Creating the Southern Region 4-H Volunteer Advisory Group

The SR4-HVAG combines the efforts of states to provide quality educational programming for volunteers and Extension professionals using an advisory group system. An advisory group rather than a council was created because the group provides programmatic input rather than sets policy. The purposes of the SR4-HVAG are to: provide a mechanism for volunteer input and perspective regarding educational, programmatic and developmental needs of volunteers and strengthen communication and delivery systems that provide for the continued sharing of resources and programmatic efforts in the Southern Region. Each state is represented by two volunteers and is facilitated by a state volunteerism specialist

Using an Innovative Multiple-Methods Approach to Evaluate Extension Conferences

Engaging attendees of a 4-H volunteer conference in a multiple-methods approach to conference evaluation met the needs of our conference planning team by resulting in diverse opportunities for determining impact, assessing satisfaction, and understanding conference participants\u27 experiences. The multiple-methods approach also appealed to conference participants by providing them with a variety of ways to share input and reflection while building a sense of community and belonging. Every participant was involved in multiple assessment strategies. We received both quantitative and qualitative data for assessing conference success and gathered impact data by using multiple creative evaluation tools

An Initial Assessment of an Interactive Web-Based Extension Curriculum to Engage and Prepare Teens as Volunteer Teachers

The North Carolina 4-H Teens Reaching Youth through Innovative Teams (TRY-IT!) program utilizes Web-based modules to strengthen and expand teen volunteerism. The research described here investigated teens\u27 assessments of two initial TRY-IT! modules. The researchers developed a written questionnaire based upon eight criteria for evaluating Web-based training and collected data from a convenience sample of 67 teen 4-H members. Participants evaluated each component as above average. Based upon the pilot study findings, TRY-IT! promises to be very effective in engaging current and potential teens in volunteerism and community service through the use of Web-based curricula

Implementing a Successful National e-Forum

The National 4-H Volunteer e-Forum is an alternative to multistate, face-to-face volunteer forums. Building on the success of regional e-forums, a collaborative group planned and offered three webinars that were relevant, economical, consistent, and convenient to attend. A blended learning strategy can successfully be used for focusing on both volunteer and organizational needs when approached with intentionality. Extension can use this model broadly to develop better trained corps of volunteers. Data-driven recommendations are included for Extension professionals interested in exploring hybrid training options