Youth Development Insight

By Karyn Santl I am preparing for a presentation titled “Balancing Life” for our statewide staff development conference. I was encouraged by a staff member I supervise to submit a proposal on this topic after we had a discussion about workload, prioritizing, and balancing life. Youth development work regularly requires long hours, including nights and weekends and youth workers frequently find themselves in conflict among the demands of their time and energy between clientele, administrators and family. ( Stark et al, 2012 ). I have been supervising frontline 4-H Youth Development professionals for the past 20 years with the Minnesota 4-H program. Here are four tips I have given staff throughout my years as a supervisor: Mark days off on your calendar - birthdays, sports schedules, last day of harvest, etc. to protect what is important to you. Take a week-long (or longer) vacation at least once a year. We all need a break from work and we will come back more refreshed. Know your limits

By Rebecca Meyer “What would you say that you think would help someone else?”  This past week I was inspired by two educators working with youth from kindergarten through sixth grade in a rural school outside of San Francisco, California. These art teachers designed a project to develop their students' understanding of empathy, recognition of their resilience in living through the pandemic and help spread their joy to others. The teachers led with, “What would you say that you think would help someone else?” and it manifested into this awesome telephone hotline called “Peptoc” that has gone viral. If you're feeling mad, frustrated or nervous, press 1. If you need words of encouragement and life advice, press 2. If you need a pep talk from kindergartners, press 3. If you need to hear kids laughing with delight, press 4. For encouragement in Spanish, press 5 . This project resonates with me in a myriad of ways. In my educator role, I have my feet planted in two different worlds.

Marisa A. Coyne Many youth-serving organizations engage volunteers to achieve their missions. Recent research found that the intention to volunteer is at an all-time high . Despite these good intentions, many current and potential volunteers are experiencing overwhelm due to current social, economic and environmental conditions. How can volunteer engagement professionals transform intention to volunteer into action? Volunteer motivations Volunteer motivations research can be an important clue to guide our strategy and process. The Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI) is used widely throughout youth-serving programs and outlines the following motivations driving individuals to volunteer: Values – a way to express one's altruistic and humanitarian values Career – a way to improve career prospects  Social – a way to grow and strengthen social ties Understanding – a way to gain knowledge, skills, and abilities Enhancement – a way to help oneself grow and develop Protective – a way of