Dixie Rhoades, Tammy Wilson and Carol DeFazio try their luck at Blackjack

4-H Club supporters were all in at the recent Viva Vero Beach Casino Night fundraiser hosted by the Indian River County 4-H Foundation. The Richardson Center at Indian River State College was converted into a Vegas-style casino, complete with blackjack, craps, roulette and poker tables, where attendees used funny money to provide serious funding for local 4-H youth programs.

Roughly 100 guests doubled down on their bets to assist 4-H members with the costs associated with their participation in local, state, regional and national events. While a separate organization, the foundation is affiliated with the UF/IFAS Extension 4-H Youth Development Program, which enables them to utilize a wealth of opportunities through the University of Florida and the nationwide land-grant university system.

Attendees also enjoyed an open bar and heavy hors d’oeuvres by Wild Thyme Catering, and eventually, gamblers turned in their winnings for chances on raffles donated by local businesses.

“This is our 11th year; we’ve been hosting an annual event every year as our flagship fundraiser,” said Jennifer Penn, 4-H Foundation vice president, noting that they traditionally host a cocktail party. “But because it’s a new decade, we wanted to change things and kick it up a notch.”

The 4-H Foundation offers an annual Senior Achievement Award Scholarship to a top senior 4-H student and they help offset expenses for 4-H participants, including to the various 4-H camps available to them.

“4-H is all about honing in on whatever your project is,” Penn explained. “The kids have tons of different projects. Some of them compete and give demonstrations, and as they go on to district, state and national events, they’ll request funding to help offset their expenses for those out-of-town trips. Our goal is to raise as much money as we can. That way, when these kids request funding from us, we have the ability to say yes.”

Penn said she grew up in 4-H in Indian River County, participating from age 8 to 18 in the 4-H Horsemasters Club, eventually adding Leadership as a secondary club as she got older.

“After college, when I moved back to town, I got involved in the 4-H Foundation because I wanted to stay involved and help all 4-H clubs, not just one,” said Penn, explaining that there are numerous different 4-H clubs in Indian River County.

“We want folks to know how valuable the 4-H program is; how it impacts the kids in such a positive way,” said Penn. “It teaches leadership, citizenship and life skills.”

While students participate in a variety of 4-H programs (the H stands for head, heart, hands and health), each club shares those same core values.

“It’s always great to see the ones that graduate and move on and can look back and say, ‘4-H really helped me be more confident in this area,’ or ‘helped me to be more responsible.’ It’s really all-encompassing.”

In addition to fundraising, they hope to spread more awareness to 4-H families that the foundation can assist them with some of the funding. They also want to increase participation levels in the middle and high school levels.

“There are more state level events at that age group so it would be nice to get that participation level up so they could really reap the benefits,” said Penn.