By Jennifer Cable The interest and desire to volunteer is evident in Minnesota. In Minnesota 4-H, over 6,000 volunteers contributed their time, talents and strengths to the 4-H community during the 2020-2021 program year. Motivations for volunteering with 4-H include supporting a child in 4-H, helping others and making a difference . Felicia Lee (pictured), a Ramsey County 4-H volunteer, says she seeks out opportunities where she is able to work with youth. For Lee, volunteering has helped her gain different life skills such as communication, creative thinking, self-awareness, and being able to connect with good people. While motivation for volunteering remains high, individuals with disabilities are underrepresented in volunteer agencies . One U.S. study found that individuals with disabilities account for only 5.7% of the current volunteer pool. Considering the fact that 26% of the U.S. population has some type of disability , a disparity exists between the number of peopl...
Our youth development educators bridge research and practice. In this blog, they offer their views on what's happening in the field of youth development, with an eye to evidence-based research written by themselves and others in our field. We welcome your comments.