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"Working on a national ad campaign
is the chance of a lifetime. I expected a bunch of adults saying, "This is what you're
going to do. Go do it.' But they gave us lots of independecne. A lot of other 4-H'ers
in my county have gained a sense of respect from the campaign, because Council gave
youth so much responsibility in creating it."
Though the National 4-H Council, with its youth-based mission, has always involved
young people in roles as consultants, advisors, committee and task force members,
youth were left out of one vital role: decision making in its governance structure.
National 4-H Council is a private partner for the nationwide 4-H youth program, which
serves more than six million young people nationwide.
A 1990 marketing research study of why youth left 4-H found that the young people
were "tired of being in an organization run by adults who thought they knew what
was best for kids." Further study led to the Council changing its mission in 1994.
Today, the mission is "to be an uncommon youth development organization fostering
innovation and shared learning for youth workers and young leaders."
The idea of including youth on the Council board at the highest level of decision
making initially met with resistance. Council adult board members were used to making
decisions for youth, not with them. So even when two young leaders joined the board
with full voting privileges in 1992, things did not change immediately. The youth
didn't feel comfortable talking at the board meetings. They were given no orientation,
and did not know what it meant to serve on a board. Similarly, no one prepared Council
members for the challenges of integrating young people into the boardroom. Before
long, the youth decided to take action to make things easier for future board members.
Drawing on the resources of Youth on Board, Council staff created an orientation
protocol and materials for all future National 4-H Council Board members-both youth
and adults.
But this was only the beginning. In 1998, young board member Amy Weisenbach appealed
to the board to add more young people to the Council. She showed them a video featuring
interviews with trustees of other boards that shared power with youth. As a result,
National 4-H Council's board voted to expand to include 10 young people ranging in
age from 12 to 22.
At 4-H, youth took a stand, and the organization has benefited from their unique
insights. As a result, National 4-H Council is fulfilling its own mission-involving
youth in decision making at every level of its organization. The Council now raves
about its partnership model.
-Kathy Jones
Director of Communications
Youth on Board
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