Youth Development

Juntos opens pathways to higher education and opportunity for Latino families in Oregon

Latino students make up nearly 25% of Oregon’s K–12 public school population yet face persistent barriers to college access. Nationally, only 58% of Hispanic high school completers enrolled in college immediately in 2022 and ...

Jan 2025 | Impact Story

YOSÉ provides nature experiences, education for Portland-area youth

Research shows that people of color are far less likely to engage in nature-based outdoor recreation activities, with historic discrimination being a large underlying factor. People of color are three times more likely than white ...

Jan 2025 | Impact Story

OSU Extension 4-H babysitter training tackles Oregon's child care shortage

Families in Oregon face several challenges when it comes to finding quality child care. Because there is a significant shortage of child care slots, especially for infants and toddlers, many families struggle to find available ...

Jan 2025 | Impact Story

Malheur Works connects youths to careers in rural Oregon

Malheur County, along Oregon’s eastern border with Idaho, is known for its vast high-desert landscape and agricultural heritage. But it also faces deep economic challenges. With the second-highest child poverty rate in Oregon — ...

Jan 2025 | Impact Story

OSU Extension helps Oregonians respond to avian influenza outbreaks

When highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was first detected in Oregon in May 2022, commercial poultry farms were forced to cull infected birds, backyard chicken owners worried about their flocks, and 4-H members faced ...

Jan 2025 | Impact Story

Extension hosts 4-H Summer Wednesdays in Washington County

Busy work schedules, limited child care availability and fees for program registration pose challenges to families looking for opportunities for youths to explore new interests. 4-H is the largest out-of-school youth program in the ...

Oct 2024 | Impact Story

Elementary AgFest teaches Marion County students about local food system

Farm-to-school programs provide nutrition education, access to local foods, and agricultural education, serving families inside and outside the classroom. Classrooms that participate in farm-to-school programs such as farm field trips, ...

Aug 2024 | Impact Story

La Grande greenhouse project supports local food access

Each year, students at La Grande Middle School grow a wide variety of flowers, herbs and vegetable starts in the school’s greenhouse. After the annual plant sale fundraiser, there are often leftover vegetable starts that need ...

Apr 2024 | Impact Story

Youths learn the importance of pollinators through hands-on robotics activity

Pollinators such as bees play a vital role in food production and biodiversity, but their populations are in decline. In Josephine County, Oregon State University Extension Service’s 4-H Youth Development program is addressing this...

Mar 2024 | Impact Story

4-H youths bring holiday cheer to veterans through Stockings for Soldiers

Civic engagement is an important aspect of adolescent development and a core theme of 4-H education. For the last 10-plus years, hundreds of soldiers and veterans have received packages filled with stockings prepared by Oregon ...

Mar 2024 | Impact Story