UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The approach of the holiday season often can send children into a selfish frenzy, as they're encouraged to draw up fantasy gift wish lists, and then wait for the goodies to arrive. But for young people in 4-H clubs around the Pennsylvania, the holidays bring the challenge of finding new ways to give to others. And they've been coming up with some winning responses:

- In New Sewickley Township, the Sweetwater Riders 4-H Club of Beaver County is collecting hats, gloves and mittens for the Beaver County Women's Shelter.

- In Lebanon County, the North Mountain 4-H Community Club annually assists the Mennonite Disaster Relief Organization based in northern Lancaster County in packing supply boxes to send to worldwide areas of need.

- In Sharon, The 4-H Public Adventure Youth Council and Cloverbud's Expressive Arts Team will sing Christmas carols and mime at two nursing homes in Sharon and nearby Boardman, Ohio. The club is making oversized Christmas cards for the nursing homes full of pictures, holiday greetings, decorations and club signatures. They've been getting ready for their holiday events since early November.

- In Erie, 4-H members are presenting their third annual Santa's Workshop as a free holiday event that parents and children can enjoy together. 4-Hers set up craft stations at a local school where participating youth from low-income families have a chance to make a craft of some sort. The club is responsible for coming up with a craft idea, obtaining supplies and providing hands-on help. Visiting children are able to make up to four crafts, wrap their gifts, have a face tattoo, decorate cookies, have a picture taken with Santa and enjoy punch and cookies. Last year's attendance topped 400 children.

- In Beaver County, the Thundering Hooves 4-H horse club challenged others in the county to see which group could write the most cards for military personnel worldwide through the Friends of Our Troops Military Mail program. The winning club collected nearly 600 cards.

"Youth need to experience meaning and purpose in their lives," explains Christy Bartley, state 4-H program leader for Penn State Cooperative Extension. "Our members build connections to their communities when they give back to others through community service learning projects and citizenship activities. Many clubs have an expectation not only for club community activities but also for individuals to volunteer their time.

"Through the 'learn by doing' model, youth are learning from their adult leaders the benefits of volunteering in the community," Bartley says. "These projects and activities help them to recognize the importance and value of their efforts. To develop into leaders who understand and can operate in a global community, youth must know that they don't live in a secluded world. When 4-Hers pledge their hands to larger service, they are pledging to learn more about the world in which they live."

More than 169,000 young people ages 8-19 (along with almost 1,000 adult and teen volunteer leaders) take part in Pennsylvania 4-H programs which are offered in every county through 3,790 clubs, camps and projects that range from rocketry to raising livestock. Bartley says that 4-H's agricultural beginnings more than 100 years ago sometimes obscure its status as the nation's oldest, largest youth development organization.

"People think of the 'head, heart, hands and health' of our pledge, but don't realize that 4-H was one of the first institutions to encourage youth leadership development and problem-solving skills," she says. "It's inspiring to watch these young adults work through the details of the program, but even more inspiring to see the warmth and caring they put into the project. 4-H clubs almost always partner with a local agency or organization for their community service, so they get a head start in connecting to those groups."

One club has been participating in Presents for Patients in Beaver County for over ten years, visiting nursing homes with some connection to the 4-H club. Several 4-H clubs are going caroling to nursing homes throughout the county. A few 4-H clubs have made donations to the Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh fund drive during the holiday season.

Many clubs take on longer-term community service projects that extend beyond the holiday season. In Montgomery County, for instance, this year was dedicated to raising money to purchase a hoop house, a simple shelter for chickens and pigs that will help to provide food and self-sufficiency for a rural Mexican farming cooperative. The kids have earned enough for one house and are more than halfway toward the second by selling chocolate hens and chicks at Easter, running a small petting zoo at the Apple Butter Frolic in the fall and other activities.

In York County, 4-H members are raising money to build a home for a homeless family in Central America through Samaritan's Purse. Clubs in the past have raised thousands of dollars for such projects as Heifer Project International and holiday packages for Kosovo war orphans. In addition, all year 4-Hers redeem soda tabs for cash for the Ronald McDonald House in Hershey.

In Armstrong County, 4-Hers support a Christmas Angels Program at a local nursing home, purchasing items for two residents who don't have family members to get gifts for them.

"A recent survey of Pennsylvania 4-H alumni indicated that 4-H was better at developing subject knowledge skills, self-confidence and self-worth, communication skills, and teaching them responsibilities in comparison with other youth organizations," Bartley says. "These holiday activities are examples of how kids are learning to help their communities and themselves."

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Writer/Editor: Gary Abdullah Office 814-863-2708 FAX 814-863-9877