4-H Poster Art contest set
The Jefferson County 4-H Poster Art Contest is open to all 4-H members ages 9-19. Posters should be submitted to the Jefferson County Cooperative Extension Service by April 5. Posters can be horizontal or vertical and can be created using any of the following mediums: ink, crayon, acrylic, charcoal, colored pencil, collage or digital. Posters should only contain original creations.
“Please refrain from using any copyrighted material,” county agent Timothy Wallace said in a news release. One poster per 4-H member will be accepted. Five junior winners (ages 9-13) and five senior winners (ages 14-19) will be selected and will receive a certificate, which will be presented at the District 4-H O-Rama in June, according to the release.
The themes for the 2024 poster contest are as follows:
Undercover Clover
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Open theme (create a 4-H theme and poster to go with it)
Have Fun… Create… Explore!
For details or to join a local 4-H program, contact Timothy Wallace at (870) 534-1033 or twallace@uada.edu.
Raven’s Nest to hand out food
Raven’s Nest Food Pantry at Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, 2507 Hill St., will be open March 9 from 8-9:30 a.m. or until all the food has been given away. Food will be handed out on a first come, first-served basis. Participants must bring a picture identification. The site is a U.S. Department of Agriculture distribution site and an equal opportunity provider, according to a news release.
Church slates credit workshop
Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church’s Outreach Center, 2507 Hill St., will host a free credit building workshop March 6 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Working Credit, a national nonprofit organization,will present the workshop about credit.
“Learn how to build/rebuild and maintain a strong credit score that can serve as a pathway to more,” according to a news release. Attendees will receive a $25 gift card and access to a year of free credit building counseling. The community is to attend. The Rev. Kevin Crumpton Sr. is pastor of Pilgrim church.
UAPB LIONS open to incoming freshmen
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is inviting incoming freshmen to apply for its Learning Institute and Opportunities for New Students (LIONS) Program. The LIONS Program prepares incoming freshmen for collegiate life through classes, workshops, and on-campus living. The residential program will be held July 8 through Aug. 9. The deadline to apply is April 30. UAPB began the LIONS Program in 2008. The experience has become known for its academic and social offerings designed to assist freshmen as they move from their homes to a new environment. Participants live on campus in a residential hall to help them acclimate to the university community.
“The transition from high school to college can be nerve-racking,” said LIONS Program Director Carolyn Mills. “We view the LIONS program as the perfect on-ramp to this new chapter as college students. It has a wonderfully successful track record as that necessary bridge into college.” Since the LIONS Program began, more than 1,500 students have attended. UAPB’s college retention rates indicate that LIONS participants earn higher grades and graduate at a higher rate and sooner than the general student population.
Erikton Goodloe, a native of Rockford, Ill., will graduate in May with a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture concentrating in agricultural business. He participated in the LIONS Program in 2020 at the height of the covid-19 pandemic. In the years since, Goodloe received several USDA scholarships and was selected for four paid internships.
“I’ll remember that summer for a long time,” Goodloe said. “The pandemic required that we meet virtually, but the LIONS Program still gave me a tremendous advantage as a freshman. I had been conditionally admitted because of my GPA, and the LIONS Program helped shore up the academic areas where I definitely needed help.” LIONS is sponsored in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Post-secondary Education, Strengthening Institutions, Title III, Part B, Historically Black Colleges and Universities Program.
For details, contact Carolyn Mills at (870) 575-8362 or millsc@uapb.edu or visit www.uapb.edu/lionsprogram or www.uapb.edu and click on the LIONS Program tab. For information about financial assistance, call (870) 575-8302 or email finaid@uapb.edu.