The 4-H Pledge summarizes what 4-H is all about. Four-H has as its goal the fourfold development of youth: Head, Heart, Hands and Health. Most 4-H members learn and try to live up to the promises they make in the 4-H Pledge.

The National 4-H Pledge met with a popular response throughout the United States in its early years. The pledge was adopted by the delegates to the 1927 National 4-H Club Camp in Washington, DC. State club leaders voted for and adopted the pledge for universal use. The saying of the pledge has prominent place in 4-H activities at regular 4-H meetings, achievement days, and other club events.

My Head to clearer thinking,
My Heart to greater loyalty,
My Hands to larger service, and,
My Health for better living,
for My Club, my Community, my Country and my World.

(The phrase "and my world" was added to the pledge in 1973.)

The 4-H Clover and the four H's

Originally, the symbol of the Boys and Girls Clubs was a three leaf clover with the words Head, Heart and Hands. The words Head, Heart and Hand were used in Nebraska as part of the statement of purpose. That statement read, in part "to educate the youth of the county, town and city to a knowledge of their dependence upon nature's resources, and to the value of the fullest development of hand, head and heart...." The words were possibly taken from a poem by Rudyard Kipling. The phrase "hand, heart and head" became a popular way for educators and others to express a commitment to learning and the development to young citizens.