Volunteers are at the heart of the 4-H program, building positive relationships with youth, sharing knowledge and experiences, and developing life skills among youth in the community. The positive impacts are most evident in volunteer-led, 4-H Clubs. Volunteers share their time, talents, and energies, leading to long-term positive impacts. Volunteering impacts individuals and communities, providing social, environmental, and even economic benefits. For instance, the Volunteer Measurement Project (VMP), conducted by Johns Hopkins University, found 62.6 million individuals in the United States, contributed 8 billion hours of work, which equates to $184 billion. However, volunteerism rates in Kentucky are declining. According to the Corporation for National & Community Service (CNCS), Kentucky ranks 48th in Teenage Volunteer Rate and 39th in Adult Volunteer Rate.  Kentucky’s Teenage Volunteer Rate was 17.9%, as compared to other states which ranged from 14.1% to 42.2%.  Conversely, 28.1% of adults volunteer. In Breckinridge County, the 4-H Council aimed to combat this decline and recruit new volunteers to provide diverse, volunteer-led programming in 2020 with social, environmental, and economic benefits to the community. 

In Breckinridge County 4-H, adult and teen volunteers met the challenges of COVID-19 and adapted existing programming and developed new 4-H clubs to reach youth during the pandemic following the project club model. In July and August of 2020, adult and teen leaders were trained by Extension Staff, completed annual club plans with lessons from KY 4-H Approved Curriculum, and packed project bags with supplies for 8-months of virtual or hybrid program delivery modes. Youth registered for project clubs in October, receiving project supplies and virtual meeting instructions from leaders. By September, Breckinridge County 4-H offered 23 clubs led by 32 adult and teen volunteers, including Art, Adventurer Science, Babysitting, Book, Bug, Career, Cloverbuds, Country Ham, Dog, Home School, Horse, Leadership, Livestock, Music, Needlework, Outdoor Explorers, Poultry, Rabbit, Robotics, Sewing, Shooting Sports, Wildcat Cooks, and World Explorers. Of the 32 project club volunteers, 6 are new club leaders and 4 are teens taking on the primary leadership role for their new club.

Whether club leaders are meeting monthly with youth over Zoom to complete projects or in-person following covid guidelines, volunteers of Breckinridge County are continuing to “make the best better” and develop caring, competent leaders of tomorrow.