November was a busy month for local 4-H’ers.

More than 695 volunteers, teen leaders, junior participants, and 4-H staff attended the annual Georgia 4-H Junior Conference at camp Rock Eagle in Eatonton. The weekend event was filled with community service projects, workshops, and many other fun activities.

Junior conference is a statewide event designed for Junior 4-H’ers, (seventh-eighth graders) to experience belonging to a group of peers, perform service projects, and master certain communication skills.

4-H’ers attending Junior Conference took multiple classes on peer pressure, bullying, portfolio development, and robotics. A class called, “Be a Friend — Lend a Hand” was taught to encourage students to positively intervene when they witness bullying or other hurtful situations.

Students who witness hurtful behavior are encouraged to:
• Report concerns: Tell an adult who can help.
• Reach out: Reach out to be kind to the person being hurt.
• Say “stop”: Tell the person being hurtful to stop.

In addition to the service projects, 4-H’ers continue their 10-year tradition of collecting and selling pop tabs to benefit the Ronald McDonald Houses of Georgia.

This year 4-H’ers collected 13, 871.5 pounds of pop tabs for a total donation value of around $7,000, with the proceeds going to the local Ronald McDonald House of the Coastal Empire in Savannah. Since the project began in 2002, 4-H’ers have collected over 129,236 pounds of pop tabs, totaling over $70,000.

The conference also provided a variety of entertainment and recreation such as a dance; a scavenger hunt; a performance by Clovers & Company, the Georgia 4-H Performing Arts group; and multiple games such as miniature golf, flag football, ultimate Frisbee, relay races and a talent show.