Michigan 4-H Youth Development: Leadership & Citizenship


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4-H Youth Development Michigan State University 160 Agriculture Hall East Lansing, MI 48824-1039 USA Phone: 517-432-7575 Fax: 517-355-6748 Email: msue4h@msu.edu Disclaimer & Indicia

Overview of 4-H Citizenship, Leadership and Service

“Michigan 4-H is a recognized leader in providing non-formal experiential learning experiences that engage youth in a dynamic process of discovery and exploration in citizenship, leadership and service.”
— Michigan 4-H Citizenship, Leadership and Service Priority Team

Michigan 4-H strives to provide young people (5 to 19 years old) with the knowledge, skills and practical application they need to be active members of their community today and have the leadership and citizenship skills to be participatory members of our democracy. This is done through a cadre of trained volunteers and staff who work with young people on exciting fun, educational programs, conferences, activities and events.

Through citizenship, leadership and community service learning activities, young people learn how their actions (such as voting, participating in community service activities, writing letters to their legislators and taking action on an issue important to them) can help them understand how to make a difference. In the process, they learn life skills, understand themselves, learn to learn, communicate better, make positive decisions and learn to get along and work well with youth and adults.

Through the following goals, young people experience citizenship, leadership and service in the context of positive community youth development. 4-H citizenship, leadership and community service learning programs:

Meet the needs of youth by developing fun and relevant experiences designed by youth and adults.
Use a variety of researched-based learning processes and resources to engage youth in a variety of hands-on activities.
Involve youth and adults as partners existing at all levels of program design, implementation and evaluation and through shared knowledge and activities have reciprocal leading, teaching and mentoring roles.
Recognize the value of volunteer and professional staff and support them through a well-coordinated system of professional development opportunities.
Communicate the outcomes of programs to local communities, legislators and other stakeholders.
Seek out charitable grants and public funding to support citizenship, leadership and service programming in 4-H.

Learn more about the exciting programs, activities and materials offered through 4-H by visiting the various sections of the Michigan 4-H Citizenship, Leadership and Service web site.

Contact Information

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

Cyndi Mark, Ph.D., Program Leader
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