Start A New 4-H Club

Position Title: Club Leader

The Club Leader position description includes the following titles: Club Leader, Co-Organizational Leader, Co-General Leader, Organizational Leader, and General Leader

Purpose:

• To work with youth and adults to offer a positive youth development experience for young people
• To provide leadership to the club or group organization

Responsibilities:

1. Create and maintain a safe environment that fosters positive youth development
2. Ensure the club is expanding access to youth from diverse backgrounds and creating a welcoming
   environment to all youth in the community where the club is located
3. Support youth voice by involving youth in club decision-making
   • Encourage youth/adult partnerships
   • Involve youth leaders in teaching or leadership roles
4. Meet with youth leadership team to plan meetings, agendas, and educational programs
5. Recruit adult and youth volunteers and resource people
6. Involve parents/guardians in helping members with projects and club responsibilities
7. Provide support, resources, and guidance to the youth and adult volunteers serving in leadership roles
8. Work with the community to build understanding and support of 4-H, as well as assist the community with the development of service projects
9. Inform club members, leaders, and parents/guardians of county programs, events, and activities, as
   well as 4-H Youth Development program policies and procedures
10. Communicate appreciation to and recognition of people who have contributed to the club’s success
11. Maintain open communication with youth, adult volunteers, and parents/guardians
12. Participate in volunteer professional development opportunities
13. Serve as the primary contact person between the club and the Youth Development Extension staff
14. Complete and submit Annual Club Renewal by county deadline, including a financial report (if
    applicable)
    • Meet with youth to plan and evaluate educational programs and activities
    • Facilitate a review and potential updates of club bylaws or operating guidelines
15. Ensure compliance with Extension and Washington State University 4-H Youth Development policies and procedures
16. Ensure compliance with Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity policies and guidelines of Washington State University Extension

Qualifications:

• Adults who are interested in working with youth and other adults
• An appreciation of experiential learning and a desire to help youth learn by doing
• Commitment to providing educational opportunities to diverse groups of youth and adults
• Ability to share decision-making and responsibilities with youth leaders and adult volunteers
• Experience working with teams and creating capacity in others
• Organizational skills
• Enthusiasm, patience, and understanding
• Communication skills
  • Written and oral communication skills
  • Willingness to communicate with diverse groups of youth and adults
• Interest in 4-H educational programs
• Successful background check
• Enrolled as an active volunteer in 4HOnline

Benefits:

• Learn strategies to teach and lead effective meetings
• Opportunity to connect with community partners
• Develop personal and interpersonal communication skills
• Opportunity for personal growth
  • Increased confidence
  • Learn problem solving skills
  • Practice time management
• Potential to gain technical skills that are transferable to professional work environments
• Satisfaction of contributing to positive development of youth, families, and community

Time Commitment:

• Requires a minimum of one-year commitment, approximately 4-10 hours per month
  • Time for each club will depend on club size and activities throughout the year and will vary
    • Club Meeting: 1-2 hours including set-up
    • Organizing and planning with the youth club officers (approximately 1-3 hours per
      month)
  • Participation in volunteer training
  • Participation in other activities and events as desired

Accountable to: County 4-H Youth Development Staff and the Area Extension Director

Position Title & General Description:

The Project Leader description includes the following titles: Project Leader, Key Leader, and Resource Leader. Each role has similar qualifications and responsibilities, but slightly different roles that impact project success.

• Project Leader – An individual who is responsible for running and maintaining the project area
  • Project Leaders may work with a small group of youth at a club level or may be volunteering at a county level
• Key Leader – An individual who is responsible for the overall coordination of a countywide project
• Resource Leader – An individual who assists youth and families in finding resources for their project
  areas

Purpose:

• To provide leadership and organization to the project group
• To work with youth and adult volunteers in offering a positive youth development experience for
  young people

Responsibilities:

1. Create and maintain a safe and welcoming environment that fosters positive youth development
2. Encourage parents/guardians to attend project meetings and learning experiences
3. Support youth voice by involving youth decision-making
   • Encourage youth/adult partnerships
   • Involve youth leaders in teaching or leadership roles
4. Meet with members to determine interest, set project goals, and plan project meetings
   • Review all safety procedures/requirements related to the project
   • Consider age and developmental level of youth in the project
   • Consider including tours and learning opportunities to extend the members’ experiences
   • Consider how to build in service opportunities that support the community related to the project
   • Work with youth to reflect on their learning experiences—utilize the Experiential Learning Model
   • Recognize project members’ growth
5. Recruit adult and youth volunteers and resource people
6. Work with the community to build understanding and support of 4-H
7. Maintain open communication with youth, adult volunteers, and parents/guardians
8. Serve as primary contact person between the county project and the Positive Youth Development
   (PYD) staff person (applies if volunteer is in charge of the county project)
9. Complete and submit Annual Charter Renewal by county deadline, including a financial report (if
   applicable)
10. Participate in project volunteer training offered by county, region, or state
11. Complete forms related to respective project, if required
    • Talk with youth about requirements for exhibiting
12. Ensure compliance with Extension and Washington State University 4-H Youth Development policies and procedures
13. Ensure compliance with Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity policies and guidelines of Washington State University Extension

Qualifications:

• Adults who are interested in working with youth and other adults
• An appreciation of experiential learning and a desire to help youth learn by doing
• Commitment to providing educational opportunities to diverse groups of youth and adults
• Ability to share decision-making and responsibilities with youth leaders and adult volunteers
• Experience working with teams and building skills in others
• Organizational skills
• Enthusiasm, patience, and understanding
• Communication skills
  • Written and oral communication skills
  • Willingness to communicate with diverse groups of youth and adults
• Knowledge of the subject matter and/or a willingness to learn
• Successful background check
• Enrolled as an active volunteer in 4-H Online

Benefits:

• Learn strategies to teach and lead effective meetings
• Opportunity to connect with community partners
• Develop personal and interpersonal communication skills
• Opportunity for personal growth
  • Increased confidence
  • Learn problem solving skills
  • Practice time management
• Potential to gain technical skills that are transferable to professional work environments
• Satisfaction of contributing to positive development of youth, families, and community

Time Commitment:

• Approximately 2-10 hours—depends on the project and when the meetings are held
  • Can be weekly, monthly, or quarterly
  • Participation in volunteer training
  • Participation in other learning experiences as desired (examples: tours, workshops, county fair)

Accountable to: County 4-H Youth Development Staff and the Area Extension Director

Position Title: Activity/Event Volunteer

Purpose:

• Provide leadership/organization for an activity or event and/or participate as a member of an activity
  or event committee
• To work with youth and adult volunteers to offer a positive youth development experience for young
  people

Responsibilities:

1. Work together with other activity or event volunteers, community leaders, and 4-H Youth
   Development staff to develop educational opportunities
2. Create and maintain a safe and welcoming environment that fosters positive youth development
3. Encourage parents/guardians to attend learning experiences
4. Support youth voice by involving youth in decision-making
   • Encourage youth/adult partnerships
   • Involve youth leaders in teaching or leadership roles
5. Include an opportunity for youth to reflect on their learning
6. Recruit adult and youth volunteers and resource people
7. Assist in identifying, locating, and obtaining community resources
8. Work with the community to build understanding and support of 4-H
9. Maintain open communication with youth, adult volunteers, and parents/guardians
10. Serve as the primary contact person between the event/activity committee and the Youth
    Development Extension staff (applies if this person is in charge of the county event/activity)
11. Participate in project volunteer training offered by county, region, or state
12. Ensure compliance with Extension and Washington State University 4-H Youth Development policies
    and procedures
    • Responsible for paperwork for events/activities
13. Ensure compliance with Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity policies and guidelines of the
    Washington State University Extension

Qualifications:

• Adults who are interested in working with youth and other adults
• An appreciation of experiential learning and a desire to help youth learn by doing
• Commitment to providing educational opportunities to diverse groups of youth and adults
• Ability to share decision-making and responsibilities with youth leaders and adult volunteers
• Experience working with teams and building skills in others
• Organizational skills
• Enthusiasm, patience, and understanding
• Communication skills
  • Written and oral communication skills
  • Willingness to communicate with diverse groups of youth and adults
• Successful background check
• Enrolled as an active volunteer in 4HOnline

Benefits:

• Learn strategies to teach and lead effective meetings
• Opportunity to connect with community partners
• Develop personal and interpersonal communication skills
• Opportunity for personal growth
  • Increased confidence
  • Learn problem-solving skills
  • Practice time management
• Potential to gain technical skills that are transferable to professional work environments
• Satisfaction of contributing to positive development of youth, families, and community

Time Commitment:

• Approximately 2-15 hours—depends on the activity/event
• Participation in activity/event orientation training

When planning 4-H club or group meetings, it’s important to include the three parts of a meeting. Those three parts are commonly known as Business, Education and Recreation. Sometimes it’s challenging to think about meetings using those terms – so we’d like to introduce you to a different perspective – Leading (Business), Learning (Education) and Laughing (Recreation)!

Leading (Business, 15-20 minutes): This is the official club decision making part of the meeting, when you, as a club, decide what you’re going to do as a club. This part of the meeting is led by the youth leaders (sometimes officers, but this is where YOUTH VOICE is important!)

Learning (Education, 20-30 minutes): 4-H is all about education. During this part of the meeting, you, as a club, learn something. This could be a guest speaker, a member demonstration, community service, or a project. Don’t forget to use your youth members as teachers!

Laughing (Recreation, 15-20 minutes): If we are not having fun in 4-H, we are missing a huge opportunity! A name game, team builder, service project or activity is a great way to build relationships, get to know members and families, and make club memories. And don’t forget the snack time – food brings people together! You may even have a youth member who is willing to lead these activities!

Courtesy of University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension. Developed by: Laura Huber, Wood County 4-H Educator, Jill Jorgensen, Kewaunee County 4-H Youth Development Educator, Melinda Pollen, Brown County 4-H Youth Development Educator, Dawn VandeVoort, Door County 4-H Youth Development Educator, Marie Witzel, Dodge County 4-H Youth Development Educator, 2020.

Ask a member or small group of members to greet each person as they arrive. This helps members and attendees feel like they belong!

Agenda:

1. Opening Fun Activity
2. Take Attendance or Do Roll Call
3. Business Meeting (be sure youth have the opportunities to discuss and make decisions)
   • Call Meeting To Order
   • Ask for a Note Taker (if your club doesn’t have a regular Secretary)
   • Stand and Say Pledges
   • Review Notes from Previous Meeting
   • Old Business (anything unfinished from a previous meeting)
   • New Business
   • Call Meeting to End
4. Shared Learning or Learning By Doing Activity
5. Celebration, Refreshments and Fellowship

Having youth leadership and voice in 4-H Clubs and Groups is not something to consider – it is something that is required. But you may wonder what youth leadership and voice really is. The beauty of 4-H is that youth leadership and voice can be many things, and depends greatly on the youth that are part of your club. Below are a few options for your club or group to consider:

Club Elected Youth Officers

Many clubs and groups across the nation treat 4-H clubs and groups as we do with many adult committees and boards – and hold official elections to fill positions. The positions typically include electing youth to the following positions:

• President
• Vice President
• Secretary
• Treasurer

To engage additional young people, different positions can be created for officers, some of which may include:

• Historian/Reporter
• Photographer
• Sergeant at Arms
• Sunshine Chair
• Pledge/Song Leader

Be sure to talk with your local Extension staff for additional guidance on setting up elections and positions, should you chose this route. There are best practices for inclusivity.

Club Decided Youth Advisory Board

Some clubs or groups may not want the official election of officers, and opt for an advisory board. This board works to schedule and run meetings, make decisions and run the club, but the youth may switch between roles to accomplish tasks. Advisory boards can vary in number of positions, but should always have more youth than adults.

Youth Members Leading Club Committees

If your club or group creates committees to complete tasks or implement ideas, be sure youth are involved in leading and guiding. People own what they help create, and 4-H is intended to be youth led, adult supported!