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Fairburn, Ga. (September 15, 2026) – National 4-H Council announced today that Ja’Mari Little of Fairburn, Georgia is a runner up for the 4-H Youth in Action Award. Little is recognized nationally for his passion for environmental sustainability and dedication to expanding access to agriculture education.

Little (18) expanded his interest in agriculture to include career exploration for others. Through advisory boards, participating in the USDA-AFRI 1890 Region 4-H Youth Innovators Empowering Agriculture America (YEA) 1890 Region 4-H Program Leaders Collaborative as a Fort Valley State University (FVSU) 4-H Youth Development Program 4-H mentee, leadership experiences, and public speaking opportunities, Little developed the skills necessary to advocate for change within his community. Little launched a Lead to Change project focused on developing a college and career agricultural readiness program within his school district to expand agricultural education opportunities. He organized forums and discussions to gather student input and collaborated with teachers and administrators to advocate for long-term implementation. Little has also served as a leader within the USDA-AFRI 1890 Region 4-H YEA Youth Advisory Board as the FVSU 4-H Youth Advisory Board representative for all six (6) of the 1890 Region Land Grant Universities Collaborative Partners Program.

The 4-H Youth in Action Awards began in 2010 to recognize 4-H’ers who have used the knowledge they gained in 4-H to create a lasting impact in their community. To learn more about the 4-H Youth in Action program and the 2027 runners up, please visit 4-H.org/youthinaction.  

ABOUT 4-H NATIONALLY
4-H, the nation’s largest youth development organization, grows confident young people who are empowered for life today and prepared for their careers tomorrow. 4-H programs empower nearly six million young people across the United States through experiences that develop critical life skills. Through Beyond Ready, 4-H will increase that number to ten million youth annually. 4-H is the youth development program of our nation’s Cooperative Extension System and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and serves every county and parish in the U.S. through a network of 110 public universities and more than 3,000 local Extension offices. Globally, 4-H collaborates with independent programs to empower one million youth in 50 countries. The research-based 4-H experience grows young people who are two times more likely to have the goal of being a leader, three times more likely to participate in community service, and two times more likely to report living life with intentionality and purpose.