Voting is an indicator of community and civic engagement. According to the US Census Bureau, 67% of Kentuckians 18 to 24 did not vote during the 2022 presidential election. Low turnout amongst the youngest voter demographic suggests the need for 4-H to provide experiences to increase youth leadership skills, social responsibility, and community awareness to develop active future community leaders.

A robust leadership program, targeting fifth-grade and middle school-aged youth, was implemented and presented to 169 youth. Over the course of the fall semester, each participant received 12 leadership development hands-on educational hours for a total of 2,028 participant educational hours. A variety of 4-H research-based curricula was used which included YELL (Youth Engaged in Leadership and Learning), Unlock Your Leadership Potential, and National 4-H Leadership (My Leadership, Leadership Mentor, Leadership Roadtrip, Agents of Change, and Finding Your Voice: Public Speaking Made Easy) curriculums. Session topics included defining leadership, leadership styles, active listening, communicating with a diverse audience, cultural awareness, and community service learning. Activities focused on understanding self-responsibility, civic engagement, teambuilding, reaching a group consensus, critical thinking, and effective communication.

4-H leadership experiences help youth develop into active contributing members of society by aiding youth in gaining life skills including conflict resolution, self-motivation, and responsible citizenship. According to a mid-term evaluation, youth reported that they’ve applied new skills in communication (95%), working with differing personalities (92%), and goal setting (88%). Ninety-three percent of youth reported increased cultural awareness. Youth reported 4-H as being a place to be a leader (95%), ability to work through disagreements with others (79%), and the ability to solve “real-life” problems through community service (84%). 

Who said that developing leadership skills was boring? Youth develop their communication, conflict resolution, and problem-solving skills through leadership initiatives disguised as fun games. The body relay leadership initiative provides a fast-paced opportunity to gain experience in teamwork and communication.