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Man. government supports 4-H scholarships

Nov 05, 2020

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The $1-million investment establishes a post-secondary scholarship program for 4-H members

By Taryn Milton

Staff Writer

Farms.com

The Government of Manitoba recently announced a $1-million investment for 4-H in Manitoba.

The investment establishes a 4-H Manitoba Scholarship Program. Current and former 4-H members pursuing a post-secondary education can apply for a scholarship.

“Our government committed to creating this scholarship in the 2020 throne speech, and we are happy to provide continued support to the 4-H program and the values the program represents. Our endowment approach supports how we as a government have worked with local foundations to continue building capacity to provide long-term, positive impacts in their communities,” Blaine Pedersen said in the release. He is the minister of agriculture and resource development in Manitoba.

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.

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