Missouri

4-H received grant funding from the Missouri 4-H Foundation to put on a summer camp for youth with the focus on positive mental health. 4-H Kindness Clown College will be a five-day, day camp targeting youth ages 8-12. The purpose of the program will be to promote kindness and positive mental health practices using humor. In addition to learning mindfulness, journaling, and relaxation techniques using a variety of activities from 4-H curricula, youth will learn to foster positive emotional and social wellbeing through humor using pieces from the 4-H clowning curriculum. To cap off the week of learning and fun, youth will participate in a community service project in which they visit a local nursing home and/or senior housing to spread joy through humor and share mindfulness and positive mental health practices they've learned with the elderly. Emily Doosing continued to recruit volunteers to help with this camp. 4-H Save Your Brain Ambassadors are also being trained to help with this camp.

Submitted by Karen Funkenbusch, Willard Downs, and Emily Doosing