4-H Livestock Club hosts Hog Jog

By Madeline Otten
Correspondent

The 4-H Livestock Club will be hosting its first annual 5K Aug. 3 to raise money for its animal show and sale at the Fluvanna County fair that is held every year in mid-August.

The race will take place at Pleasant Grove at the pole barns and is on the same route that the high school cross-country team uses for practice and races. The course is not stroller-friendly and will be roped off with ribbon to ensure the route is accessible for runners. Registration starts at 8 a.m. sharp and the race begins at 8:30 a.m.

The 4-H Livestock Club’s programs are all volunteer-run and the group tends to keep its programs at low- to no-cost to allow as many kids as possible to participate. But as the club has continued to grow, so has the need for community support through fundraising and sponsorship. This encouraged the club to up its fundraising goals and put on the race.

“The Hog Job is a way for us to raise money for the fair,” said Danielle McPherson, 4-H parent and one of the hosts of the race. “The tent is expensive and as the club grows, we are trying to become more independent and not rely on our extension agent for help.”

In 2012, Sara Hernandez started the Fluvanna County 4-H Livestock Club. This club focuses on providing kids within the community with leadership development, community service, and hands-on experience through a “learning by doing” approach to set them up for the future. This project-based club gives its members the opportunity to raise project animals, and at the end, members will show and sell their animals at the Fluvanna County fair.

In preparation for the fair, youth members are taught how to raise animals in a humane way. They also learn how to make a profitable business by keeping track of expenses, such as the purchasing the animals, food, and any medication. At the end of their project, the children have to sell their animal at the county fair, which also teaches the members the life skill of parting with a farm animal and watching the cycle come full circle.

“With 4-H, it involves the family as a whole,” said McPherson. “Yes, the kids take care of their animals on their own, but the parents are helping them with things that they can’t do on their own, such as fencing, building shelters for the animals, trimming hooves, working with Excel to create a spreadsheet that tracks expenses, vaccinations, and other things. 4-H brings families together and teaches them the importance of working together.”

Members of the club range from ages 5 to 18 and commit to raising livestock projects. Animals include rabbits, chickens, lambs, cattle and pigs. In addition to leadership and business skills, youths learn valuable lessons in responsibility, commitment, ethical behavior and critical thinking.

The club also receives help from an extension agent, Kim Mayo, who participated in 4-H growing up. In an earlier interview this year, Mayo expressed that “the leadership, citizenship, and life skills I learned from participating in 4-H as a youth have helped me become successful in my career as an extension agent.” Now, as an extension agent, she can give back by recruiting and managing a network of volunteers to develop and implement youth programs, such as volunteers for the 4-H Livestock Club.

For the Hog Jog event, the club has set up a Go Fund Me page to facilitate donations for runners participating in the event, but will also accept donations at the time of the race. Water and light snacks will be provided and there will be giveaways and prizes for all participants, as well as age group prizes for the top male and female finishers for ages 11 and under, 12-17, and 18 and over.