Abstract
Volunteers are critical to 4-H program delivery; however, volunteer retention remains a persistent challenge within youth development organizations. To address this concern, a coalition of 4-H volunteer specialists from the Southern region designed and delivered a five-part webinar series titled Ignite the Spark: Strategies for Engaging and Retaining 4-H Volunteers. This series provided professional development on volunteer engagement and retention for 4-H youth development professionals across the United States. Topics included personal and program readiness, recruitment, engagement, and retention strategies. More than 450 extension professionals from 12 states participated in the live sessions, with an additional 228 completing asynchronous, self-paced modules. Evaluation data indicated significant knowledge gains among participants in key areas such as Personal Readiness (4.7/5), and volunteer engagement (4.5/5). The initiative’s success demonstrates the effectiveness of regional collaboration in developing comprehensive, research-based professional development resources. This program practice offers a promising blueprint for future endeavors to integrate resources and knowledge to empower volunteer-led programs and address the critical issue of volunteer retention in youth development organizations.
Recommended Citation
Franks, Meggan; Culp, Ken; Knoepfli, Karla; Burns, T. Ashley; and Wade, Breanna
(2025)
"Ignite the Spark: A Multi-State Collaboration for Engaging and Retaining 4-H Volunteers,"
Journal of Youth Development: Vol. 20:
Iss.
4, Article 9.
Available at:
https://open.clemson.edu/jyd/vol20/iss4/9
Included in
Child Psychology Commons, Civic and Community Engagement Commons, Community-Based Learning Commons, Developmental Psychology Commons, Leadership Studies Commons
