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4-H LogoFlorida 4-H

4-H LogoFlorida 4-H

Community Pride: Service-Learning Grant Program

Community Pride is a service-learning program aimed to support 4-H members and clubs across the state in giving back to their communities.

Project proposals are due December 1. Final reports are due June 1. All information regarding these submissions can be found below.

  • Program Objectives

    The objectives for this program are for youth to:

    • Learn about their community and the impact it has on their lives
    • Learn to work with a team in community activities, programs, organizations
    • Develop skills and knowledge in community leadership
    • Gain experience carrying out projects to improve their community
    • Develop an interest in and love for their community

Questions

Citizenship/Leadership Coordinator | Derby Sale, sderby.sale@ufl.edu

 

Partnership Opportunities

Partnership opportunities, including title sponsorship, are available for this statewide program. Contact Caylin Hilton at grow4h@ifas.ufl.edu to learn more.

 

Guidelines & Procedures

4-H members of all ages may participate in a Community Pride Project.  During the project a community issue is identified, a service project is selected, a plan is implemented by the group, and reflection and reporting take place.

This is a competitive project. To be eligible for one of the Top Five Community Pride Project Awards, groups must have submitted a proposal and a final report. Even groups who do not receive funding are eligible to submit a final report and compete for one of the Top Five Awards.

  • Step 1: Community Needs Assessment

    During the fall, youth study the challenges facing their community and identify needs and assets. Youth then select one community need to focus on.

  • Step 2: Planning Process

    Youth research the community need they are going to focus on and develop a plan to combat this community need.

  • Step 3: Submit a Community Pride Proposal

    Each group must submit a proposal for funding their Community Pride Project.

    Proposals must be submitted online through the following link by December 1 to be considered for the current 4-H years funding, Community Pride Proposal (ufl.qualtrics.com). County 4-H Professionals (faculty/staff) will receive an email to approve the application once it is submitted. Applications will not be considered complete without approval from your county 4-H professional. 

    For submission, you will need to upload additional documents that can be found at the following links, Proposed Project Budget and Proposed Media Strategy.

    For reference only, you can see what information needs to be submitted at the following link, Sample Proposal - Community Pride. All submissions must be made through Qualtrics. No other types of submissions will be accepted.

    Proposals will be scored by volunteer judges and then receive an average score. To help prepare and ensure that your proposal is clear to judges, you can access the score sheet at the following link, Proposal Score Sheet - Community Pride.

    Please Note: Funding is awarded based on available funding, number of proposals submitted, and score received on the proposal. If a project does not receive full funding from the Florida 4-H Foundation, groups are still expected to follow through on the process by working with you to build additional support.

    Groups that are awarded funding will be notified via email in January. Groups that are awarded funding MUST follow up with the Florida 4-H Community Pride Final Report available below.

     

  • Step 4: Implement Your Project

    Youth should implement their service project between January and June.

  • Step 5: Evaluate and Report

    All submissions must be made at Community Pride Final Report (ufl.qualtrics.com) by July 1 to compete at the state level for recognition. All proposals are invited to submit a final report; those that received grant funds are expected to submit.

    As part of the report, you will need to download the Final Project Budget, fill it out, and upload it within the online submission form. For reference only, you can see what will need to be reported at Sample - Community Pride Final Report. No PDF submissions will be accepted.

    All participants in the Top Five Projects will be invited to a recognition meal held during 4-H University.

  • Leader's Guide

    You can access at Community Pride Leader’s Guide (edis.ifas.ufl.edu).

    This guide supports Club/Project Leaders in helping club members succeed. It includes:

    • Community needs assessment instructions
    • SMART Goals Worksheet
    • Project calendar worksheet
    • Sample reflection questions.

2024 - Top 3 Projects

  • Teen Leadership Club – Leon (Top 3 Project)

    Kindness in Crisis

    According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, this year’s Atlantic hurricane season has an 85% chance of being above normal, with 8-13 hurricanes and 4-7 major hurricanes expected. With these statistics in mind, and after Leon County experienced two major weather-related events between February and June, the Leon County 4-H Teen Leadership Club initiated the Kindness in Crisis project. They aimed to supply disaster relief kits to the elderly in their community. Through this project, they distributed 80 disaster relief kits, impacting over 200 people. These kits included information pamphlets created by the club, featuring a cover designed through a local art contest.

     

  • Teen Leadership Council - Nassau (Top 3 Project)

    Teens Helping Teens

    Teens Helping Teens supports teenagers in the foster care system through "Summer Bags" – vibrant beach bags filled with essentials like beach towels, toys, sunscreen, and hygiene products. These bags bring joy and normalcy to those facing challenging circumstances. The initiative highlights local youth's active involvement in assembling and distributing the bags, fostering empathy, unity, and community pride. This year, 20 foster care youth received support from Teen Helping Teens. 

  • County Council - Wakulla (Top 3 Project)

    Dash Into the 50's

    To make local senior citizens feel welcomed and appreciated for their impact on the community, Wakulla 4-H’s County Council hosted a prom event, Dash Into the 50's. In collaboration with local seniors, the council co-created an experience that met all their needs. The night featured trophies for top dancers, lots of laughs, and stories from the 1950s shared by the seniors. The Executive Director of the Wakulla Senior Center praised the council's thoughtfulness and service, calling it inspiring. Additionally, the Wakulla County Health Department was so impressed with the impact on senior citizens that they picked the project up for future years and will involve the Wakulla 4-H County Council in future planning efforts.

     

  • Previous Community Pride Projects

    2024

    COUNTY PROJECT GROUP DESCRIPTION
    Alachua GNV Target Range Sustainability Project Alachua County Shooting Sports Shooting range ecological sustainability
    Broward Quilting for Kinds Dream It, Style It, Make It Nap blankets for children in foster care
    Lee Bags of Hope Teen Leadership Club Basic necessity bags for children in foster care
    Sarasota Clover Care Packages Action Clovers 2.0 Care packages for nursing homes and assisted living facilities
    St. Lucie Mailboxes for Creature Safe Place Mane Attraction Mailboxes for essential paperwork at local wild animal refuge drop off

    2023

    COUNTY PROJECT GROUP DESCRIPTION
    Gilchrist Top 5 - Outreach to Officers Helping Hands Supplies for children in need and appreciation for police officers
    Lake Top 5 - G.O.A.T. Soap Goat Busters Making and supplying soap and other critical items to those in need
    Lee Top 5 - Dig Into Reading Teen Leadership Club Making and supplying literacy kits for those in need
    Polk Top 5 - Vandal Control Homegrown Beautification of local areas that have been vandalized
    Sumter Top 5 - Helping Hands for Healthy Meals Sumter STEM Creating a sustainable garden to provide healthy food options to local food banks and soup kitchens
    Wakulla Honorable Mention - Let's Clean Wakulla Together Teen CERT & County Council Advocating against litter, bringing awareness to the effect litter has on their local environment
    Alachua Gator Skeet & Trap Rejuvenation Alachua County Shooting Sports Beautification of local shooting range
    Escambia Life Skills 101 Northview Coordinating a week-long life skills summer day camp
    Escambia Bringing 4-H to the Kids Northview Coordinating STEM activities for youth at a local homeless shelter
    Manatee The Rabbit Cooperative Learning Project Bradenton Bunnies Coordinating a rabbit care and showmanship clinic for local youth
    Sarasota Community Action Projects for the Environment (CAPE) Pollination County Council Building a pollinator garden and creating educational advocacy videos about pollinators
    Washington Little Free Library LEGO Masters Creating two Little Free Libraries in locations over 25 miles from a local library

    2022

    COUNTY PROJECT GROUP DESCRIPTION
    Broward Top 3 - Tree-Plenish Tree Giveaway Dream It, Style It, Make It Providing their schools and community with trees and pollinator friendly plants
    Lake Top 3 - Mission Foster Closet G.R.I.T.S. Providing welcome kits to families with new foster youth that included items like toothbrushes, sippy cups, snacks, stuffed animals, coloring books, and toys
    Wakulla Top 3 - Blessing Box County Council Creating and stocking a blessing box at their Extension office to help combat food insecurity
    Hamilton Foster Love Bags Explorers Providing foster youth with backpacks filled with pillowcases sewn by 4-Hers and personal items
    Wakulla Disaster Buckets for Seniors County Council Provided senior citizens with disaster buckets and taught them how to make their own to be prepared for disasters

    2021

    COUNTY PROJECT GROUP DESCRIPTION
    Broward Top 5 - Craft Workshops for Mental Health Assisted Living Dream It, Style It, Make It Providing educational craft workshops to enhance living at a local assisted living facility
    Broward Top 5 - Butterfly Garden for Mental Health Assisted Living Tropical Troopers Creating a butterfly garden to enhance living at a local assisted living facility
    Lake Top 5 - Retire, Respect, Replace Green Clover Legacy Educating local community about the proper care of the American flag along with its meaning and purpose
    Osceola Top 5 - Gateway Shields and Masks Why Knot Sewing window covers and face masks to help protect schools in crisis
    St. Lucie Top 5 - Water Quality Water Quality Team Creating educational flyers and trash collection sites to educate local community about their responsibility in keeping their waterways clean
    Brevard Brevard 4-H Adopt a Camp Sharp Eyed Shooters Cleaning up and improving local public wildlife lands
    Broward Food Forest Plant Propagation Flagler Village Monarchs Propagating plants from their local food forest to feed and educate community members on preparing healthy meals with fresh fruits and vegetables
    Escambia Purple Up for 4-H Military Youth Discovery Assembling and delivering Clover Care Kits to 4-H miliary youth to support them through the challenges they face
    Lake Mission Foster Closet G.R.I.T.S. Collecting requested items for local foster closet and bringing community awareness to foster family needs
    St. Lucie Lending Library County Council Building a lending library in a local park to give children access to free books
    Wakulla Rainwater Collection System Food Forest Project Installing a rainwater collection system to create a sustainable water source for their community food forest