• June 22-25: State 4-H Conference, CSU campus
• June 26-July 3: Citizenship-Washington Focus, Washington, D.C.
• July 5: University holiday, offices closed

• 4-H Shooting Sports News & Curriculum (included in your Friday mail packet)

Research Update - Volunteer Retention

A recently published report by the Urban Institute focused on charities' adoption of nine recommended volunteer development practices: supervision and communication with volunteers, liability coverage, screening and matching volunteers to jobs, regular collection of information on volunteer involvement, written policies and job descriptions, recognition, measurement of volunteer impact, training and professional development for volunteers and training for paid staff.

Of these nine practices, only regular supervision and communication with volunteers has been adopted to a large degree by a majority of charities. They found that the practices for volunteer management are known, if not always fully implemented. Organizations interested in increasing retention of volunteers should invest in recognizing volunteers, providing training and professional development for them, and screening volunteers and matching them to organizational tasks. These practices all center on enriching the volunteer experience.

Volunteer management practices are only part of the picture. In addition to adopting certain management practices, charities can provide a culture that is welcoming to volunteers, allocate resources to support them, and enlist volunteers in recruiting other volunteers. All of these practices help organizations achieve higher rates of retention.

Why focus on volunteer management? The prevailing wisdom is that unless organizations pay attention to issues of volunteer management, they will not do a good job of recruiting, satisfying, and retaining volunteers. Studies have revealed that two-fifths of volunteers have stopped volunteering for an organization at some time because of one or more poor volunteer management practices. Reasons included the organization not making good use of a volunteer's time or good use of their talents, or that volunteer tasks were not clearly defined. Poor volunteer management practices result in more lost volunteers than people losing interest because of changing personal or family needs.

Information provided by Hager, M and Brudney, J. Volunteer management practices and retention of volunteers. The Urban Institute, 2004. — Dale Leidheiser

LDC Planning Meeting

You are invited to attend a Leadership Development Conference planning meeting during State 4-H Conference. Please mark your calendar for Wednesday, June 23, at 12:00 noon, at the Ramskeller in the Lory Student Center. Please join me with your suggestions for speakers, workshops and activities so that we can begin planning for next year's event. Hope to see you there! — Katy Kohnen

4-H Shooting Sports News & Curriculum

Included in the June 18 Friday mail is a copy of a new shooting sports program newsletter, hunter education brochure, hunter education 15-minute talk, and lesson plans. Please call Del Benson (970.491.6411) if you have questions. — Susan Cuckler

Army, 4-H Join Forces to Support Youth

Operation: Military Kids is the latest initiative from the USDA/Army Youth Development Project (AYDP) that provides support to Extension and Army staff and has established over 295 4-H clubs on Army installations around the world.

According to Sharon K. Wright, CSREES national program leader in families, 4-H and nutrition: "Although these youth do not re-locate when a parent is mobilized or deployed, their lives change dramatically during the parent's absence." They face new challenges and risks because they come from a civilian background, have little or no experience dealing with the military and often live 50-to 100- miles from normal military support mechanisms.

OMK was unveiled at the National 4-H Conference and will continue to grow as more partnerships are created.

Through OMK, 4-H has the opportunity to play a significant role in providing educational, recreational and social programs to youth of geographically dispersed military families, most of whom have not previously been reached by 4-H. — Jan Carroll