All of us who are in the 4-H program, either as adult advisers
or as children, are appalled, saddened and very upset by your
decision to abolish the 4-H program in our county.
All of us who are in the 4-H program, either as adult advisers or as children, are appalled, saddened and very upset by your decision to abolish the 4-H program in our county. We know that Howard Harris, who dedicated over 70 years of his life to 4-H, is rolling over in his grave now and cursing you for your questionable and unthinkable decision.
You don’t seem to understand that the 4-H program and San Benito County need each other, 4-H needs you to contribute your $70,000 share of the $875,000 it takes to run the program. (The University of California funds 78 percent or $682,500; the federal government funds 14 percent or $122,500.) Your $70,000 share amounts to a mere 0.002 percent of your budget. NOT 2 percent, but one-fifth of 1 percent of your budget. The children need you to support them. We adult advisers need you to support us. The community needs you to support the program.
And the county needs 4-H. Our kids volunteer many hours of community service, as do the adult advisers. If you multiply those hours by the minimum wage I’d bet that you’d easily surpass, say $70,000! A lot of money is spent in the county for food and care of the animals that the children sell at the county fair. And, by the way, 4-H attracts many visitors to that county fair. The program gives the children positive things to do after school and on weekends. The program teaches leadership, citizenship, life skills, and ethics.
So please, if you can squeeze even one drop of “the milk of human kindness” from your souls, spare the 4-H program that serves the youth of this community and the community as well.
Bruce and Sandra Green,
4-H Advisers for Union 4-H Club
