennifer-4H-Pres-Marwo-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2019\/05\/Nimo-Jennifer-4H-Pres-Marwo-105x105.jpg 105w, https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2019\/05\/Nimo-Jennifer-4H-Pres-Marwo-317x317.jpg 317w, https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2019\/05\/Nimo-Jennifer-4H-Pres-Marwo-423x423.jpg 423w, https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2019\/05\/Nimo-Jennifer-4H-Pres-Marwo-634x634.jpg 634w, https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2019\/05\/Nimo-Jennifer-4H-Pres-Marwo-846x846.jpg 846w, https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2019\/05\/Nimo-Jennifer-4H-Pres-Marwo-951x951.jpg 951w, https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2019\/05\/Nimo-Jennifer-4H-Pres-Marwo-32x32.jpg 32w, https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2019\/05\/Nimo-Jennifer-4H-Pres-Marwo.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 320px) 85vw, (max-width: 768px) 67vw, (max-width: 1024px) 62vw,300px\" \/>From 2019 \u2013 2024, workforce skill development with teens was the primary focus,<br \/>\nwith 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">From 2014 \u2013 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">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.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<h3>College Readiness and Workforce Development<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Through the design and delivery of workshops and mentoring activities to their middle school peers, high school participants strengthen skills necessary for success in the Maine workforce and higher education.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m working in a professor&#8217;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&#8217;m so grateful.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">\u2014 Past Community Central Teen Leader<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3><a id=\"program-staff\"><\/a>Program Staff<\/h3>\n<h4><strong>Kristy Ouellette <\/strong>(<a href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/about\/staff-directory\/kristy-ouellette\/\">Bio<\/a>)<\/h4>\n<p>Principal Investigator<br \/>\nExtension Professor, 4-H State Leadership Team &amp; Youth Development Specialist<br \/>\n<a href=\"mailto:kristy.ouellette@maine.edu\">kristy.ouellette@maine.edu<\/a> | 207.353.5550<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Mitch Mason<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Co-Principal Investigator<br \/>\nExtension Professor, 4-H Youth and Family Development<br \/>\n<a href=\"mailto:mitchell.mason@maine.edu\">mitchell.mason@maine.edu<\/a> | 207.781.6099<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Laura Personette <\/strong>(<a href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/about\/staff-directory\/laura-personette\/\">Bio<\/a>)<\/h4>\n<p>Co-Principal Investigator, Program Coordinator<br \/>\n4-H Youth Development Professional<br \/>\n<a href=\"mailto:laura.personette@maine.edu\">laura.personette@maine.edu<\/a> | 207.353.5550<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>General information about the CYFAR grant program can be accessed <a href=\"https:\/\/nifa.usda.gov\/program\/children-youth-and-families-risk-cyfar\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">on the Children, Youth, and Families at Risk page,(NIFA\/USDA)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>For further information about this CYFAR-funded project contact:<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><strong>CYFAR Project Name:<\/strong> 4-H Community Central Maine<br \/>\n<strong>Principal Investigator:<\/strong> Kristy L Ouellette<br \/>\n<strong>Email Address:<\/strong> <a href=\"mailto:kristy.ouellette@maine.edu\">kristy.ouellette@maine.edu<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supporting Youth 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. The program unfolds in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"templates\/page-withsidebar.php","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-10888","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Maine 4-H Community Central - Cooperative Extension: 4-H - University of Maine Cooperative Extension<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/community-central-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Maine 4-H Community Central - Cooperative Extension: 4-H - University of Maine Cooperative Extension\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Supporting Youth 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. The program unfolds in [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/community-central-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cooperative Extension: 4-H\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-24T18:57:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2019\/05\/Nimo-Jennifer-4H-Pres-Marwo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/community-central-2\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/community-central-2\/\",\"name\":\"Maine 4-H Community Central - Cooperative Extension: 4-H - University of Maine Cooperative Extension\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/community-central-2\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/community-central-2\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2019\/05\/Nimo-Jennifer-4H-Pres-Marwo-300x300.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-01-19T15:19:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-24T18:57:33+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/community-central-2\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/community-central-2\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/community-central-2\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2019\/05\/Nimo-Jennifer-4H-Pres-Marwo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2019\/05\/Nimo-Jennifer-4H-Pres-Marwo.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"Teen girls standing with 4-H president\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/community-central-2\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Maine 4-H Community Central\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/\",\"name\":\"Cooperative Extension: 4-H\",\"description\":\"Information you can use. Research you can trust.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Maine 4-H Community Central - Cooperative Extension: 4-H - University of Maine Cooperative Extension","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/community-central-2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Maine 4-H Community Central - Cooperative Extension: 4-H - University of Maine Cooperative Extension","og_description":"Supporting Youth 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. The program unfolds in [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/community-central-2\/","og_site_name":"Cooperative Extension: 4-H","article_modified_time":"2025-11-24T18:57:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":1000,"url":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2019\/05\/Nimo-Jennifer-4H-Pres-Marwo.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/community-central-2\/","url":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/community-central-2\/","name":"Maine 4-H Community Central - Cooperative Extension: 4-H - University of Maine Cooperative Extension","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/community-central-2\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/community-central-2\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2019\/05\/Nimo-Jennifer-4H-Pres-Marwo-300x300.jpg","datePublished":"2018-01-19T15:19:19+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-24T18:57:33+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/community-central-2\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/community-central-2\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/community-central-2\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2019\/05\/Nimo-Jennifer-4H-Pres-Marwo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2019\/05\/Nimo-Jennifer-4H-Pres-Marwo.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"caption":"Teen girls standing with 4-H president"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/community-central-2\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Maine 4-H Community Central"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/#website","url":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/","name":"Cooperative Extension: 4-H","description":"Information you can use. Research you can trust.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"taxonomy_info":[],"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"lpersonette","author_link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/author\/lpersonette\/"},"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10888"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10888\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30001,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10888\/revisions\/30001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}