"I pledge my Head to clearer thinking, my Heart to greater loyalty, my Hands to larger service and my Health to better living, for my club, my community, my country, and my world."
 
The Mahoning Valley Community 4-H Club starts its meetings by stating this familiar 4-H pledge. 4-H offers many areas of interest that members can sign up and participate in. This particular club offers Basketry, Candle Making, Candy Making, Cooking, Entomology, Pet Pal, Rocketry and Sewing. Members start meeting in May and finish their projects for round-up to be presented to and club judged by the end of July. After the initial judging, members' projects will be sent off to the Carbon County Fair to showcase their hard work.
 
This year the Pet Pal Club was a big hit. Jan Wentz, serving for her second year as leader, commented, "I really enjoyed teaching this project. It was neat to find out that some of the children want to become veterinarians or pursue other careers in the animal profession." Jan had Pet Pal Club meetings weekly, and visited a new location every week including: Carbon County Friends of Animals, Consummate Canine Training, Pet Universe Pet Store, Pocono Pups, and Lehighton Animal Hospital. In addition to visiting these local places, Jan introduced the members of her club to a project she and her family are working on.
 
Jan and her son Nolan are training a Seeing-Eye dog named Charlie. For this project, Jan and Nolan are participating in a 4-H club from Monroe County called the Pocono Guiding Pups. Jan and her family discovered this wonderful opportunity while visiting the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg, PA. Through 4-H, Jan applied to take part in The Seeing Eye and upon being accepted into this club, she was able to incorporate Charlie into her Pet Pal Club.
 


 

Charlie, who is a Labrador and Golden Retriever mix, came to live with the Wentz family when he was seven weeks old, and will live with them for sixteen months. During this time, Jan and Nolan will teach Charlie socialization skills and train him to perform commands like sit, come, down, rest, forward, and park time. Jan, a teacher at Shull-David Elementary School, and Nolan, a 10-year-old middle school student, even have permission to take Charlie to school with them—and to after-school activities. This Seeing-Eye dog-in-training even goes to church and Sunday School with the Wentz family.
 
As the Pet Pal Club leader, Jan was able to use Charlie to give her members hands-on experience learning about, caring for, and training a pet while also learning about a volunteering service, The Seeing Eye. All of these things done by Jan and her members showed how they understand the meaning of the 4-H pledge, "… Hands to larger service...for my club, my community, my country, and my world."
 
Elyse Kistler