June 2026 4-H Volunteer Corner: Your corner for connection, tips, and tricks!
Developmental Relationships
What are Developmental Relationships? These are positive connections between youth and caring adults that provide a foundation for growth, fostering trust, warmth, and mutual respect. The caring, consistent connections that you engage in with 4-H members help youth grow. By building a relationship of trust, such relationships can give young people the encouragement and guidance they need to succeed. In essence, developmental relationships are the nurturing connection that helps youth in 4-H programs navigate their experiences and develop into well-rounded, purposeful individuals.
When we observe a developmental relationship we see
- active engagement and trust,
- balanced power dynamics and
- intentional connection.
Developmental relationships sound like
- words of encouragement,
- praise for effort and achievements, and
- expressions that the person feels known, valued, and enjoyed.
4-H Volunteer Summit
Saturday, November 7, 2026
We hope this is where you will plan to be! We have an amazing line up for the day with engaging workshops, a Discovery Zone, a 4-H Pop Up Shop and more! Save the date, check out the 4-H Volunteer Summit webpage and look for registration to open soon!
Resource Spotlight
Does your 4-H club have officers and run a short business meeting? If so, check out this Parliamentary Procedure resource from the University of Illinois Extension. Super simple to understand, it will provide guidance on how to run a business meeting that is orderly and efficient. The rules are designed to ensure that everyone has a chance to participate, be heard and help the group reach decisions. If you are looking for some activities to help teach parliamentary procedure to young people, try this Parliamentary Procedure Activities Resource from Michigan State University. Let us know if you try one out- we’d love to hear how it went!