April 13, 2018
Celebrate Your Volunteers During National Volunteer Week 2018
National Volunteer week gives us the opportunity to raise up our volunteers and express our thanks for their contributions. With the theme of “Celebrate Service” we have an opportunity to shine a light on the people and causes that inspire us to serve. Volunteerism empowers individuals to find their purpose, to take their passion and turn it into meaningful change.
Not only do we have the opportunity to celebrate our existing volunteers, we can also leverage the success of our current program to inspire a new segment of volunteers. In a national study of youth serving volunteers, it was found the proportion who are likely to volunteer for 4-H nearly doubles after learning a little about the organization.
With a volunteer base of over 10,000 and an alumni group with generati-ons of 4-H pride, Kansas 4-H is in a prime position to grow and develop to fill the needs of our young people across the state. Through intentional work, we can build a culture of appreciation where volunteers are empowered to have ownership in a truly exceptional K-State Research and Extension 4-H Youth Development Program.
National Volunteer Week can be an opportunity to celebrate success and spark change. Here are some ideas to engage your community during the event:
- Encourage your club members to recognize their organizational leaders, project leaders and other important 4-H volunteers during the week
- Create customized social media posts to recognize your volunteers using resources from the Points of Light NVW and National 4-H marketing materials
- Provide more opportunities for short term volunteering – diverse opportunities may help get people in the door to learn about 4-H
- Seek out and promote personal testimonials from current volunteers
- Create personalized recognition for current volunteers – a hand written note or message with specific details on what they accomplished and the difference it made