(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County Extension will be celebrating all things 4-H during National 4-H Week October 1-7. Now is the time of year for youth to join and participate in 4-H, a worldwide youth development program, hosted in Iowa by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

Cass County 4-H will be hosting a Fall Fest on Sunday, October 8th from 2:00-4:00pm at the Cass County Fairgrounds. The community is invited to come out for an afternoon of family fun! Current 4-H members will be at the event to celebrate 4-H. All are welcome to join in on the fun and see what 4-H all is about.

“We have a variety of fun activities planned which will showcase some of the project areas with hands-on activities, games and fun at our Fall Fest October 8th!” says Katie Bateman, County Youth Coordinator with Cass County Extension. “A 4-H information booth and snacks will be available from 2:00-4:00pm!”

Fall Fest will be a fun event for all ages to come out and celebrate National 4-H Week! You are invited to follow Cass County 4-H on Facebook page, www.facebook.com/CassCoIAExt or search for “Cass County Iowa 4H” on Instagram.

Keep an eye out for Cass County 4-H members, volunteers, and supporters showing their 4-H pride during National 4-H Week. Many of our local 4-H clubs will be creating window displays in local businesses. Other clubs will be doing special events and activities during the week such as wearing 4-H shirts to school or doing service projects around their community!

In addition, the Iowa 4-H Foundation and Cass County 4-H are partnering to host the Iowa 4-H Giving Day (www.iowa4Hgivingday.org), a special 24-hour event, on October 3rd at noon until October 4th at noon. Each year on Iowa 4-H Giving Day, supporters and alumni across the state come together to financially support Iowa’s largest youth organization, to ensure these opportunities continue to be available to youth across the state and at the county level. 4-H supporters can donate online or in person to support programs at the county or state level!

“4-H is a year-round program for youth in grades Kindergarten through 12. National 4-H Week is a great time to show some the wonderful things 4-H offers to youth,” stated Bateman. “In fact, research has shown that young people in 4-H are nearly four times as likely to contribute to their communities and are twice as likely to engage in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs during after school time.”

4-H is active in each of Iowa’s 99 counties and empowers youth to reach their full potential through many different types of experiences including photography, music, woodworking, sewing, livestock and horticulture. 4-H grows confidence, creativity, curiosity, courage, character and much more in youth. 4-H allows youth to use the skills that they learn to go out and make a positive difference in their communities.

Cass County 4-H has more than 300 4-H youth and 100 volunteers involved in the program. Interested in joining 4-H? Contact the Cass County Extension Office at 712-243-1132 or visit the Cass County Extension website at www.extension.iastate.edu/cass.