The Manitoba 4-H Council staff and board are very excited about this new program, said Candace Tolton. She is the president of Manitoba 4-H Council.
“We are so honored that the Manitoba government values this program so much and believes in us as a 4-H Council, us as a province and what we're doing with 4-H,” she told Farms.com.
The program should help encourage older 4-H members to remain involved, said Tolton.
“Sometimes, it's hard to keep senior members (starting at 15 years old) involved because they have other things going on. They're busy in high school, they're busy playing sports. I think this will just be one more thing that promotes (members) to stay in this valuable program,” she said.
The government will work with the Brandon Area Community Foundation and the Manitoba 4-H Council to create an endowment fund to establish the program. The endowment will support $42,000 in scholarships annually, said the release.
“Post secondary is expensive. I think (the program) will help these kids with their post-secondary education, and then (they will) be leaders in our communities and help strengthen our communities. The youth today will be our leaders tomorrow,” said Tolton.
The Manitoba 4-H Council will administer the program starting in 2021, but the details still need to be finalized, said Tolton.
Nirat/iStock/Getty Images Plus photo