Online Training for new 4-H Club Volunteers

Quick Start is the first unit in a four-unit (look for a new unit in late March 2008) Online Training Series for new Maryland 4-H club leaders.

New 4-H volunteers from other states will also find the information helpful but since policies and procedures vary from county to county and state to state, please contact your local 4-H/Extension Office for specifics.

Thank you for your interest in helping our young people learn important skills through 4-H and for your willingness to become a trained Maryland Cooperative Extension (MCE) volunteer. We sincerely hope you find the information in this and following units useful.

Quick Start is designed to help new 4-H club leaders get off to a good start. This unit covers the information most new volunteers need in their first six months of club leadership. The information provided is intended as an introduction to a wide variety of important topics that will be covered more fully in later units.

We've made an effort to provide the information new club leaders really need without a lot of theory or philosophy. Links are often provided to aid those who want to gain a deeper understanding of a topic. To speed download time, graphics and other "bells and whistles" have been kept to a minimum. This unit is a work in progress. Please contact Dan Tabler with your questions and suggestions.

Navigation- All of the lessons that follow are linked to this page. When you complete a lesson, click the back button at the top left of your screen to return to this page and then click on the next lesson you are interested in. Lessons may be completed in any order.

This lesson includes:
A Quick Look at 4-H - who we are, what we do, mission, vision, life skills, using the name and clover

Member and Club Requirements - Ages, club size, number of meetings, open to all

Finding Information and Resources - 4-H Office, monthly newsletter, websites, parents

The Club Leadership Team - Brief position descriptions for several types of club leaders, club officer information

Registering Members - Enrollment forms, Behavioral Expectations

Club Meetings - Regular meeting night, reminder calls, 90 minutes, variety of topics, games and food and lots of FUN

Safety First - Insurance, Risk Management and more

Projects - purpose of projects, helping members select projects, ordering project manuals, completing project records

Money and Fund Raising - requirements, safeguards and ideas

Events, Contests and Activities - County, Regional, State and National 4-H activities and events, health form information and more.

Click on the Volunteer Quick Reference link at the bottom of each lesson for a brief definition of any word or term you don't understand. The Volunteer Quick Reference can also be found on the CD-ROM that accompanies this lesson. Call your local 4-H Office to request the free CD-ROM.

The CD-ROM symbol indicates the forms and other information discussed in each lesson are included on the Quick Start CD-ROM. You will save time by inserting the Quick Start CD-ROM into the drive as you start each lesson to quickly refer to forms and other information as it is discussed. Contact your county/city 4-H Office for your free CD-ROM.

Please take the Quick Start Pre-Test before beginning the first lesson.