Yuba River Endowment donates to support Wheatland 4-H
Yuba River Endowment Board Members presented Wheatland 4-H Club Leaders with a $2,800 donation. The funds will reimburse the $100 enrollment fee for their 14 current members, and support the Club with an additional $1400 towards special projects and expenses.
Due to COVID-19 hardships and program changes, Yuba County 4-H enrollment was down by almost half at the end of 2020. The Yuba River Endowment Board of Directors voted unanimously to support and promote 4-H.
“4-H is a fundamental part of the fabric of our community,” said Yuba River Endowment Boardmember, Michael Rue. “When we learned of the dramatic impact the pandemic is having on local 4-H membership, we jumped in to help. Hopefully these funds will allow kids to participate that couldn’t otherwise, and help our local clubs maintain their reserves for brighter days.”
In late January, the Endowment made a similar donation to the other four Yuba County 4-H Clubs. As additional members join through the coming months, a second round of donations will be made to each of the Yuba County 4-H Clubs to cover all additional enrollment fees for any youths who join 4H now through the end of spring.
“Wheatland 4-H was using our reserve funds to keep kids enrolled and engaged this year,” said Wheatland 4-H Club Leader, Jamie Hart. “This amazing donation will replenish our reserves and allow us to take on any new members for free who want to enroll. It’s a blessing, we went from financial stress to having a membership drive!”
The Yuba River Endowment is a nonprofit organization created by Yuba County farmers. Since formation in late 2019, the Endowment has donated over $170,000 to support Yuba County ag education, provide food resources, veteran’s support, and much more.
The Yuba River Endowment was established by a select group of Yuba County farmers who have a right to water that flows on the Yuba River. In a truly win-win situation, the farmers’ water is used to provide the required flow levels to protect endangered fishes on the Yuba River, then once past this critical point, the water can be sold to droughtstricken areas of the state. Proceeds from these transfers provide the funding for the Yuba River Endowment.
Since 4H began more than 100 years ago, it has become the nation’s largest youth development organization, with over 6 million 4-H’ers currently involved.
To learn more, and join a Yuba County 4-H Program, please contact the UCCE SutterYuba Counties 4-H Office at (530) 822-7515. Programming is available for ages 5 to 18.