JARVIS—For Sheila Phibbs, volunteering is not a title or a task list – it is a way of helping young people find confidence, community, and the skills to carry both forward.
Phibbs, current president of the Haldimand 4-H Association, has been connected to the organization since her own youth. She grew up as a member of Haldimand 4-H, joining at a time when members started after their 12th birthday.
She took part in homemaking clubs through her local group, Clanbrassil, and later joined a conservation club. Even while attending the University of Guelph, she continued finding ways to stay connected to 4-H, including joining a club where she learned to knit.
Years later, after marrying her husband, Glen, and starting a family, Phibbs knew she wanted her sons, Aaron and Travis, to experience the same program.
“I knew that I wanted the boys to be a part of 4-H,” she said.
Her own volunteer work began informally while driving her sons from Jarvis to a cooking club in Canfield.
Rather than drive back and forth, she stayed and helped.
“I knew who the leaders were for that particular club,” she said. “That’s how I started volunteering unofficially.”
A few years later, Phibbs became an official screened volunteer with 4-H Ontario. She has now volunteered with the organization for more than 10 years and became president of the Haldimand 4-H Association in January. Her term is two years.
As president, Phibbs chairs monthly meetings, works with the executive, supports club leaders and volunteers, and serves as a first contact for many community groups. She is also helping lead a folded book art club this year, where 10 members are learning a new craft.
“The kids do a great job. They just work away,” she said.
Haldimand 4-H has more than 130 members and just over 60 volunteers. Phibbs said the local association remains strong because of that volunteer base, with many new volunteers coming in as parents who see the value of the program.
One major area of growth has been the Cloverbuds program for children ages six to eight. Phibbs said the program, now in its fourth year, draws about 40 children and gives younger siblings and newcomers an early connection to 4-H.
“We’re seeing Cloverbuds becoming the 4-H members,” she said. “We’re seeing Cloverbud parents becoming 4-H volunteers.”
While 4-H has deep agricultural roots, Phibbs said Haldimand’s clubs offer a broad mix of opportunities.
Traditional livestock clubs, including beef and dairy, continue each year, while other clubs have included rabbit, miniature horse, chicken, cooking, crafts, and folded book art.
She said the program helps youth develop communication, leadership, critical thinking, organization, and public speaking skills. Each club has executive positions for members, including president, vice-president, secretary, and press reporter.
Phibbs, who is a freelance reporter for The Haldimand Press, said her own writing can be traced back to her time as a conservation club press reporter, when she first submitted stories to the newspaper.
“4-H was a big little jumping board for that,” she said.
She sees the program’s value most clearly in the growth of young members. Phibbs recalled seeing one child struggle with rabbit club early in the season, then show remarkable confidence and skill at the Caledonia Fair a few months later: “I couldn’t believe the difference in them,” she said.
Those moments are what keep her involved.
“I love the program. I believe in the program,” said Phibbs. “I know how I benefitted from it and the opportunities that it has.”
Phibbs also volunteers with the Caledonia Fair, joining the fair board about three years ago after years as an exhibitor. She previously volunteered at Jarvis Public School and was involved with Jarvis Minor Ball while her sons were playing. Glen has coached ball and serves with the Jarvis Fire Department, while Aaron joined the department a couple of years ago. Phibbs said, “You could say we’re a volunteering household.”
She said community involvement matters because not everyone has the same time or ability to help, but every contribution strengthens the place people call home.
The same spirit, she said, keeps Haldimand 4-H moving forward.
“The success of our program is that partnership between the volunteers, the 4-H families, the members,” said Phibbs. “You can’t have a program without members. You can’t offer programs without volunteers.”
Phibbs said the organization’s future depends on young people seeing the impact volunteers have made in their lives, then choosing to carry that work forward themselves.
“When the young ones who come through it want to carry it on, they see it and they literally know the benefits,” she said. “That’s what’s helped 4-H to be around for well over 100 years.”
