Volunteer Development

The Volunteer Life Cycle: A Key to 4-H Volunteer Involvement

Bryan Terry, Dale Pracht, and Lori Wiggins

Lessons Learned from Evaluations of Citizen Science Programs

Luke Gommerman and Martha C. Monroe

Fundamentals of Volunteer Orientation

Olivia Caillouet, Jessica Williams, Shelby Atwood, and Matt Benge

Five Motivations to Volunteer: Tips for Volunteer Managers

Kimberly Wiley, Chelsea DeMasters, Colin Dobbins, and Caroline Casola

Understanding volunteer motives is especially important today. This article describes five unique motivations to volunteer. Written by Kimberly Wiley, Chelsea DeMasters, Colin Dobbins, and Caroline Casola, and published by the UF/IFAS Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, May 2023.

Understanding Volunteer Management in 4-H

Andrew Toelle and Lori Wiggins

This is the first in a series of publications to address volunteer management. A 4-H agent must fulfill a number of functions to successfully involve volunteers in a county program. This 5-page article provides an overview of these functions, including a historical perspective of volunteer involvement in UF/IFAS Extension, the role of the 4-H agent as an administrator and trainer of volunteers, risk management, and a process for managing volunteers. Major revision by A. Toelle and L. Wiggins.

UF/IFAS Extension Florida 4-H Youth Protection Policy

Candi Dierenfield, Kathryn Hartman, Janet Waters, Matthew Olson, and Sophia Andrews

Updated UF/IFAS Extension Florida 4-H Youth Protection Policy

Strategies to Engage 4-H Parents

Julia S. Kelly

Parent engagement makes a significant impact on a 4-H club’s success in fostering the development of targeted life skills in youth participants. This new 4-page publication of the UF/IFAS 4-H Youth Development Program presents 13 concrete strategies for engaging with parents and also addresses some potential challenges with communicating with parents. Written by Julia S. Kelly.

4-H Afterschool Resource Guide: Teens as Volunteer Leaders

Sharon K. Junge (original lead), Vanessa Starr Spero (lead); Niki Crawson, J. R. Davis, Tara Dorn, Beth Rasa Edwards, Stacy Hall, Karen Henry, Heather Janney, Beth Kerr, Andrea Lazzari, Abby Morgan, Kristie Popa, Cindy Smalley, Melinda Souers, Katel

This resource guide is designed to be used by Extension/4-H professionals to deliver teen-led curricula in after-school programs. It includes an overview of program delivery, recruitment processes and training outlines. The original educational material was edited and revised for this edition by the National Association of 4-H Youth Development Professionals Afterschool Working Group, led by Vanessa Spero. Published by the 4-H Youth Development Department, UF/IFAS Extension, April 2023.

Awareness and Intelligence with Emotions

Heather Janney and Daniel Gonzalez

Emotions are a part of every human being. There are hundreds of emotions along with variations, mutations, and blends of those emotions. They tell us about what we are experiencing and help us to know how to react. There are no good or bad emotions, but there are good and bad ways of expressing (or acting on) emotions. In working with youth, who have the least experience with their emotions, extension professionals and volunteers – adults, must use extra special attention to their interactions. It is like building a pyramid with cups; any small action or interaction can make things start to tumble downward. As extension professionals and 4-H Volunteers working directly with youth, we can see these pyramids in the process of building up and tumbling down and we also have the ability to use the skills of emotional awareness and emotional intelligence to help deter again the potential negative impacts of youth breaking down with their emotions.

Increasing Efficiency in Extension Using the Train-the-Trainer Approach

Laura A. Warner, Amy Harder, Tom Wichman, and Frank Dowdle

Extension has adapted to today’s financial realities through a number of strategies, including increased reliance on partnerships. One strategy that expands the reach of an Extension agent and capitalizes on partners is the “train-the-trainer” approach. This 4-page fact sheet describes the train-the-trainer approach as it applies to Extension programming, provides contextual examples from within and beyond UF/IFAS Extension, and offers best management practices.