Widen
the
Circle
A 2014 Diversity Catalyst Team Campaign
After the Widening the Circle: Moving
Beyond Tolerance training, I am willing to
talk with others about inclusion and
mostly to be aware of my own circle(s)
and how to open it (them) to others.
– CSU Financial Aid Counselor
In our county, we make accommodations
for people who have disabilities so they
can participate in our programs, like
acquiring an American Sign Language
interpreter and a special assistant for
participants on the Citizenship
Washington Focus trip.
– Anonymous County
The La Plata County 4-H Youth Development program
‘Widened our Circle’ by developing the ‘4-H Giving Back
Garden’. This garden was a collaboration with Ft. Lewis
College – Old Fort Incubator Plot Farm program,
Southwest Conservation Corps and the USDA Commodity
Food Distribution. The garden has had an amazing
harvest season. The whole project was entered into the
‘Come Alive Outside Challenge’, sponsored by JP
Horizons and John Deere - which encourages youth and
communities to engage in more activities outside.
(Cont’d)
The La Plata County
4-H Youth
Development program
‘Widened our Circle’,
by developing the ‘4-H
Giving Back’ Garden.
After the Widening the Circle: Moving
Beyond Tolerance training, I am widening
the circle (on campus) through slam
poetry performance and talking about all
the (diverse) topics…and inviting others
to come and watch or perform their
own stories.
– CSU Freshman
In Eagle County, the Youth
Foundation hosted the Annual Family
Connect event: a free family resource
fair which provides an opportunity for
agencies to host activities, arts and
crafts and developmental screenings
for both English and Spanish
speaking families. Not only were we
able to reach members of our
community, we were also able to
network with other agencies.
• CSU Extension FCS Agent Glenda Wentworth
exhibited the Rethink Your Drink display encouraging families to offer water, low-fat milk, or
100% juice as the beverage of choice.
• Horticulture Agent Jeff Pieper featured a RolyPoly race.
• 4-H Agent Jenny Leonetti conducted Grass Heads
for youth to create and demonstrate. Not only
were we able to reach members of our
community, we were also able to network with
other agencies.
After the Widening the Circle: Moving
Beyond Tolerance training, I can now
develop many different relationships with
a variety of people.
– CSU Freshman & 4-H LDC member
My family and I went to Berry
Patch Farms to pick some berries
and flowers, and we met Tim
Ferrell there, who helped us have a
great time. Tim and other local
agriculture-interested individuals
helped Claudia Meister, widened
the circle, highlighting the
connection between health of all
individuals and Colorado
agriculture, in a video called
'Thank A Farmer'. (Cont’d)
Often times, farmers go unrecognized
for the important impacts their work
has on the health of the community.
We appreciate their efforts, which not
only provide a bounty of flavorful
fruits and vegetables, but also include
the first steps in keeping fresh
produce safe. Reaching out to a local
farmer to say 'thanks' is a great way to
widen your circle, and you can start
by checking out the short video
Claudia posted.
After the Widening the Circle: Moving
Beyond Tolerance training, I will remember to
stay conscious of what
stereotypes/assumptions I make both on and
off campus.
– CSU Accounting Staff
Weld County 4-H sponsors a
4-H Tech Wizards Expo
during the Weld County Fair.
Weld County 4-H Tech
Wizards Coordinator, Lauri
Sutton, widens the circle in
her community with science,
technology, engineering,
math, youth and community
development.
Colorado State University Extension continues to support
professional development (through funding) and in an effort to be
sure we are all widening the circle, Professional Development
support requests will now be accompanied by answer(s) to the
following question within the body of their request:
*How might participation in this professional development
opportunity potentially result in the inclusion of members of a
diverse audience (people of various races, genders, socioeconomic
classes and other points of human diversity) in your future
programming?
CSU Denver Extension 4-H Youth Development
nutrition interns and ENFEP nutrition educators
have been working with the Student Council and a
third-grade class at Place Bridge Academy to share
information about nutrition and physical
activity. Place Bridge is a magnet school for
elementary-aged refugee students and serves many
English Language Learner (ELL) students.
(Cont’d)
In order to gain cultural competencies and better serve
the populations represented at Place Bridge, Denver
County nutrition interns have received relevant cultural
information, attended events in the community, and
visited students’ homes with 4-H staff, getting to know
family members over a cup of tea or meal. Through
community assessment, and forming partnerships with
local agencies that serve refugee/immigrant populations,
CSU Denver Extension is striving to engage community
members, parents and students to develop communitybased, culturally relevant programs.
The annual Mountain 2 Metro Great
Adventure includes 4-H Youth from not
only Denver, Gilpin and Clear Creek, but
Larimer and Arapahoe Counties as
well. The adventure widens circles
through an enriching, overnight
summer camp where youth from
different walks of life have the
opportunity to learn about one
another, the places they live and the
similarities they share. Check out the
pictures of the youth at the checkpoint
in Gilpin County, and getting wet at
Confluence Park.
Family Matters is a monthly CSU Extension newsletter that
briefly introduces and discusses healthy eating habits, and
ways to empower people wanting to improve their body
composition (i.e. reduce obesity, ward off disease, improve self
awareness). Family Matters is a peer reviewed, one-page
newsletter, written in English and Spanish and has photos that
include different types of people, meals and is intended to
engage all types of individuals and families.
Family Matters is available on the CSU Extension website for
all counties to use and distribute either in hard copy or
electronically. ***The page provides archived issues in English
and Spanish communities can use.
In Arapahoe County, fifteen-year-old 4-H’er Stephen is in it to
win it. He isn’t letting his disability get in the way of his success
this year at the Arapahoe County Fair. Stephen was diagnosed
with mild Cerebral Palsy at age 2. He is a little behind his peers
developmentally and intellectually.
As much as Stephen has benefited from 4-H, his peers continue
to learn from him too, said CSU-Extension Director, Tim Aston.
“Kids who otherwise may not have met someone with special
needs are getting to know the person behind the disability by
getting to know Stephen,” said Aston.
“They are learning compassion, acceptance, inclusion and they
can have the opportunity to mentor him.”
In our county, we provide and read
nutrition/health, human development, and
financial information for one half hour every
week during a section on a statewide radio
station for the visually impaired. Visually
impaired listeners have access to this
program and other programming via
internet/phone/audio connection equipment.
– Boulder County
There once was a committee for community
healthy food that was meant to represent all the
community members. Tom Hooten realized
there was no one to represent the Ute Mountain
community members on the committee. He
found a way to include the Ute community and
not embarrass the organizers who inadvertently
omitted including them. Total grace!
In our county, the 4-H Sprouts are a blend
of 4-H skills and hands-on activities for
Head Start students and families (in one
pod module) that uses family interactions
to boost student engagement for up to 30
youth who need the program per year.
– Anonymous County
We widen the circle by providing food safety
class for restaurant workers with translator
and handouts (including PowerPoint
presentations) helps many in this tourist
community.The food safety as well as
confidence of the workers is enhanced and
the information is even shared with those
who did not participate.
-Anonymous community
In Boulder County, the Our Lands, Your
Hands program serves 1,200 youth
from the Longmont area to hands-on,
Ag-related experiences. One 4-H club
based in S.T.E.M. activities is directly
geared and marketed toward the Latino
community.
In Dove Creek, we are implementing
S.T.E.M. day camps to introduce
technology to students who would not
otherwise have access.
As a part of a program our Denver
Extension Office is involved with, I had
the opportunity to teach guitar to a youth
group who are also part of a refugee
community. The blank stares and faces
made me realize these kids don’t have
the cultural background that I have had,
growing up in the United States. That
day I learned about culture, Thailand,
kids, music, refugees, lifestyles and
more. I feel very fortunate to have had
my circle widened in this way!
In our county, one youth who lives with a
severe disability has joined 4-H. Deb Alpe
worked in partnership this youth, to engage
and include, and the result was better grades
and better social skills in school.
– Jackson County
We paired up with another community
agency that was able to provide
requested services to developmentally
challenged participants, so they could
attend and engage in our programs.
- Anonymous County
A leader of the Hmong community
in our county on our Extension
Advisory Committee.
– Anonymous County
• Popular culture can impact work in our community, and those inside
and outside our circles. After being inspired by the a story of 4-H
Youth Director, Jeff Goodwin, widening the circle in a very personal
way, the Denver County Extension Office participated in a group
facilitated discussion after viewing part of the movie, The Butler.
• The questions, comments and discussion that ensued after watching
the movie prompts a challenge: watch the movie, The Butler,
together and take time to discuss these :
– What themes are playing out in this movie?
– How historically accurate are the events in the movie?
– Are there present-day examples of the way the characters in the
movie interact?
– What is important for us all to know and
remember about what is happening in the
movie after today?
(Cont’d)
In Denver County, after watching ‘The
Butler’, participants said they:
…now have a
larger respect for
the people they
work with.
…appreciated how the
movie allowed for honest
conversation about
perceptions.
…believe the
impact of the
conversation will
have a greater
impact on our
entire client base.
…now have an idea of some
type of work they need to do in
their community to widen the
circle.
In Denver County, the Tech Wizards
program is connecting youth at a nontraditional school to scientists and
passionate volunteers from outside their
community to learn about science-related
topics. They share more than just
curriculum and activities though, check out
the video at Denver 4-H’s YouTube Page.
In Elbert County, we are trying to reach more
Family Consumer Science and agriculturefocused families, even though we do not
have an agent specifically employed for
those programs. In this effort, we are
targeting our marketing efforts toward
different groups, like: TANF recipients,
business professionals, public service
entities, agricultural producers, and more.
In Broomfield County, the 4-H program brings
home school and in-school families together in
the traditional 4-H Club program. This way,
both groups can learn from the different family
and education perspectives, and the youth can
interact with each other in a common social
setting that does not always exist in school.
A team of nutrition interns has been working
hard to share their skills in culturally-relevant
ways with a nonprofit organization, Project
Worthmore, which serves people transitioning
to life in Denver from refugee
backgrounds. One of the projects involves
picking up vegetables from Sprout City Farms
for a community veggie distribution. Since
some of the vegetables are unfamiliar to
people who come from diverse backgrounds,
the nutrition interns have devised simple
recipe cards and will be preparing the recipes
at weekly demonstrations during the
distribution.
(Cont’d)
The Denver/Arapahoe team
received feedback from
community members, and it
was used to develop recipes
that can be well-accepted
based on cultural preferences
and the simplicity of the cards
allows English Language
Learners to easily understand
the recipe.
In our county, scholarships for the
Colorado Master Gardener program
applicants allowed a person experiencing
homelessness to enroll and participate.
– Anonymous County
In Arapahoe County, we expanded our
traditional 4-H programming beyond rural
communities, to include youth on Buckley
Air Force Base in Embryology, Sewing,
Woodworking and Gardening projects.
The Family Leadership Training Institute in
Larimer County started in 2010 with an all
white facilitation team. As we conducted the
next three trainings, we recruited and (then)
provided financial support to bring a more
diverse (community) representation to our
facilitation team. Now we have Hispanic,
African-American, male, female, and
alternative lifestyle represented.
More than two dozen Colorado 4-H Agents took it upon
themselves to learn about several cultures and history, during
a cultural immersion opportunity in Crested Butte,
Colorado. During the activity, agents learned about how the
mountain town came to be, and the cultures that built,
maintained and currently live in the town. Agents met
wonderful ‘locals’ who were happy to participate in the learning
process: Nepalese and Himalayan traditions and foods;
historical trivia; local foods access; people from different
backgrounds–everyone learned something, and the entire
town was ecstatic to have our group there. Check with a 4-H
Agent in your county or area, and ask about how that
experience went, or to show you a picture of them at the Third
Bowl or Donita’s Cantina!
Each spring and summer, a group
of Denver Master Gardeners
provide on-site landscape
training at the
Colorado Governor’s Residence
on Capitol Hill in Denver for a
small group of participants in the
Jefferson County Recovery
Court Program. The participants
in the Recovery Court Program
are non-violent offenders who
have had issues with substance
abuse, and are working toward
bettering their lives.
(cont’d)
Denver Master Gardeners and
the Jefferson County
Recovery Court Program
participants perform
landscape maintenance
services on the grounds of
the mansion. Several
participants have gone on to
pursue landscaping jobs in
the community.
One aspect of diversity we address (how we
widen the circle) in our county is full-time
versus part-time residence. We are
targeting some programs of interest to
'summer only' residents to increase
Extension's reach.
- Anonymous County
We paired up with another community
agency that was able to provide requested
services to developmentally challenged
participants, so they could attend and
engage in our programs.
- Anonymous County
When providing food/snacks for
Extension meetings/programs try to make sure
that there are healthy choices/selections,
including gluten free items, veggies, etc., so
everyone has a chance to be included in the
sharing and engagement that happens around
food and drink…we also make sure not to have a
meeting without dark chocolate....thank
goodness dark chocolate is healthier than milk
chocolate!!!!
– Boulder County
Widen
the
Circle
A 2014 Diversity Catalyst Team Campaign