Local 4-H members will play Santa for roughly 50 homeless children from Hope Place, a Union Gospel Mission shelter in Seattle.

Club members welcome residents of Hope Place for a Christmas at the Farm from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at Winter Creek, 39225 264th Ave. SE, off Highway 169, north of downtown Enumclaw.

The event showcases various 4-H projects, rides for children on 4-H project horses, a petting zoo, crafts, lunch and a visit from Santa.

Warm coats, gloves, hats and socks also will be collected for the children and their mothers.

The public is asked to bring a can of soup for the volunteer lunch.

The 4-H program is one of the largest youth development program in the United States and serves more than 10,000 children ages 8 to 19 in King County alone. The King County 4-H program has been jointly operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington State University’s Extension Program and King County Government.

Because King County did not fund 4-H in its final 2012 budget, the program begins an orderly shutdown of activities on Jan. 1 with the shutdown completed by Sept. 30.

“This has been devastating news to our kids, and we are still hoping for a New Year’s miracle” said Jim Luty, King County 4-H horse program president. “But for now, our focus is on creating a special Christmas for the kids of Hope Place.”

Community service is an essential part of the 4-H program which teaches kids to use their “head, heart, hands and health” to better their clubs, communities, country and world.

Although often considered a “rural” program, 4-H serves kids in cities, too. Examples include the after-school programs at King County Housing Authority locations and the Cooped Up in Seattle chicken 4-H club whose members live in Seattle.

There are hundreds of 4-H projects to choose from including the “STEM” (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math” and robotics programs.

For information, contact Cindy Borland at 206-902-8738.