Zachary White of the WVU (West Virginia University) Extension and Lexus Strnisa are two of the individuals involved in the startup of a new 4-H club in the city of Chester. October is National 4-H Month, and the first meeting of the project-centric club will be at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1 in the Hancock County Family Support Center, which is located upstairs in the Chester Municipal Building. (Photo by Stephanie Ujhelyi)

Today’s 4-H is a lot more than just raising livestock, Zachary White of the West Virginia Extension wants families to know.

Just in time for National 4-H Month, the city of Chester’s new 4-H club will hold its inaugural meeting at 5 p.m. in the Chester Municipal Building.

White and Lexus Strnisa, one of the new club’s advisors along with Jenna Gibson, will head up the effort of the new project-focused club.

During the club’s initial organizational meet-and-greet earlier this month to gauge interest, 20 youth and their families showed up.

“It would be one of the bigger clubs in Hancock County,” White said, adding that it would be the first time that Chester had its own club. “4-H needs to be about the kids first and foremost, so they determine the direction of the club.”

Typically, 4-H is one of the largest youth development programs in the United States, involving more than 6.5 million young people and 540,000 youth and adult volunteers, according to the WVU Extension’s website.

Membership is open to any youth between the ages of 9 and 21 within the current 4-H year, which runs October to September.

Children ages 5 to 7 can participate in 4-H’s Cloverbud program.

From that initial informational session in Chester, potential members expressed they wanted to be a project-oriented club.

That was music to Strnisa’s ears as her children participate in 4-H.

A homeschooling mom from Chester, she works as a family engagement specialist and outreach liaison for the Hancock County Family Support Center. These kind of 4-H clubs can provide a great opportunity for mentorship and really add to the experience, she noted.

White explained that while they could enter their projects locally in fairs like the one in Hookstown, which serves as Beaver County’s annual fair, submissions to the West Virginia State Fair would be done remotely with a photograph.

Hancock County doesn’t have an annual fair.

Strnisa, like White, is excited for the new club’s first hour-long meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1 at her workplace.

The following week kicks off National 4-H week, which runs Oct. 5-11, and Hancock County commissioners will recognize that with a proclamation during their Sept. 25 regular meeting.

The Hancock County Extension will be holding a 90-hour kickoff ceremony for all their 4-H clubs at 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5 at a pavilion near the New Manchester fire station, where they will be installing their first project.

Per White, 4-Hers will be installing a blessing box containing non-perishable food outside the fire station.

Members from the county’s other clubs, including the Sundowners, Newellies, Teen Leaders and River Rockets, also are expected to be in attendance for the festivities.

4-H members also receive a variety of discounts for camp opportunities during the summer months at Tomlinson Run State Park.

White concluded that the extension is attempting to begin a 4-H club in Weirton, which currently doesn’t have one.

For information about 4-H or starting a club of your own, contact White at 304-564-3805.

sujhelyi@mojonews.com