Submitted by WSU-Thurston County Extension
The National 4-H Council will launch its fourth annual Fall Paper Clover Campaign on October 9, which raises thousands of dollars each fall for local 4-H programs in Thurston County and across the country.
Each year in the fall and spring, the National 4-H Council teams up with Tractor Supply Company and Del’s Feed and Farm Supply stores to raise money for local 4-H programs with the sale of paper clovers in local stores for a donation of $1 or more at checkout. In Thurston County, the Del’s Feed and Farm Supply stores in Olympia and Yelm will sell the paper clovers from October 9 through October 20, with 65 percent of the funds raised at the two stores going directly to fund 4-H programs in Thurston County. As in years past, 5 percent of Paper Clover proceeds raised in Thurston County will go to the statewide 4-H office in Pullman, and 30 percent will go to the National 4-H Council.
“The Del’s Farm and Feed Supply Paper Clover Campaign has become our major fund raiser for the Thurston County 4-H program on a whole,” said Patt O’Neil, 4-H Program Assistant for the county. “We raised over $3,000 from the last two campaigns that directly benefitted our 4-H youth right here in Thurston County. Our club members and volunteers are grateful to our local stores, and to their customers, for their time and commitment to the youth of Thurston County. We look forward to working with them for years to come.”
This year, the kickoff of the 4-H Fall Paper Clover fundraising campaign coincides with National 4-H Week, which marks the beginning of the 4-H year in October when new members can join 4-H, established memberships are renewed and new programs begin. The 2013 National 4-H Week is October 6-12.
The Thurston County 4-H program is a partnership between the private, non-profit National 4-H Council, the Washington State University Extension program, and Thurston County government. What started as a handful of agricultural clubs for youth in the late 1800s and early 1900s has grown into a community 414 members supporting 53 clubs in Thurston County, and 6 million young people across America learning about agricultural techniques, technology and research through practical “hands-on” learning. The national 4-H organization is a unique partnership of the National 4-H Council, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), more than 100 land-grant universities across the country, and more than 3,000 county offices that form the land-grant university Cooperative Extension System.
To learn more about the Thurston County 4-H Fall Paper Clover Campaign, or to find out more about the WSU Thurston County Extension 4-H programs and membership, click here or call (360) 867-2151.
