Starting this fall, 4-H members can belong to clubs in Saskatchewan until age 25.
The change was made by the Saskatchewan 4-H Council at their May meeting. As part of their Embrace the Future initiative, in an attempt to standardize the 4-H age across Canada, to improve recruitment and retention, and to smooth transition of 4-Hers from members to leaders, 4-H Canada recommended the age range for 4-H members in Canada be six to 25 years of age. Quebec was the only province in Canada that had members in the 22 to 25 age group. Saskatchewan became the second, followed by Manitoba.
This new age group of 22- to 25-year-olds is called "Future Leaders." The name was coined by the Canadian 4-H Council Youth Advisory Committee, made up of senior 4-H members from across Canada who were charged with studying the older age group and making recommendations.
Youth Advisory Committee Members agreed with the concept of Future Leaders, and suggested roles of this new age group could include supporting existing clubs, promoting agriculture and exploring career opportunities. Matthew Tweedy, former chair of the Youth Advisory Committee, said, "As the committee members are primarily post-secondary students, we have witnessed first-hand the need for a program to facilitate the teaching of career skills."
4-H members in this new age category have the options of remaining in their home clubs or forming/joining a Future Leaders club. 4-H Saskatchewan is piloting the new Future Leaders age group in 2012-13 to help provide direction to other 4-H organizations in Canada.
