For more than 100 years, the 4-H Club has lived by the slogan, “Learn by Doing,” and now the opportunity to learn and participate in 4-H is being offered to local teens, ages 11-18, with mild autism.

Sunshine 4-H Community Club, a cooperative of Penn State Extension, meets twice a month Tuesday evenings from September to May at Lehigh Carbon Community College, Schnecksville.

Cindy Rifenburg is a faculty member with the occupational therapy assistant program at the college. She is also the Sunshine 4-H Club Leader.

The club is a win-win situation.

Students in the OTA program can work first hand with Sunshine 4-H Community Club members helping where needed during activities.

Both the members and their volunteer mentors “learn by doing.”

Through various service projects, the club engages in the community and encourages socialization with peers.

From cooking and crafts to gardening or woodworking, members share ideas and then select and vote on which 4-H projects they would like to complete for the year.

The club recently decided to become creative and embarked on a unit exploring knitting and textiles.

They chose fabric, copied patterns, cut, knitted and tied, creating some amazing winter accessories.

Realizing the success of their product, the club went a step further.

“They decided to make a few extra hats and scarves and donate them to the Salvation Army Center in Allentown as part of a community service project,” Rifenburg said.

The group hand-delivered their creations to kids in the Salvation Army Center’s after-school program, following which they wiped down the common area’s tables, chairs and swept the floors.

Kaylie, Devon and Zach, all students in the Parkland School District, are members of the Sunshine 4-H Community Club.

“I was the master knot tyer,” joked Zach, showing off a scarf.

Kaylie laughed as she scrubbed a table top.

“We have a lot of fun in this club,” she said.