Volunteering in America - 2010 Highlights

Each year, the Corporation for National & Community Service releases a report of research, providing elected officials and nonprofit leaders with information on volunteer trends and demographics. This information can help volunteer managers develop strategies to mobilize more volunteers to address local needs through service.

The 2011 report was recently released - on August 8th - reflecting volunteer data from 2010. Some of the key findings of the report include:

• Generation X volunteers (born 1965-1981) devoted more time to service in 2010 than ever before, giving more than 2.3 billion hours.
  
• Volunteers served approximately 8.1 billion hours. While the number of number of volunteers dipped a little between 2009 and 2010, the number of hours remained steady. This indicates that volunteers are committing more hours to service.
  
• The proportion of volunteers who serve 100 hours or more increased between 2009 and 2010.
  
• The average number of hours served per volunteer increased from 50 hours per year (in 2009) to 52 hours per year (in 2010).

For more information on volunteer trends, or to view the entire report, visit www.VolunteeringInAmerica.gov.

Training of Volunteers a Must!

The first-ever statewide 4-H Volunteer Conference was recently held (July 29-31) in San Antonio. There were 129 volunteers in attendance, who represented 56 counties, in addition to 23 4-H Specialists, staff and Administrators, plus 20 County Extension Agents. At the conference, it was immediately obvious that the volunteers were hungry for the information, and they were excited to be gaining all of the resources to take home and implement with youth in their counties.

This leads us to the "T" of the ISOTURE model. Training. That's what the volunteer conference was - a training opportunity. Training is the process of helping volunteers gain the knowledge and develop the skills that will improve the quality of their work.

Training helps volunteers develop basic skills and confidence; it also provides support and opportunities for personal growth. Volunteers want to learn basic, relevant and meaningful skills that can be useful in their personal lives. Training also can help volunteers realize their potential and recognize the knowledge and skills they already possess.

The type of and need for training depend on the volunteer's role, experience, skill level and current knowledge. To ensure that the training programs are effective for all volunteers, educational plans should be developed that accommodate all learning styles - with a variety of teaching techniques.

It is also important to provide subject-matter training specific to each program area. The volunteer conference did just that. Volunteers had 30 different workshops from which to choose - focusing on a variety of projects, from clothing to vet science, adult leadership to citizenship, club management to photography.

If you had a volunteer(s) attend the conference, I hope you'll invite them to share the resources and even provide leadership to a program in which they are interested. If no one from your county attended, let your volunteers know if this opportunity that will be coming again in July 2012!

4-H Volunteer Conference Materials Now Posted Online!

The 4-H Volunteer Conference, recently held in San Antonio, was a big hit! There were 129 volunteers (representing 56 counties), 20 County Extension Agents and 23 4-H Specialists, staff and administrators present!

Each participant received a flash drive that contained all of the conference workshop materials. This gave volunteers the opportunity to have all of the materials - even for the workshops they were unable to attend - that can be shared with other volunteers in their home county. In case you did not make it to the conference and you would like to see the materials that were presented during each of the workshops, they are all posted online. Go to: http://texas4-h.tamu.edu/volunteers/conference/volunteer_conference_resources.php

Youth Protection Standards Information & Updates for 2011-2012

The Youth Protection Standards/Volunteer Screening information has been updated for the 2011-2012 year. Below are some highlights and reminders, as well as new items added to the documents.

All YPS information and forms are available at the web sites listed below. This includes the YPS Procedures Manual, Volunteer Handbook, and an updated transmittal form.

Texas 4-H Web Site: http://texas4-h.tamu.edu

• Publications link - then Annual Membership Materials link - http://texas4-h.tamu.edu/publications/membership/index.php
• Agents link - then Youth Protection Standards link - http://texas4-h.tamu.edu/agents/agent_yps/agents_yps.php

Organizational Development Unit Web Site: http://od.tamu.edu

• Volunteerism Resources link, then Volunteer Screening link - http://od.tamu.edu/volunteerism-resources/volunteer-screening/

Re-screening
All volunteers must be re-screened every three years. For 4-H volunteers, the need for re-screening is determined on a 4-H year basis. For example, a volunteer screened any time between September 1, 2008 and August 31, 2009 (considered “4-H Year 2009”) needs to be re-screened at the beginning of 4-H Year 2012 (September 1, 2011 thru August 31, 2012).

Application Processing
Screening of volunteers is not conducted until payment is received in the Texas 4-H YPS Office. Therefore, counties should plan to submit volunteers for screening at least one month prior to the event. Volunteer applications are processed for screening on a bi-weekly basis in the Texas 4-H YPS Office.

Volunteer Cards/Certificates
4-H volunteers may access their volunteer certificate on 4-H CONNECT once screening is complete and their profile is approved. Master Volunteers, BLT & EFNEP Volunteers: Volunteer cards will no longer be made for volunteers and sent to the county Extension office for distribution. Instead, when these volunteers are approved through the screening process, a volunteer certificate will be e-mailed to the county Extension office for distribution.

County Extension Agent Profiles
Since County Extension Agents are screened through AgriLife Extension Human Resources, they do not have to be screened through YPS. When County Extension Agents create or re-activate a profile and it indicates screening is needed, call or e-mail the YPS office to have the screening information updated.

Re-activating 4-H CONNECT Profiles
When volunteers enroll for the new 4-H year, it is important they re-activate their profile on 4-H CONNECT and not create a new profile. If a new profile is created, the volunteer screening information will not transfer to the new profile. Therefore, the system will indicate the volunteer needs to be screened.

As always, if you have questions regarding volunteer screening, please contact Courtney Dodd at 979-845-6533 or cfdodd@ag.tamu.edu.