Category Archives: Volunteer Development
#4HGrows #2: Quality Club Programs
The 4-H club is the foundation of the 4-H experience. For many, their first exposure to 4-H is through a club meeting. If that 4-H club meeting is not of high quality, that first exposure may likely be their last … Continue reading
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Tagged club meetings, growth, sustainable growth
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Quality Club Meetings
For many youth, the club meeting is their first exposure to 4-H. Therefore, it’s critical that these meetings be of quality. First impressions count! The next several blog posts will focus on what constitutes effective 4-H club meetings. In the … Continue reading
Elections That End Well
Ahhhh…officer elections. I’ve seen some good ones. I’ve seen some bad ones. And I’ve seen some that I’m saving for my personal memoir. What I really like to see however, are correct ones. To save headache and heartache, be sure … Continue reading
Seven Times is a Charm
How do you train your volunteers? Monthly club leader meetings? Quarterly volunteer training? Sometime else? Formal training is just one piece of the puzzle. There is an old marketing adage that says people need to hear something SEVEN TIMES before it sticks. … Continue reading
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Onboarding New Club Leaders
4-H is hard. If you are a potential 4-H club leader, there is a lot to learn. However, volunteers need not learn everything in their first year of service. This would be overwhelming. Rather, their initial onboarding should focus on understanding positive … Continue reading
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It’s Raining Volunteers… Hallelujah!
As the Weather Girls said, “It’s raining volunteers…hallelujah!” No, it’s really not. The thing about good volunteers, really good ones, is they often don’t just show up at your door offering assistance. Let me explain- put yourself in the potential … Continue reading
Volunteer Training Lesson Plans
Whether you have monthly “Leaders’ Meetings” or quarterly volunteer trainings or even a regular email newsletter you use to educate volunteers, you should have some system of regular communication and development of your volunteers. Looking for ready-made lesson plans to … Continue reading
ISOTURE #7: Evaluation
Beggars can’t be choosers, right? So how can you possibly evaluate the free service donated by your volunteers? The fact is- you can, and you must. Volunteers need feedback. Annual evaluation of volunteers provides an opportunity for dialogue between the … Continue reading
ISOTURE #6: Recognition
Volunteers are people too. And people have a basic need for recognition. They need to be noticed for the work they are doing and feel that they have a connection to the individual and organization for whom the work benefits (hint: … Continue reading
ISOTURE #5: Utilization
At this point you have: Identified your needs and targeted volunteers Selected and screened potential volunteers Oriented volunteers to 4-H, your office, your role as the agent, and their role as the volunteer Trained volunteers to complete their roles Now … Continue reading
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Florida 4-H: Northeast District 