leadership - 4-H Ontario
leadership - 4-H Ontario
leadership - 4-H Ontario
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FEATURES<br />
A FULL CIRCLE STORY<br />
What brings 4-H Volunteers back<br />
By Stephanie Craig<br />
Kim Desserre is a passionate Rainy<br />
River 4-H Volunteer who loves leading<br />
4-H Clubs. Kim’s 4-H story is one<br />
that mirrors the story of many 4-H<br />
Volunteers; she values hands-on<br />
learning for herself and her Members.<br />
Like many other 4-H Volunteers, Kim<br />
started off her 4-H experience as a<br />
Member. Kim completed 10 agriculture<br />
Clubs, 23 homemaking Clubs,<br />
attended the Regional Conference in<br />
Thunder Bay and took part in the 4-H<br />
Canada Interprovincial Exchange.<br />
Kim was hooked on the 4-H “Learn<br />
To Do By Doing” philosophy. “Part of<br />
my love of 4-H is that it is a fun way<br />
to learn new things,” explains Kim.<br />
Kim’s enthusiasm for the program<br />
led her directly into volunteering after<br />
she graduated as a Member. Kim led<br />
five Clubs and then decided to take a<br />
break to focus on other aspects of her<br />
life, including starting a family.<br />
But like many fellow Volunteers, Kim’s<br />
4-H experience came full circle when<br />
her children became interested in<br />
the program. Kim is now once again<br />
heavily involved in the Rainy River<br />
4-H Association. She happily renewed<br />
her 4-H involvement when her oldest<br />
son developed an interest in 4-H. “A<br />
lot of us do it for our kids,” explains<br />
Kim, “it’s really great that some of our<br />
Volunteers have started 4-H with their<br />
kids.” Her oldest son is now 17 and<br />
her 15, 13 and 10-year-old boys have<br />
all followed in his 4-H footsteps. Great<br />
minds really do think alike!<br />
Kim has a “passion for leading” and<br />
she was happy to restore this interest<br />
by renewing her 4-H Volunteer status.<br />
Kim’s favourite part of the experience<br />
is being able to bring youth together<br />
to learn something new in a fun and<br />
engaging way. “There’s so much<br />
neat stuff to do,” Kim says. “I love<br />
4-H because of the variety. You are<br />
always trying and learning something<br />
new. We find new things to do or do<br />
something in a new fun way all the<br />
time.”<br />
There’s so much<br />
neat stuff to do. I<br />
love 4-H because of<br />
the variety,” says Kim.<br />
Since returning to 4-H, Kim has led a<br />
variety of Clubs, her first being Take<br />
A Kid Fishing Club. She’s also tried<br />
out horticulture, sports, chocolate,<br />
veterinary and sewing Clubs, just to<br />
name a few. Kim has experienced ups<br />
and downs with running her Clubs<br />
just like any other Volunteer. One<br />
particular hurdle Kim had to overcome,<br />
which many other Volunteers struggle<br />
with, was the change in 4-H policies<br />
that required two 4-H Volunteers<br />
for the creation of a Club. Kim was<br />
skeptical about this policy at first but<br />
she soon changed her mind. “It does<br />
make the meeting run a lot smoother.<br />
I’m really glad the policy is in place<br />
now. It’s hard by yourself and it helps<br />
with crowd control,” Kim laughs. She<br />
also jokes about the occasional need<br />
for a seating plan when Members start<br />
to get “goofy”.<br />
Like Kim, her four sons really<br />
appreciate 4-H’s “Learn To Do By<br />
Doing” approach. They often have the<br />
need to be active and sometimes even<br />
“goofy”. “My boys hate to write things<br />
down so doing hands on learning is<br />
the best way,” Kim says. “They like to<br />
get outside and do social rec. They<br />
really are my barometers of project<br />
success.” If Kim hears “this is too<br />
much like school” she knows its time<br />
to mix things up to ensure Members<br />
have a good time and absorb the<br />
project material. “Sometimes you think<br />
they really are just goofing around but<br />
they will come to another project and<br />
remember what you talked about,” Kim<br />
explains.<br />
Those involved in 4-H hear time<br />
and time again that what makes 4-H<br />
special is the “Learn To Do By Doing”<br />
approach. Kim’s experience echoes<br />
that. Members learn valuable skills<br />
through their 4-H Clubs, and they have<br />
fun while doing so. Kim’s passion for<br />
learning through experience is what<br />
keeps her Clubs going and gives the<br />
Members of Rainy River a wonderful<br />
and sometimes goofy 4-H experience.<br />
Thank you Kim.<br />
Leadership In Action • Winter 2011