Experience the Power of 4-H – Volunteer!

Each year, Michigan 4-H Youth Development involves more than 30,000 adult and older teen volunteers in providing fun, hands-on learning opportunities to more than 200,000 Michigan young people. 4-H also provides volunteer training opportunities to foster and support positive youth development.

Just Five Steps to Becoming a 4-H Volunteer!

1. Decide that you have the time and interest to help kids explore and chart positive futures.
2. Consider volunteering to lead a 4-H group in your community, your local school (before or after school), your church or any other location where there are kids who need positive, committed adult role models in their lives.
3. Contact your county MSU Extension office to find out about local opportunities for 4-H involvement.
4. Complete Michigan State University Extension's Child Well-Being Volunteer Selection Process.
5. Share your skills, knowledge and talents while having fun with kids, and you’re sure to make a difference in their lives.

Child Well-Being Volunteer Selection Process

Because Michigan 4-H Youth Development is committed to helping create safe environments for young people to learn, have fun and develop socially, we work to ensure that the adults we entrust to work with young people only have the best interests of youth at heart. The Michigan State University Extension Volunteer Selection Process is a tool we use to recruit and orient volunteers who will be involved with young people for long-term, overnight or extended involvement.

Getting Started With Your 4-H Club or Group

Michigan 4-H youth programs are open to boys and girls aged 5 to 19. Although 4-H provides learning materials, events and training in a variety of program areas, the opportunities for 4-H involvement are only restricted by participants’ interests and imaginations. Club and group leaders are encouraged to survey the young people they work with to determine what projects, ideas and activities to pursue. 4-H clubs and groups include at least five members. For more information on specific requirements for registering your 4-H club or group, visit How to Start a 4-H Club or contact your county MSU Extension office.

For ideas on how to get your first meeting of the year started, take a look at Starting the Year Off Right: Tips and Tools for 4-H Volunteers; For suggestions on how to make your club meetings more fun and help you create a positive environment for all your members, check Group-Building Ideas for 4-H Club and Group Meetings.

Online Resources

Michigan 4-H Youth Development is committed to making your 4-H volunteer experience rewarding. Check these online resources to help you plan for and manage your 4-H club or group year.

You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view or print PDF files. If you don't already have the Acrobat Reader, you can download it from the Adobe site at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html.

• About 4-H Ceremonies—This 11-page document provides tips about 4-H ceremonies (such as the answers to when, where, how and why to have ceremonies). Also included are ceremonies for the admission and induction of new members, and two different ceremonies for installing officers (one featuring the use of candles and the other organized around the "hands theme") (PDF format)
• Age-Appropriate Learning Experiences
• The 4-H Club Kit contains many useful tools that new volunteers need when they start working with their 4-H club. With the addition of a county leader handbook and a calendar, this kit is a complete set of materials for 4-H volunteers working with clubs and groups. The 4-H Club Kit contains a 10.5" x 12.5" x 2" clear plastic box printed with a green 4-H clover and "Michigan  State University Extension 4-H Youth Development" on the front;  a wooden gavel;  one set of 4-H and U.S. flags; the publication, Keys to a Successful 4-H Club (4-H1605); a folder that contains the handouts: Financial Guidelines for Michigan 4-H Clubs & Groups, Characteristics of Effective 4-H Clubs, Basic Parliamentary Procedure for 4-H Clubs and Additional Resources Available to Support Your 4-H Club. Kits may be ordered using the 4-H Club Kit Order Form.
• Critical Contemporary Issues Facing Youth
• Financial Guidelines for Michigan 4-H Clubs and Groups
  This publication (also included in the 4-H Club Kit) provides guidelines for 4-H clubs on handling funds. Under the federal legislation governing the use of the 4-H name and emblem and in response to the Michigan State University Extension Financial Accountability Policy implemented in 2003, the county MSU Extension office is required to keep track of all transactions pertaining to financial management practices of MSU Extension sponsored groups. (4-H clubs and groups are considered MSUE sponsored groups.) (PDF format)
• Group-Building Ideas for 4-H Club and Group Meetings provides staff and volunteers with resources and activities to use, during 4-H club and group meetings, that will help new clubs get off to an effective start and help existing clubs improve their vitality. (PDF format)
• The Guide to Michigan 4-H Youth Development Programs and Events provides a complete listing of Web, print, audio and video learning materials offered for staff members and volunteers who work with young people.
• The Member's Personal 4-H Record (4H1192)
  This bulletin is designed to cover one year of a young person’s 4-H career. Members can use it to list what they want to do or learn in a project area at the beginning of the 4-H year, the activities in which they participate over the course of the year, and what they’ve learned from their 4-H experiences at the end of the project year. (PDF format)
• Michigan 4-H Club Development Guide provides staff and volunteers with a framework for developing a club program that best meets the needs of their communities. (PDF format)
• The Michigan 4-H Club Secretary's Record Book (4H1230)
  This bulletin details the role and responsibilities of Michigan 4-H
  club and group secretaries. Included are definitions, tools and expectations; information club secretaries need to perform responsibilities and keep accurate records; information for parents and volunteers on how to help guide club and group secretaries in their role. (PDF format)
• Michigan 4-H Guiding Principles for 4-H Youth Development document. (PDF format)
• The Michigan 4-H Mall (a partnership between Michigan 4-H and the National 4-H Supply Service) offers a multitude of items with the 4-H emblem like pens, pencils, coffee mugs, T-shirts, 4-H curriculum, award pins and plaques among many other items. (The 4-H merchandise available online is the same as offered in the 4-H Source Book catalog.) The 4-H Fair Share Program will return 10% of all merchandise ordered on the Web to Michigan 4-H. To ensure that your order is counted towards the Fair Share total, go first to www.4hmall.org/michigan whenever placing an order. Orders placed by phone or mail do not count toward Michigan's 4-H Fair Share total. For more information, including promotional ads and graphics for 4-H Fair Share, visit http://www.mi4hfdtn.org/county/mi4hmall.html .
• The Michigan 4-H Pins and Stickers document features pictures of 4-H pins and stickers that can be used used as promotional items or to exchange at 4-H conferences. Also included is an order form to purchase these items. (PDF format)
• Michigan 4-H Today—A newsletter providing youth development news and event information for the Michigan 4-H community. Issues include a tabloid-size publication (Michigan 4-H Today) published every fall and four topical newsletter supplements (Michigan 4-H Today In Focus) that are distributed as inserts in county newsletters throughout the year. Current issues are available as Adobe Acrobat documents.
• Michigan 4-H Treasurer’s Record Book (4-H 1203)—Monetary records for 4-H groups should be entered in this book, which includes descriptions of the treasurer’s duties, how to write checks and manage a checking account, and how to report and audit accounts. It includes sections on financial guidelines for Michigan 4-H groups and Michigan sales tax facts. A blank “Application for Employer Identification Number” (IRS form SS-4) also is included. (PDF format; 36 pages plus cover; Michigan 4-H complete revision 2004, last updated June 2007)
• Michigan 4-H Recognition Handbook—This 20-page Michigan 4-H publication includes ideas and tools for recognizing volunteers. (PDF format)
• Michigan 4-H Youth Development 2003-04 Impact document provides participation and impact data on Michigan 4-H youth development programs. (PDF format)
• Michigan 4-H Youth Participant Fee Information. Beginning with the 2006-7 4-H program year, youth participants in 4-H clubs will help support the development, purchase, implementation and/or updating of 4-H programming through an annual $10 participation fee. The materials on this Web page provide more information about the new fee.
• My 4-H Volunteer Training Needs: A Survey for Michigan 4-H Teen and Adult Volunteers July 2007 online survey results
• Starting the Year Off Right—Tips and Tools for 4-H Volunteers

Where to Find Learning Resources for Volunteers and Youth

Michigan 4-H Youth Development offers a wide variety of projects and learning opportunities for young people and the adults and older teens who work with them. Although in Michigan, young people involved in 4-H can explore any area that interests them, there are specific projects and activities supported with university-developed learning materials and training opportunities at the county and state levels.

MSU Extension County Offices

Michigan State University Extension is located in all 83 counties in Michigan. Each county has 4-H youth development staff to help you volunteer with an existing 4-H club or group or start a new one. Your county MSU Extension office also serves as a valuable source for information on learning materials, training and local opportunities for 4-H involvement.

State 4-H Volunteer Training Events

A complete listing with brief descriptions of the annual state 4-H volunteer training events is available. These events range in focus from developmental stages of young people to content-specific information. Most 4-H volunteer training events take place at the state’s primary 4-H leader training facility, Kettunen Center. Kettunen Center is located in Tustin, just east of Cadillac. Events are also held on the Michigan State University campus in East Lansing, at Tollgate Education Center in Novi, just west of Detroit, and at the Kellogg Biological Station in Hickory Corners, near Battle Creek.

View the online survey results of the July 2007 "My 4-H Volunteer Training Needs: A Survey for Michigan 4-H Teen and Adult Volunteers".

North Central Region 4-H Volunteer Forum

Michigan 4-H Youth Development is hosting the 2010 North Central Region 4-H Volunteer Forum, an educational event for 4-H adult and youth volunteers and 4-H staff. The event will be held October 7 to 10, 2010, at the Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.

4-H Youth Development Training and Events

Each year, Michigan 4-H Youth Development attract more than 8500 youth and volunteers to state and regional training and youth development events. Recruiting, training and supporting 4-H volunteers is an important component in delivering high-quality youth development programs in Michigan. 4-H also serves as a resource for other youth-serving organizations seeking training and development opportunities for volunteers and staff who work with young people. 4-H also hosts several youth development events that expand the experiences and skills of young people.

Contact Information

For more information on how to get involved as a youth or volunteer, contact your county MSU Extension office or:

Volunteer Development:

Julie Chapin, Ph.D., Program Leader
4-H Youth Development
Michigan State University
160 Agriculture Hall
East Lansing, MI 48824-1039
USA

Phone: 517-432-7608
Fax: 517-355-6748
Email: chapin@msu.edu

Club Development:

Cynthia B. Mark, Ph.D., Program Leader (Club Development)
4-H Youth Development
Michigan State University
160 Agriculture Hall
East Lansing, MI 48824-1039
USA

Phone: 517-432-7602
Fax: 517-355-6748
Email: markc@msu.edu

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Last Updated: November 5, 2009
Last Reviewed: January 26, 2007