{"id":103,"date":"2010-06-15T13:02:45","date_gmt":"2010-06-15T17:02:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/?page_id=103"},"modified":"2026-08-05T10:33:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T14:33:58","slug":"how-do-i-become-a-volunteer","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/volunteers\/how-do-i-become-a-volunteer\/","title":{"rendered":"How Do I Become a 4-H Volunteer?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The following individuals must complete the 4-H Youth Development Volunteer Application process:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>those who have more than eight (8) hours of contact in a leadership or advisory role with 4-H members per year;<\/li>\n<li>all drivers and chaperones at 4-H events; and<\/li>\n<li>All members of the Maine 4-H Animal Science Committees.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A 4-H staff member will guide potential volunteers through the five-step process.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Five-Step 4-H Volunteer Application Process\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/volunteers\/how-do-i-become-a-volunteer\/#step1\">Step 1: 4-H Volunteer Application<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/volunteers\/how-do-i-become-a-volunteer\/#step2\">Step 2: 4-H Volunteer Orientation and Maine 4-H Volunteer Application Process ZSuite Clover Academy Modules<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/volunteers\/how-do-i-become-a-volunteer\/#step3\">Step 3: Background Check<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/volunteers\/how-do-i-become-a-volunteer\/#step4\">Step 4: Videos: Required Training for Extension Volunteers<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/volunteers\/how-do-i-become-a-volunteer\/#step5\">Step 5: Interview with a 4-H staff member<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Adults will need to complete the following five-step process to become a 4-H volunteer:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong style=\"color: #0c598e;font-family: 'Roboto Slab', serif;font-size: 1.25rem\"><a id=\"step1\"><\/a>Step 1: <\/strong><strong style=\"color: #0c598e;font-family: 'Roboto Slab', serif;font-size: 1.25rem\">4-H Volunteer Application<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Fill out 4-H volunteer application on <a href=\"https:\/\/4h.zsuite.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ZSuite<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">Instructions on how to create an account and complete the application can be found by clicking here.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/zsuite-4-h-volunteer-application-instructions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span class=\"button\">ZSuite 4-H Volunteer Application Instructions<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Completion of the application does not immediately enroll you as a 4-H volunteer. All steps in the screening process must be completed and approved by 4-H staff before you will be considered an official 4-H volunteer.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3><strong><a id=\"step2\"><\/a>Step 2: <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>4-H Volunteer Orientation and Maine 4-H Volunteer Application Process Modules<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<blockquote>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>4-H Volunteer Orientation<\/strong> <\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The 4-H Volunteer Orientation is made up of short modules that will provide you with foundational information about the 4-H program.\u00a0 T<\/span>his is found in the <a href=\"https:\/\/4h.zsuite.org\/clover-academy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ZSuite Clover Academy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>For instructions on how to access the module, please visit this website.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/zsuite-instructions-for-modules\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span class=\"button\">ZSuite Instructions for 4-H Volunteer Orientation<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Please notify your 4-H staff contact when you complete the 4-H Volunteer Orientation. Contact info may be found on the <a href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/county-offices\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">County Offices page<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h4><strong>Maine 4-H Volunteer Application Process<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">After completing the application and the 4-H Volunteer Orientation Course, should you decide you would like to continue the process to become an <strong>enrolled 4-H volunteer<\/strong>, return to the <a href=\"https:\/\/4h.zsuite.org\/clover-academy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ZSuite Clover Academy<\/a> and begin the <\/span>Maine 4-H Volunteer Application Process<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> module. This module brings the remaining steps below in one place to help you stay organized and complete the requirements.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/zsuite-instructions-for-enrolling-in-4-h-volunteer-application-process-module\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span class=\"button\">ZSuite Instructions for 4-H Volunteer Application Process<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3><strong><a id=\"step3\"><\/a>Step 3: <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Background Check<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For instructions on how to submit a background check, visit this <a href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/volunteer\/volunteer-background-check\/\">Volunteer Background Check website<\/a>. There is no cost to the volunteer applicant. <strong>Please remember to notify the 4-H staff when you&#8217;ve completed the background check so that it may be processed.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong><a id=\"step4\"><\/a>Step 4: Videos: Required Training for Extension Volunteers<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=TXT7qHrvl1E\">Sexual Discrimination Training for Cooperative Extension Volunteers<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=nwxclpUT2lo\">Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect for University of Maine Volunteers<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong><a id=\"step5\"><\/a>Step 5: <\/strong><strong>Interview with a 4-H Staff Contact<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Once our 4-H staff has reviewed your application, confirmed the background check and checked references, they will contact you to schedule an interview.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Once your 4-H contact has determined that you have successfully completed the steps above, they will approve your enrollment as a 4-H volunteer and discuss next steps in your volunteer journey.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"><em>Updated 07\/22\/2026<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The following individuals must complete the 4-H Youth Development Volunteer Application process: those who have more than eight (8) hours of contact in a leadership or advisory role with 4-H members per year; all drivers and chaperones at 4-H events; and All members of the Maine 4-H Animal Science Committees. A 4-H staff member will [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":0,"parent":6,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"templates\/page-withsidebar.php","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-103","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How Do I Become a 4-H Volunteer? - Cooperative Extension: 4-H - University of Maine Cooperative Extension<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/volunteers\/how-do-i-become-a-volunteer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Do I Become a 4-H Volunteer? - Cooperative Extension: 4-H - University of Maine Cooperative Extension\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The following individuals must complete the 4-H Youth Development Volunteer Application process: those who have more than eight (8) hours of contact in a leadership or advisory role with 4-H members per year; all drivers and chaperones at 4-H events; and All members of the Maine 4-H Animal Science Committees. 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