Southeast PA 4-H Club Triples Membership With Help From Lancaster Archery Foundation

Southeast PA 4-H Club Triples Membership With Help From Lancaster Archery Foundation.

The Chester County 4-H Archery Program grew from 16 members in its first year in 2023, to 45 members age 8-16 in early 2026.

Club officials said a big reason for that growth was the additional equipment it purchased using a $900 grant from the foundation.

With that money, the club bought five recurve bows, lots of arrows and a couple targets – all of which allowed the club to serve more kids.

According to those officials, more than half of the current archery club members were beginners when they joined, and a little less than half are from low-income families, meaning they might not have had the chance to try archery if it weren’t for the 4-H club.

“This increase in available equipment will provide more opportunities for youth across the county to learn about archery,” club officials wrote on its grant application to the Lancaster Archery Foundation.

“Many newcomers to the sport do not own or cannot afford their own equipment, so the 4-H club will be able to offer these youth a safe environment with intentional instruction.”

Helping grass-root organizations like Chester County 4-H introduce archery to kids who might never experience otherwise is a primary goal of the Lancaster Archery Foundation, said Rob Kaufhold, president of the foundation’s board of directors.

“We are so thankful that organizations like Chester County 4-H are out there and are willing and able to put bows in the hands of these kids,” he said.

“We believe that most kids – if you can just get a bow in their hands – they’ll become lifelong archers.”

The Chester County 4-H Archery Program plans to host competitions involving its members and kids from other 4-H clubs in the region in the future.

Based in Lancaster, Pa., the Lancaster Archery Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to expand, develop and promote 3D and target archery to help people improve their confidence, discipline and leadership skills through participation in competitive archery.