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!
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