March 2026 CloverNews

Photo of two 4-Hers manning a table at the Lee County Library
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This photo was taken at the Lee County Library during the Lee County Youth Council's project Reading Buddies.

Summer Youth Workshops & More

Enroll at v2.4honline.com and register under the events tab

hort camp in June
Farm to fork youth workshop in June
camping at Betsy Jeff Penn

Lee County 4-H & Lee County Library STEAM Program

Each 4th Tuesday | 6:00-7:00 | Sanford Branch of the Lee County Library

The March 24th program will be making mazes out of magnets. This will be an engineering maker space activity.

Lee County Youth Council

Reading Buddies program

We want a 4-H Cooking Club

Still wanted: two adult volunteers to support a monthly 4-H cooking club. We would supply the club with expertise. Volunteers would charter the club, keep up with attendance, family contact, scheduling, and the business portion of each meeting. Email pkerley@ncsu.edu if you are interested in learning more. Members of this club could compete in the 8-10 and 11-13 age categories for teams at the Dinah Gore Healthy Food Challenge. 14+ members would be eligible to try out for the Flavor Fighters Cooking Team and take this county to Texas! ~ Pam Kerley & Ashley Szilvay

Extension News: 4-H Edition

February 2026 Extension News Article: Still Focusing on What is Strong as Opposed to What Is Wrong

January 2026 Extension News Article: Set Goals to Make the Best Better

November 2025 Extension News Article: ZZZs and Teens: A Study of Adolescent Sleep

October 2025 Extension News Article: Substance Use in Adolescents

September 2025 Extension News Article: Internet Validation and Youth Well-being

July 2025 Extension News Article: Breaking the Scroll: Helping our Kids Escape the Doom Loop

June 2025 Extension News Article: Raising Gritty Kids in a Soft World

What would you like to learn more about?

Club News

Young Commissioners 4-H Club

Newsletter

Horsin' Around 4-H Club

celebrates team success! We are proud to recognize the hard work, dedication, and outstanding sportsmanship demonstrated by our members at recent Horse Bowl competitions.

South Central District Horse Bowl Results

Team 2 — Lily Carr, Easton Milton, Amelia Milton, and Ryder Carr — earned an impressive 4th place finish at the South Central District Horse Bowl Competition in February. Congratulations on a strong performance!

Team 1 — Maple Kemp (#1 overall!), Avery Beal, Leanna Crowder, and Hallie Hardy — captured the title of South Central District Horse Bowl Champions, placing 1st overall. The team will advance to compete against junior teams from across North Carolina on March 14. We wish them the very best of luck at the state competition!

Upcoming Hippology Contest

The Hippology Contest will also take place on March 14. Representing Horsin’ Around 4-H Club will be: Audrey Cornish, Avery Beal, Hallie Hardy, Leanna Crowder, Lily Carr, and Maple Kemp. Good luck to all competitors!

Upcoming Club Meetings & Events

March 12, 6:00 PM — Lee County Extension Office

March 26, 6:00 PM — Lee County Extension Office

March 29 — Club Trail Ride

We are truly proud of our members for showcasing the club and our county with such excellence! Join us on March 12th for a delightful meeting where you can learn, laugh, and connect with other horse-loving kids and parents. It promises to be a galloping good time! Follow us on Facebook to stay up-to-date on our upcoming locations. Horsin' Around website>>

Magetsi 4-H Club

teaches young people historic Latin American dances in authentic Latin American costumes. They meet each Friday to practice. They accept invitations to share their project with the community. In February, they danced at the International Night Festival. ~ Myrna and team

Silver Spurs 4-H Club

Rosemary Sheppard, Rick McEvoy, Candice Hentzell

Brick City Clovers 4-H

Meeting Sunday, March 8th at 4 pm at Fire Station #5 on Colon Rd for a tour of the station. This club is still accepting members who are eight years old and up. They are at capacity for Cloverbuds (5-7yo) ~ Laura Gremore (Cloverbud Leader), Kathryn Gardner, and Annica Hulstedt

NextGen Robotics 4-H Club

for 8 to 12 year olds. They had a large turnout for the first meeting. The membership for this club is at capacity!

Other Opportunities/Needs

**Partnership for Children and Families wants you to know that you have access to a free, high-quality Pre-K program in Lee County for children who turn 4 by August 31, 2025. Applications are open year-round and as spots are available. Priority is given to Lee County residents. Apply>>

**Betsy-Jeff Penn is looking for a couple more folks to join our team for our spring field-trip season, with opportunities available for our summer camp program as well. Applicants should be 18+ and have an interest in Youth Development. Pay is $425 - $450/week plus a private room in the staff house and some delicious dining hall meals! A brief job description and application.


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South Central Volunteer Association on Facebook

Teen Retreat will be March 28th, 2026

District Activity Day (Public speaking and talent) will be June 17th, 2026


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2026 NC Youth Institute

We are delighted to announce the start of the 2026 North Carolina Youth Institute. This program provides a platform for high school youth to research grand challenges in global food security, agriculture, and sustainability, and develop innovative solutions that combat hunger worldwide. Registrations is open for a fall cohort of youth to participate in our NCYI Research Mentoring Program - we will place youth in a cohort of 3-6 peers and partner them with an NCSU CALS graduate student who will serve as their research coach. We will have 4 Zoom sessions to walk through the research process, and the youth will end up with a research paper and poster that they will present at the Plant Sciences Building at NC State on April 16-17, 2026. This crosses all program areas - animal science, plant science, health and nutrition, agricultural policy, engineering, forestry..... Learn more>>

NC 4-H International Exchange Program on Facebook

NC 4-H on Facebook

connect with lee county

Clovernews Photo taken by Pam Kerley at the Lee County Libraries, Sanford Branch during the Lee County Youth Council's project, Reading Buddies.