1. Michele Peel Tiffany Howell Michelle Etson
4-H Challenged Me
Michele Peel
Tiffany Howell
Michelle Etson

2. How we started Process Calendar This year’s plan
Program Development: Michelle P and Tiffany
Getting it through MSU at State Level
Forming partnership with Lapeer Ed Tech and Lapeer ISD
Calendar:
We had a very compressed schedule in 2016, with applications due July 1, meeting July 7th and show on July 29th
This year’s plan:
Coach application due in late Feb
Member application due in March
Matching and training in late March or April
Longer time to meet, form friendships, more involvement in project and greater capacity to build lifer skills for both coaches and members

3. What we did 4-H Leaders recruited coaches Permission forms to members
Orientation meeting
Introduction
4-H enrollment $10
Coaches training
Pairing
Set schedule
Fair Familiarization
4-H show
Coaches
some members needed more than one coach
Many coaches recruited kids they already knew to be members
We had more coaches volunteer than members this year
Members
Many recruited by coaches
Social media was a valuable tool
Recruiting can be done through school partnerships
Timing
Mandatory meeting
Having computers on site was beneficial
Hold coaches training on same day but in separate room
Schedules are based on needs for coach and parent, not set by leaders
Fair: it was important to include members in the care of the animals the week of fair, but also to familiarize them with the surrounds for the show
Arena
Animal Housing and Care
T-shirts

4. Community Involvement and Funding
Community partners:
Lapeer County Farm Bureau
MSU Extension
Lapeer County Education & Technology Center
Eastern Michigan State Fair
Funding:
Farm Bureau
4-H Participation Grant
Private Donations
T-shirts Sponsors
Expenses:
T-shirts
Parents fair fee waived
Certificates for coaches
Large ribbons for members
Community Partners: Unlimited possibilities
Funding: future plans include long term fundraising through existing county programs
Expenses: will very based on how your county fair works

5. Pre Show Video

6. Survey Results
The most important thing I have gained from 4-H Challenged Me is...
Is that there are a lot of other things I can do to help people
Share anything you’d like to about your experience in the 4-H Challenged Me Club…
I liked working with pigs and came out of my shell more
Coaches: Life Skill reflection
Members: Questions based on life skill wheel used by MSU Extension Answers based on the LINK red, yellow, green model used at school
Parents: It was important to get the reflection and input from parents of coaches and members

7. Impact Members Coaches Parents Community Awards Employability
Confidence
Inclusion as 4-H members
Coaches
Reinforced their own knowledge by teaching
Empathy and giving
New ways of communicating
Parents
Community
Awards
Members
Chris working at Ed Tech Animal Center
Inclusion and opportunities as 4-H members
Friendships
Coaches
These are future classmates, co-workers, employers and caregivers
Jack’s story

9. “Just a kid”
We’ve all heard that statement before, but last Friday it took on a whole new meaning for me. It has been a week and I think I an now, finally, able to put that meaning into words and say my Thank You’s.
As anyone who knows me realizes, my kids are everything to me and you also know our family fights chronic health conditions with Memphis. But last Friday, at the 4-H Challenged Me Show, Memphis got to be “JUST A KID”…
As I watched Kaleb take over Memphis’s wheelchair and push him towards the barn with Ty and Shelby, Memphis was just a kid.
Not a kid with cerebral palsy, just a kid who got to show a lamb and a pig.
Not a kid in a wheelchair, just a kid who got to race around the tent with other kids.
Not a kid who doesn’t talk, just a kid who had a huge grin on his face.
JUST A KID!
As a parent of a special needs child you are forced to grieve for the dreams you had for your child, that may never be possible. But you do not limit your goals for your child, rather you extend your timeline for those goals and search for innovative ways to reach those goals. 4-H Challenged Me helped me to reach those goals with Memphis, but I never thought the biggest impact for me would be watching Memphis get to be “JUST A KID” with a bunch of 4-H coaches who proved themselves, time and again, to be so much more than just kids.
…THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED MEMPHIS BE JUST A KID FOR THAT DAY!

10. Thank you
We hope you found this information valuable. We would love to hear about other communities beginning their own 4-H Challenged Me program.
Questions?
Michigan State University Extension programs and materials are open to all without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, religion, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status or family status. Michigan State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Lapeer County cooperating. MSU is an affirmative action equal opportunity institution.