Jovany has big dreams. So does his sister, Lupita. He wants to one day attend college to become a marketing professional; Lupita dreams of flying Army airplanes. Today, they attend elementary school, play with their friends and actively serve their new Riley County 4-H club, Verde Clovers. Club members are committed to the principles of 4-H Verde Clovers: “Salud, Saber, Sentir y Servir” or Head, Heart, Hands and Health.
“Our first meeting we learned to make bread,” said Jovany. “Now, whenever we visit my uncles, we bring them bread we make.”
Families eagerly and creatively work to raise funds because Verde Clovers has been so important to them. Last winter, the club baked cookies and sold them — on a snowy day — to build a field trip fund. This summer, they ran the concession stand at the county fair.
Started with a Kansas 4-H Foundation grant, 4-H Verde Clovers extends the school day learning of science, robotics and much more to a community underrepresented in the wonder-inducing and transformative 4-H programming familiar to many Kansans.
