Governor Mike Parson proclaimed October 4-10 National 4-H Week in Missouri.

A news release says with a goal of serving 10 percent of Missouri youths by 2025, Missouri 4-H is joining millions of youths, parents, volunteers and alumni across the nation in celebrating the many positive youth development opportunities 4-H offers.

This year’s “Opportunity4All” campaigns seek to rally support for 4-H and find solutions to the opportunity gap that affects 55 million kids across America, according to National 4-H Council president and CEO Jennifer Sirangelo.

Sirangelo said, “With so many children struggling to reach their full potential, 4-H believes that young people, in partnership with adults, play a key role in creating a more promising and equitable future for youths, families and communities across the country. 4-H believes every child should have an equal opportunity to succeed and gain the skills they need to make a difference in the world.”

Throughout the week, Missouri 4-H will highlight some inspirational 4-H’ers in the Show-Me State who support each other, see what is needed in their communities and step in to help. They have sewn masks to donate to hospitals, created videos to encourage healthy eating and physical activity, led donation drives to help local food banks and written notes of encouragement and thanks to nursing home residents and front-line workers.

One of the most-anticipated events of National 4-H Week every year is the 4-H STEM Challenge, formerly known as National Youth Science Day. This year’s event, in which hundreds of thousands of youths across the nation are expected to take part throughout October, is Mars Base Camp. Developed by Google and the Virginia Cooperative Extension, Mars Base Camp teaches kids ages 8-14 STEM skills in fields such as mechanical engineering, physics, computer science and agriculture.

For information on these programs, visit 4h.missouri.edu or contact your county MU Extension center to speak to a 4-H specialist and find out what is happening in your area.