By: Melissa Sharp & Andrew Yuan, Teen Mentors, Pinellas County Extension
Are you looking for a good reliable place where your teens can volunteer, one which will offer them leadership roles, help the community, and teach them to make responsible decisions? Then you should consider the 4-H Teen Council for your teens where we will be applying all of the above in a fun and safe 4-H environment.
The Teen Council will be an all year volunteering organization open to all 4-H members ages13 and up. Teens who are not currently 4-H members are encouraged to enroll in 4-H and become members of this exciting group. If you are familiar with the 4-H District Council, then you can expect the same types of activities from the 4-H Teen Council. These activities can include community service projects, working with younger youth in the 4-H clubs, and helping with county-wide events. The youth will learn and apply parliamentary procedure in every meeting so that they will become proficient in it. While the Teen Council is a youth adult partnership, it will be up to the youth to organize and run the meetings. Also if any 4-H’er was thinking of becoming a part of District Council, Teen Council would be a great segue because Teen Council will teach the youth the importance of leadership and give them hands-on skills to advance to the District or State levels.
The teens joining the Teen Council, whether they hold office or not, are a part of Teen Council and thus responsible for the workings of Teen Council. Everyone will be expected to participate, share their ideas, and come to meetings. This will teach youth the value of being in a group as well as being reliable. All decisions will be put to a vote so the youth must choose whether they’re for or against a topic and then act on that decision.
A very important concern for parents of teens is Bright Futures and volunteer hours. Because 4-H is a non profit organization, youth can receive credit for volunteering with the Teen Council. 4-H Teen Council is really trying to boost leadership, community service and responsibility in our teen 4-H members. Any teen age 13 or up in Pinellas County should consider becoming a member of our council. If you have any questions or suggestions please feel free to contact us with the information below.
Andrew Yuan (ayuan@pinellascounty.org)(727) 582-2103 or Melissa Sharp (msharp@pinellascounty.org)(727) 582-2514
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