OakTown 4-H November Club meeting is November 9th at 6:30pm at Dimond Recreation Center off Hanley Road in Oakland. Come join us for

• Healthy Living Presentation for all youth members
• New Angora Goat Project information for youth 9+
• Reports on recent 4-H events and information on coming events
• Special Primary Member (ages 5-8) program
• Games, door prizes, snacks
• "Oak Town 4-H Club" T-Shirt Order info
• 4-H Uniform Ordering Info

When: Monday, August 10 6–8pm
Where: Dimond Park, Sequoia Grove Picnic Area
What: Bring your own picnic, we will provide dessert

Find out all about 4-H, meet the members of OakTown club and get answers to your questions about:

• 4-H projects, membership and volunteer opportunities
• See project displays and information
• Play games and participate in activities
• Get to know other families

We look forward to meeting you!

This year our new club, OakTown 4-H, made its debut by doing community service and outreach at Fentons Creamery in Oakland (yes it's a real place!) The weekend they gave us was coincidentally Fentons 120th Anniversary. Boy, were we busy! -- George Butko

Fair Dates: Wednesday, June 17—Sunday, July 5, 2015

Oak Town 4-H Project Leaders and Parents,
Most of the Alameda County Fair information for youth is now posted here. (Livestock is not yet up but I don't believe we have any leaders for livestock projects at this point). Please do take a look at the catalogs. There is much information here and kids can enter many different things. I intend to go over this in more detail at the April Club meeting but PLEASE look at the various packets under the "Competitive Youth" column or view the " YOUTH Complete Guide" here.

If you have Primary members (youth 5–8 years old) pay special attention to what they can enter. There are special categories and contests for this age group. ANY questions, please ask. 

Thanks, Barbara    

Wednesday, April 22, 2015 6:30PM
2727 Fruitvale Ave, Oakland, CA 94601
Tickets can be purchased at: 
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1285402 
  
Journalist and Author Kiera Butler reads from her new book "Raise: What 4-H Teaches 7 Million Kids and How Its Lessons Could Change Food and Farming Forever" Join Pollinate Farm & Garden as we welcome journalist and author Kiera Butler for a reading and discussion from her book "Raise: What 4-H Teaches 7 Million Kids and How Its Lessons Could Change Food and Farming Forever".

Saturday, April 4, 2015!

This spring there are several opportunities to take part in community service activities… most fairly local or drives to collect items for other club's projects. 

Dunsmuir House has an annual Easter Party the day before Easter and asks for 4-H families to come with whatever small animals can be easily transported and contained for a 4-hour community event. Participating in this event helps offset the cost of the facility use fees for Dunsmuir House for Dog Field Day in May and they are looking for rabbits, chickens, guinea pigs, rats, small goats and the like with some sort of portable enclosure to contain them.

Check here for an update that aired this week:
http://wn.ktvu.com/story/28193022/inspired-resident-aims-to-reopen-oakland-stables. 

Sunday, March 15 from 1:30pm–5:30pm 

I will host a gathering of parents and leaders discussing topics such as Record Books, Fair Entry, Camp and more. While this is meant for interested parents, if older youth want to attend that is fine but the focus will be navigating the end of our first year successfully. We will be having a guest speaker to introduce you to the Online Record Book program and how to use it to document all the hours and activities spent on 4-H Projects, Club Meetings and activities and other 4-H Events. 

Contact Barbara at oaktown4k@gmail.com if you have additional topics and concerns you would like addressed.

Meeting Theme: Wear Your Sports Jerseys or Sports Hats

The March Oak Town 4-H Meeting will be Monday, March 9 from 6:30PM–7:45PM at Dimond Recreation Center. Our Club Officer Team has put together another fun meeting for you with an exciting guest speaker.

• Community Service: Spring Basket Supplies Drive benefitting Oakland's Operation Dignity
• Please bring: large spring baskets, paper grass, small new toys, books, stuffed animals, candy, personal care items (children's toothbrushes, tooth paste, shampoo, combs, brushes)
• Program: Native Bees! Guest Speaker is Sara Leon Guerrero from Urban Bee Lab, UC Berkeley
• Primary Project: Constructing Bee Hotels
• March Birthdays Celebration with Jacob and Chloe
• Games with our Recreation Team
• Snacks: WHO SIGNED UP????
• Door Prizes (we will limit the number of tickets in circulation this month!)

By Jessica B., Abbie 4-H

Operation Dignity is an organization based in Oakland that helps the families of homeless vets. They help vets with emergency and transitional housing and services to help them get back on their feet. Abbie 4-H has been helping this organization provide a happy spring for these children for several years. This year, OakTown 4-H will be helping to make baskets as part of our Community Service efforts.

Here’s how you can help:
Bring to the March Community Club meeting (Monday, March 9th at Dimond Park) items to help make Easter Baskets such as:

• New Stuffed Animals
• Small games or toys such as Rubix cubes, decks of cards, Slinkies, balls, color crayons and books etc.
• Bags of candy or chocolate bunnies
• Useful items for homeless children such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoos, hand sanitizers, hairbrushes etc.
• Large bows, ribbon or cellophane for wrapping baskets
• OR Donate money to help buy ready-made baskets

Our goal is to complete baskets, not just gather materials. The children range in age up to young teenagers, so we will need a range of age appropriate items. Please bring supplies to donate.

OakTown Families,

Camp reg. Will open for chaperones and staff on March 1, campers will begin registration on March 15. Check out  lpcamp.com then click the Alameda tab/link. All camp info and registration info is there. 

Registration opens on March 15. Please go to lasposadas4hcamp.org

If your child wants to attend 4-H camp this year -- Register today! 4-H Camp is open for youth 9 and up and they just need to be 9 at the time of camp.

Camp registration fills quickly. Please speak to Emily or Michelle if your child needs financial assistance to attend camp. We want every OakTown member to attend camp if they want to attend. 

Thanks, Barbara

$20 of each ticket sold by our club for the December 21st, 1:25 pm game will be donated to OakTown 4-H! Please download form here for your Oakland Raider's tickets. The linked form must be used so that California 4-H will get credit for tickets sold. You cannot designate a seat, only a section. Help our club while enjoying 4-H Day at the Oakland Raiders vs Buffalo Bills.

The State Fashion Revue committee is seeking entries to design the program cover for the SFR Fashion Show. Your design should reflect the theme, "Through the Looking Glass".  Contest rules are:

• Any 4-H youth member may participate, regardless of projects.
• The design can be digital or hand drawn.
• You may use any medium (colored pencil, marker, paint, digital). 
• The space allowed for the finished cover, including text, is 4.5” wide x 7.5” tall. This fits on a folded letter size page.
• All art work must be original. No clip-art allowed.
• One design per member.

Include the words "2015 State Fashion Revue" and the date "May 30, 2015".

Use the 4-H clover appropriately in your design. Please keep your original art work and go to this link to submit your entry http://ucanr.edu/sfrcovercontest

Entries are due by 5:00 PM on December 15, 2014. For more information email mvemails@yahoo.com