Ida, 4-H collaborate to promote Latino youth

By Anne Eickstadt

REPORTER

It may have been a cold, rainy night on Thursday, Jan. 19, but Ida Public Library was warm and cozy, where Vanessa Mendoza, the Boone County 4-H Latino Program Coordinator, led the 4-H introductory meeting.

“We keep the 4-H traditions alive with this new program conducted in Spanish. Boone County is one of nine counties in Illinois who have a Latino program. We basically do the same program, but we add an emphasis on Latino culture to our meetings,” Mendoza said.

“This is a get-together night when we will discuss specific information about the Latino program. 4-H already has three clubs in Boone County, but we have a high Latino population. We want our 4-H Clubs to reflect the Latino culture and help build the skills and understanding for the kids to become successful in larger mainstream groups.”

Children 5-years-old to 18-years-old are welcome to join 4-H.

“This club will collaborate with LULAC, the League of United Latin American Citizens, to promote awareness of the Latino American community. 4-H and LULAC are partnered up to sponsor each other,” Mendoza said.

4-H focuses on youth projects, where youth do the hands-on work. This includes areas dedicated to health, science, agriculture, citizenship, mentorship, leadership, and more. Children are guided by adult mentors who encourage a proactive and positive atmosphere for learning.

The 4-H Latino Youth Outreach program highlights all of these projects while also providing research approaches, materials, and guidelines to help engage area Latino youth.

LULAC works to champion civil rights for Latinos in the United States.

They “deliver programs designed to advance the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, housing, health, and civil rights of the Latino population.” LULAC of Belvidere can be found online on Facebook at LULACBELVIDERE.

“By the library inviting the 4-H Latino program to meet here, it makes the Latino community feel welcome in a comfortable environment,’ Maria Lopez, of Ida Public Library, said. “We want them to come in to our facility and know that the library has great resources in their language. They can become familiar with the library and feel comfortable coming here for resources and for adding to their understanding of Belvidere and the increasingly combined cultures in northern Illinois.”

Lopez said that 4-H and Ida work together to aid the League of United Latin American Citizens.

“I bring the LULAC resources back to the library for the Latino community,” Lopez said.

Ida Public Library is located at 320 N. State St. in Belvidere. For more information on the library, visit: www.idapubliclibrary.org.

For more information about 4-H, go to www.4-h.org.