Kid’s Stuff Summer Preschool will begin accepting applications for enrollment on May 15^th at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County, 840 Upper Front St., Binghamton, NY 13905.

Kid’s Stuff is FREE to families and serves 3,4 and 5 year old RESIDENTS of the funding municipalities and supporting school districts.  Sponsoring towns and districts for 2012 include Binghamton/SV, Chenango/CF, Fenton/CV, and Colesville/Harpursville.  The Town of Maine will not be sponsoring a site this year. Children must be toilet trained and not have completed kindergarten.

Call or email Kay Telfer at 237-1566 or kct1@cornell.edu  for more information, or click Kid’s Stuff Summer PreSchool Brochure, for the brochure and application form.

On Saturday June 2nd, the New York State 4-H Horse Program In-Service will take place at Morrison Hall and the Livestock Pavilion on the Cornell University Campus. Topics will include: obstacle training, horse genetics and involving children. For more information visit their website at:

http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/4H/horses/inservice/index.html.

On May 2nd, National 4-H Council announced the launch of the spring 2012 4-H Paper Clover Campaign in partnership with Tractor Supply Company (TSC).  This event marks two years of collaboration between the organizations on the national in-store fundraiser, benefiting state and local 4‑H programming in each of the communities where a TSC or Del’s Farm and Feed Supply store is located.

The spring 2012 4-H Paper Clover Campaign will take place May 2 through May 13, 2012.  Shoppers at the Vestal TSC store will have the opportunity to support 4-H in Broome County by purchasing paper clovers for a $1 or more at checkout.  All funds raised will be donated to 4-H, and will support 4-H youth development program activities in Broome County.

This year, funds donated during the national campaign will be tracked online and recorded by state and by store.  Visit www.tractorsupply.com/4-H, for more information on the spring 2012 4-H Paper Clover Campaign and to view the donation tracker.

CITIZEN U Teen Leaders will take center stage at a ribbon cutting ceremony at The Walnut Street Park on the West Side of Binghamton on Saturday May 5.  This site will be home to one of the Teen Leaders major summer projects. They will be surveying the community during this event to learn their vision for the park. For more information contact Kelly Mabee at ksm25@cornell.edu or (607) 772-8953.

The 24th Annual Broome County Farm Bureau Auction will be taking place this Friday & Saturday at the Broome County Fairgrounds in Whitney Point. Friday the auction starts at 3pm and Saturday starts at 8:30am. Friday Evening’s Auction Will Consist Of Livestock / Alternative Livestock And Super Lg. Qty. Of Misc. / Smaller Items – 3 Auctions @ Once; Saturday’s Auction Will Include SUPER LARGE Qty. Of: Tractors & Farm Equipment, Construction Equipment, Lawn & Garden, Vehicles, Rental Equipment, Nursery Stock, Etc., Etc. For more information, contact Scott Whittaker – 607-692-3479 / Gary Cornell – 607-849-6644 / Steve Livingston – 607-849-6395.

CCE Broome County’s Citizen U youth are poised to win $5000 for a youth civic engagement project to take place in the City of Binghamton. They need your help to clinch the number one spot. Visit this link: http://bit.ly/IuRYIu and “love” the video every day until April 30th! You must be a FaceBook user to vote.

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County is proud to co-host a Spring Open House with Schaefer Gardens on Saturday April 28th from noon to 4pm inside their greenhouses. Free gardening classes with special guest lecturers including Cornell faculty from the Department of Horticulture as well as other local garden centers.  We are very lucky to have Heather Poire from Proven Winners to talk about using Proven Winners plants in your garden. Proven Winners partners with top plant breeders around the world to bring you varieties that are unique, disease free, easy to grow and care for and trialed throughout the world. Other topics that will be covered are container gardening and weeds. We’ll also hear from Casey Krause at Hillside Garden Center. After the presentations there will be time to visit with local garden centers and other vendors. No sales will be made but bring your camera to get ideas for your home garden from the demonstration site at the event. Refreshments will be available, all proceeds to benefit the American Cancer Society. For more information (607) 772-8953 x107 or www.schaefersgardens.com.

A nationally recognized program, 4-H Tech Wizards, is set to begin March 26 in Endicott at the Ann G. McGuiness School thanks to a grant secured by Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) Broome County from the Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and National 4-H Council. 4-H Tech Wizards is part of a nationwide, mentoring initiative to increase youth social competency, family relationships and academic success. Science and technology projects, combined with mentee and mentor team-determined community service projects serve as the foundation for family involvement, career exploration, workforce development and mentoring.

4-H Tech Wizards is an after-school, small-group mentoring program that capitalizes on the interests of youth (ages 8-18) in science and technology. 4-H Tech Wizards en­gages youth in science, technology, engineering, math education (STEM) projects. The use of high-tech tools serves as the “hook” for getting youth interested in the program. The goal is to help youth learn new skills, inspire careers and lay the foundation for their future in science and technology fields. In addition, CCE Broome County is partnering with local organizations serving military families, to identify mentors and engage military families and youth in the 4-H Tech Wizards program.

Beginning this spring, students from Ann G. McGuiness School will take part in experiential, hands-on learning activities with real world applications. In the summer, young people in Endicott will have opportunities to participate in STEM summer camps. The young people involved in the program commit to 15 hours of community service, and work closely with adult mentors.

Examples of community improvement projects include, development of community GPS maps to identify community needs (e.g., accessibility of public transportation); community gardens (focusing on climate change issues, food security, prevention of childhood obesity); and filmmaking featuring projects completed through the 4-H Tech Wizards program

Mentors are being recruited from Binghamton University’s Center for Civic Engagement, area industries (e.g., Lockheed Martin, BAE), youth-serving organizations, local businesses, faith-based organizations and military organizations. All mentors complete a comprehensive training program, developed by CCE-Broome in conjunction with the Safe Healthy Assets Require Education (SHARE) Mentoring Program, also an OJJDP-funded mentoring program focused on bullying-prevention.

The 4-H Tech Wizards program is based on two 4-H National Headquarters Programs of Distinction—programs recognized for implementing effective mentoring strategies while reducing juvenile delinquency, drug abuse, and school failure, namely the 4-H Mentoring: Youth & Families With Promise program and 4-H Tech Wizards program.

For more information:

Kelly E. Adams, 4-H Tech Wizards Program Coordinator

kea32@cornell.edu

607-772-8953

The 4-hour Youth Development Basics Workshop is coming to your neighborhood. The workshop prepares anyone who works with youth (upper elementary age through young adults) to adopt a positive youth development approach to their work, and to understand concepts key to successful youth work.

- What is positive youth development?

- Outcomes – what youth need

- Adolescent Development

- Services, Opportunities and Supports – how we can help

-  Adultism – a barrier for youth and youth workers

- Youth Engagement, Voice and Choice – a powerful strategy for success

“Basics” is fun, active, interactive, and research based. Connect with others in your area, learn about community resources, and become more effective in your work with youth! Light refreshments provided.

Pre-registration is required at least one week prior to the workshop.

Schedule

Saturday March 24 8:30am-12:30pm Windsor Middle School Library

Mondays April 16 & 23 6:30-8:30pm Vestal Public Library

Saturday April 28 8:30am-12:30pm Harpursville High School Library

The cost is $5pp. For more information: Call Kay Telfer at 237-1566 or email kct1@cornell.edu, or call CCE-BC at 772-8953. The AYD 2 U program is supported by a grant from the Community Foundation of South Central New York – Harriett Ford Dickinson Fund

If your children, or grandchildren, are enrolled in the Broome County 4-H program, make sure to visit and regularly check our Broome County 4-H website (http://blogs.cce.cornell.edu/ccebroome4h/). Keep up to date on events, announcements and all things Broome County 4-H!