Research not only shows that early civic engagement is mutually beneficial to both the youth and the communities in which they serve, but early civic engagement is associated with positive health outcomes later in life (Brennan Center for Justice, 2022). The Madison County 4-H program strives to incorporate an understanding and practice of generosity, one of the four essential elements of youth development, into clubs and programs from all of the 4-H Core Content areas. This important aspect of youth development programs not only inspires the participants but the rest of the community as well. 

The Madison County 4-H Service Club practices generosity in all that they do. One recent service project that the Madison County 4-H youth and volunteers completed was a Prom Dress Shop where any teens attending a prom event could come pick out a free prom dress and accessories. The club worked to promote and collect donations for the event and ended up receiving over 230 dresses for teens to shop from. The youth and volunteer leaders not only experienced the rewarding opportunity of putting on the event, but the community became very invested in finding ways to help make the event a success. Aside from getting the donations of dresses and accessories, there were additional community members that donated, from purchasing gift cards to cover teens' meals on their prom nights to professionals donating their services including a DJ, hair and makeup artists. The event created an all around rewarding opportunity for so many people in the Madison County community including the youth and volunteers planning the event, the community partners who volunteered and donated, and the recipients of the prom dresses.