Why do members join As a young member parents will signup their child to gain experience outside of home and school Parents want their children to learn something new Meet friends Friends are in 4H ID: 933828
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Slide1
Texas 4-H
MEMBER RETENTION
Slide2Why do members join?
As a young member, parents will sign-up their child to gain experience outside of home and school
Parents want their children to learn something new
Meet friends
Friends are in 4-H
Legacy (parents were in 4-H)
Fun!
Slide3Membership is important!
Development of leadership skills & life skills
Self-confidence
Social competence
Practical skills
Take on community leadership roles
Feel more accepted by adults
Communication skills
Problem solving
Responsibility
College preparation
and more!
Less likely to be involved in at-risk behaviors
Skills to be successful as an adult
Slide4Targeting Life Skills Model
Iowa State University Extension,
4-H Youth Development
Slide5Targeting Life Skills Model
HEAD
HEART
HANDS
HEALTH
Managing
Thinking
Relating
Caring
Giving
Working
Living
Being
Resiliency
Service Learning
Accepting Differences
Nurturing
Relationships
Community
Service/
Volunteering
Marketable Skills
Healthy Lifestyle
Choices
Self-esteem
Keeping Records
Critical Thinking
Conflict Resolution
Sharing
Leadership
Teamwork
Stress Management
Self-responsibility
Wise Use of Resources
Problem
Solving
Social Skills
Empathy
Responsible
Citizenship
Self-motivation
Disease
Prevention
Character
Planning/
Organizing
Decision Making
Cooperation
Concern
for Others
Contribution
to Group Effort
Personal Safety
Managing Feelings
Goal Setting
Learning to Learn
Communication
Self-discipline
Slide6Membership is important!
Lerner & Lerner (2013) found that 4-H members are:
Nearly 4x more likely to make contributions to their communities
About 2x more likely to be civically active
Nearly 2x more likely to participate in science, engineering, and computer technology programs during out-of-school time
Nearly 2x more likely to make healthier choices
Females in grade 10 are nearly 2x more likely and females in grade 12 are nearly 3x more likely to take part in science programs during out-of-school time compared to other girls
Slide7Membership is important!
And hopefully it is..
FUN!!!!
Slide8But….
How can youth have these awesome benefits and gain such incredible life skills if they’re not a member of our 4-H program??
Slide9Activity: Why do members leave?
Small groups
What do you think?
Slide10WHEN do they leave?
It happens in ANY youth organization!
Largest membership is 9-11 years of age
Teen dropout is normal
After the first year (largest dropout)
After the second year
High school
Slide11WHY do they leave?
It is usually a combination of factors, not just one factor
And there’s a long list of potential reasons!
Do any of the following reasons match what we have already discussed?
Slide12WHY do they leave?
Too confusing, lack of understanding
Family moved away
Never felt welcomed
Conflicting time commitments
Project groups didn’t meet often enough
Youth feel adults were unsupportiveNegative experiences from competitive eventsToo many other activities
Slide13As they grow older, youth want to exercise independence
typically from their parents (but not necessarily a negative thing)
Want to do something different
Even if they enjoyed it when they were younger
Want leadership responsibilities
Activities are not targeted at older age group
Looking for independent activities (rather than group setting)Opportunities for part-time jobs/earn income
WHY do they leave?
Slide14Parental involvement
Lack of success in competitive events
Financial concerns
Perceived available opportunities
Social status (Is it “cool” to a member?)
Support from Extension staff and/or volunteers
Leader to member ratio (too many members for the number of leaders)Lack of quality meetings
WHY do they leave?
Slide15Brainstorm!
Now knowing WHEN and WHY members leave, let’s brainstorm what we can do to prevent that.
Pick 3-5 reasons
Concrete examples of things we can do!
What can your club do?
What can we do at the county level?
Slide16Action!
We know 4-H membership is beneficial!
But youth cannot gain those skills if they’re not involved
Do what you can to help keep them involved
Rely on others to help, too!