Hampden County 4-H

Last Call for Cover Contest Entries!
Please get them in by tomorrow. The Association will chose the winners at tomorrow’s meeting.
Please DM us if you have questions.

🍀Calling all youth artists!🍀 We need your creativity to design 73rd Hampden County 4-H & Youth Fair cover. This year it’s all about Celebrating America’s 250th Anniversary and 4-H as An American Tradition! 🇺🇸

Open to youth in Hampden County 4-H clubs only. Download the attached cover design. Be creative with images of your experiences with
4-H and how they relate to America and this special anniversary. Draw them in the flag.

Please follow these rules for your design:
🍀Black felt tip or ink for final line drawing. No pencil or shading. No color.
🍀No licensed characters allowed. Disney, etc.
🍀Images should be drawn in the flag shape.
🍀Put your name, address, club name and age in pencil on back.
🍀Return your submission: Please send original in large envelope. Do not fold. Make a
copy for yourself if you want.
Mail in a large envelope; do not fold, to:
Hampden County 4-H/Youth Fair Association
P.O. Box 62
Chicopee, MA 01021

Deadline for submissions is 4/1/2026
Selected designs will receive a gift card.

It’s time to register for Explore UMASS happening in June. That means school is almost out!

Explore UMass registration is NOW OPEN on
4-H online! This opportunity is open to Mass
4-H members ages 12-16, and to the general public (which means that if you are a 4-H member that has a friend aged 12-16 that would also be interested in attending- please share this information with them).

Have you applied for BOOST yet?

The deadline for BOOST applications is Wednesday, April 1st! Don’t miss your chance to be awarded a grant of between $1,000-$5,000 for your 4-H Club, Advisory, or Fair. Questions? Email [email protected]. https://www.mass4hfoundation.org/for-families-clubs/grants-and-awards/ Massachusetts 4-H Program

🍀Calling all youth artists!🍀 We need your creativity to design 73rd Hampden County 4-H & Youth Fair cover. This year it’s all about Celebrating America’s 250th Anniversary and 4-H as An American Tradition! 🇺🇸

Open to youth in Hampden County 4-H clubs only. Download the attached cover design. Be creative with images of your experiences with
4-H and how they relate to America and this special anniversary. Draw them in the flag.

Please follow these rules for your design:
🍀Black felt tip or ink for final line drawing. No pencil or shading. No color.
🍀No licensed characters allowed. Disney, etc.
🍀Images should be drawn in the flag shape.
🍀Put your name, address, club name and age in pencil on back.
🍀Return your submission: Please send original in large envelope. Do not fold. Make a
copy for yourself if you want.
Mail in a large envelope; do not fold, to:
Hampden County 4-H/Youth Fair Association
P.O. Box 62
Chicopee, MA 01021

Deadline for submissions is 4/1/2026
Selected designs will receive a gift card.

🍀Mark Your Calendars! 🇺🇸 The Fair is set to return for its 73rd year and planning is underway. Our festivities will be themed around red, white, and blue, along with green, to commemorate youth achievements and our proud American culture.

🍀Western MA 4-H Families🍀
The Hampden County 4-H Youth Fair Association invites you to a field trip to Good Pickin’ Farm, open to 4-H members in Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin, and Berkshire counties, as sugar tapping season approaches. The tour includes a hayride, mini goat hike, maple syrup tapping demonstration, and photography opportunity. Due to limited space, early registration is encouraged at link below.

Calling all Alumni! Join the first MA 4-H alumni association. More to come as this new venture grows. 🍀🍀🍀🍀

Join the Massachusetts 4-H Hearts & Hands Alumni Association! The Foundation is creating a new alumni association in 2026. Stay tuned for future events and an alumni newsletter. To ensure we have your contact information and 4-H interests, please complete this brief form to join the Alumni Association. Thank you! https://wl.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E78637&id=22

Every bag has been zipped tight, filled with love, and another Cruiser Care Packs is complete!

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the remarkable volunteers and youth from 4-H Clubs, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, law enforcement agencies from across Massachusetts and Northern CT, and Robert Charland “Bob the Bike Man” for their invaluable contributions towards bringing comfort and warmth to those who need it most.

Thanks to your efforts and the support of community donations throughout the year, over 800 winter coats, 20,000 Bomba socks and 1,000 backpacks filled with necessities are on their way and the timing couldn’t be better.

This project has become an integral part of our 4-H story, underscoring the community’s capacity for kindness and generosity - life skills that truly make the best better.

Photo credit to HCSO

Thank you to our friends WWLP-22News for spending time yesterday covering our annual community service outreach Cruiser Care Packs. And excellent interviews by our 4-H youth!

First responders and youth groups team up to help homeless in western Mass. First responders and youth groups across western Massachusetts and Connecticut partnered to fill thousands of backpacks with supplies for community members in need.

Cruiser Care Packs are coming to your community and the timing is right on. Thanks to our friends FOX61 for sharing the story.

Cruiser Care Packs return with winter help for homeless in Connecticut, Massachusetts Among the biggest benefits of the Cruiser Care Pack program is the teamwork it builds between youth groups and police officers.

It’s time to kick off our annual collaboration to support our significant Western MA Community Service project, Cruiser Care Packs, filled with essential items for those in need in 2026. We proudly partner with local Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Pedal Thru Youth with Robert Charland, also known as “Bob the Bike Man”, and community law enforcement agencies to aid our friends in need.

In 4-H, we pledge our hands to larger service. And we invite you to join us in this effort. A small contribution can make a significant difference, particularly during the winter months.