Cumberland County 4-H Community Partnership Opportunities
For over 100 years 4-H has been a leader in positive youth development programming in Maine and across the country. In addition to our long-standing 4-H club program, 4-H staff also partner with local youth-serving organizations, libraries, schools, recreation departments, and after-school providers to reach a broader audience with our programming. Below you will find a variety of ways to connect with our resources and our staff to bring our positive youth development focused programming to your area.
Toolkits Available for Loan in Cumberland County
Toolkits are a great way to share our 4-H curriculum and resources with the community. Any enrolled 4-H volunteers, Cumberland County educators, after-school staff, and non-profit organizations working with youth ages 5-18 are welcome to borrow our toolkits and curriculum. Some of the kits are adaptable to all grade levels while others are more specific. Toolkits can be reserved for a month to 12 weeks (depending on the kit). There is little to no cost (except for the replacement of consumable supplies) and a required $25 deposit. The following items are available for loan:
- Art of Math (Utah State University Extension 4-H)*
- Crime and Spy Science
- Embryology
- #EmpoweringMEandYou Teen Mental Health & Wellness
- Family Consumer Science for Cloverbuds (Utah State University Extension 4-H)*
- Junk Drawer Robotics Levels 1 and 2
- Leadership & Team Building
- Lego Robotics EV3 Kits
- Power of the Wind | Wired for Wind
- Small Animal and Livestock Science Activity Sampler
- Surviving a Zombie Apocalypse (Utah State University Extension 4-H)*
- 2014 4-H National Youth Science Day Rockets to the Rescue
- 2015 4-H NYSD Motion Commotion
- 2016 4-H NYSD Drone Discovery
- 2017 4-H NYSD Incredible Wearables
- 2018 4-H NYSD Code Your World
- 2019 4-H NYSD Game Changers
- 2020 4-H Stem Challenge Mission to Mars
*SPIN Club Kits(SPecial INterest) typically have enough activities to run for one hour a week for six weeks. To go along with these kits we also offer an abbreviated version of our volunteer training to anyone interested in leading a new Special Interest Club. In addition to these kits for loan, we also offer a few SPIN Clubs each year taught by our staff. For more information about our Summer SPIN Clubs please visit our 4-H Spin Club website.
For curriculum resources and ideas to teach your own SPIN club activities check out Utah State University Extension’s Discover 4-H curriculum. We also have a variety of National 4-H Curriculum books available for loan in our office. To see all that National 4-H has to offer for curriculum please visit Shop 4-H. If you see something you’re interested in learning more about please contact our office to see if we have it in our library for loan.
Maine 4-H also has a variety of additional kits available for loan. Pickup for these kits can be arranged at our office in Falmouth with advanced notice. Visit umaine.edu/4h/stem-toolkits/ for more information.
Community Outreach Programs
Our staff is also available to offer many educational programs for libraries, after-school programs, and other youth organizations. There are a variety of options to choose from for all ages of youth 5-18. Community outreach programs tend to last one to two hours in length depending on the time-frame you are looking to fill.
Listed below are some of the common community outreach programs taught by our staff. Most programs are offered free of charge to libraries, after-school programs, and other non-profit youth organizations. This is just a sampling of the programs we offer so please email or call our staff for information on other activities you may like to have offered by 4-H for your program.
- Aquaculture: Seaweed Activities
- Leadership, Team Building, & Self-Esteem workshops
- Horse Sense: Equine Vision Glasses (15 to 20-minute activity, great for small groups of all ages to rotate through)
- Pinwheel Making/Power of Wind
- National Youth Science Day/STEM Challenge Activities
- Seasonally-Themed Maker Projects
- Science of Ice Cream Making
Program Consultations & Collaborations
Our staff are available for both consultations and collaborations with other youth serving organizations. As Positive Youth Development leaders our staff are trained in a variety of models to help youth reach their full potentials. Whether you’re wondering how to kick start a teen teacher program, or wondering how you can incorporate more hands-on experiences into your programming, we’re here to help. Contact us to get some new ideas or have us create a training for your staff! We also often collaborate with area schools, housing authorities, libraries, and more to teach programming, share resources, and more.
Here is a list of some of our current Community Partners & Supporters: Blue Seal Feeds, Boys and Girls Club of Greater Portland, Cumberland Farmers Club, Cumberland County Leaders Association, Hannaford Supermarkets, Learning Works, National 4-H Council, New Gloucester Library, Portland ConnectEd, Portland Housing Authority, Portland Out of School Time Network, Portland Public Schools, Raymond Village Library, Shaws’ Supermarkets, South Portland Schools, Tractor Supply Company, Windham Butcher Shop, and YMCA of Greater Portland.