Fundraisers Planned for 4-H WOW 2020

Submitted by Liz Couillard, 4-H Educator, Cornell Cooperative Extension Franklin County

“WOW! That was a great experience!” “Wow, I never thought I would be able to see Washington D.C.” These quotes and similar phrases filled the conversations on the way home from the last 4-H WOW trip in 2015. Franklin County Cornell Cooperative Extension is very happy to be planning another 4-H Wonders of Washington (WOW) trip for October 21-24, 2020, to provide a once in a lifetime experience for more North Country Teens.

Other than providing a once in a lifetime experience, this trip also puts into perspective the many struggles and tragedies that have been endured to provide them with the way of life they know today. The group will be meeting several times before the trip to get background lessons on what they will be seeing and why it was important enough to be made into a monument or museum. Many of our hard won rights and freedoms are taken for granted.

Our group will be leaving the North Country on Wednesday October 21, 2020 in the morning by bus. That evening we will check into the National 4-H Conference Center located just outside of Washington D.C. The 4-H Center has dorm style rooms where we will be staying for the duration of the trip. They also provide a tour guide to accompany our group on all of our City tours.

Thursday and Friday are packed days of touring and exploring the Washington D.C. area. Some of the attractions that we will tour include Arlington Cemetery, Museum of Natural History, Holocaust Museum, National Zoo, Smithsonian Museums, and a Night Tour of the Monuments. On the return trip home, we will make a detour to visit Gettysburg National Park Museum.

For this fully packed trip the cost is around $800 per teen. However, with local fundraising efforts most all of our youth get to go for less than $100. Everything is taken care of during the trip, including meals. The only extra money some kids bring is to buy souvenirs.

Our first major fundraising event will be May 11th. This will be a consignment auction held at the Franklin County Fairgrounds. All proceeds will go directly into the WOW 2020 fund to help reduce the cost per kid. We are now accepting consignments or donations for the auction. We are taking all kinds of items from agriculture, art, food, furniture, etc. as long as it is in very good condition.

Contact the 4-H Office at 518-483-7403 if you would like to support the auction with a consignment or if you have a teen who would be interested in attending 4-H WOW 2020. For pictures and stories from the previous WOW trip visit http://franklin.cce.cornell.edu/4-h-youth/teen-events.