scholarly journals Value of Assessing Personal, Organizational, and Community Impacts of Extension Volunteer Programs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Harrington ◽  
Tillie Good ◽  
Kandi O'Neil ◽  
Samantha Grant ◽  
Sarah Maass ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Youth Development ◽  
Comprehensive Evaluation ◽  
North Central ◽  
Community Benefits ◽  
The North ◽  
Community Impacts ◽  
Extension Professionals ◽  
Volunteer Programs ◽  
The One ◽  
Survey Responses

Extension volunteers demonstrate personal, organizational, and community benefits. Our group of Extension professionals in the North Central Region applied these three levels of benefit to gather quantitative and qualitative data in a comprehensive evaluation of volunteer impact. Survey responses were received from 2,978 4-H youth development volunteers in 12 states. A mixed-methods approach, such as the one we used, can provide Extension professionals with evidence to communicate the value of volunteer programs and improve their practice in volunteer systems management.

scholarly journals Environment, agro-system and quality of food production in Italy

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Dal Ferro ◽  
Maurizio Borin
Keyword(s):  
Regional Distribution ◽  
Alternative Agriculture ◽  
North Central ◽  
The North ◽  
Central Regions ◽  
Landscape Preservation ◽  
Quality Of Food ◽  
The One ◽  
Agriculture Systems

In the context of increasing attention towards sustainable and high quality food products, Italy plays a key role in Europe due to its embedded territorial vocation for locally produced food and alternative agriculture systems helping biodiversity and landscape preservation. Here, we report an overview of Italian agriculture by analysing organic farming (OF) and geographical indication (GI) systems and their contribution to the national agriculture. Land use data highlight that OF and GI contribute around 10% to the utilised agriculture area (UAA), with relevant distinctions in terms of regional distribution. While GIs are mostly in the north-central regions (8.5%), OF products are most frequent in the south and on the islands (5.0% of UAA). This trend was observed on the one hand in Trentino-South Tirol, Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia (%UAA GI/%UAA OF > 5.9), and on the other in Calabria, Basilicata and Sicily (%UAA GI/%UAA OF < 0.1). Similarly, both systems are widespread in less-favoured areas in terms of agricultural intensification, providing support to preserve agro-systems and reduce land abandonment.

scholarly journals The Impact of Volunteering: A Multi-State Study of 4-H Youth Development Volunteers

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 32-50
Author(s):  
Samantha Grant ◽  
Sarah Maass ◽  
Rachelle Vettern ◽  
Rebecca Harrington ◽  
Kandi O’Neil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Youth Development ◽  
Leadership Skills ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
North Central ◽  
Youth Development Program ◽  
The North ◽  
State Study ◽  
Development Programming ◽  
The Impact

Volunteers are vital to youth development programming as a key piece of the workforce. This evaluation measured the impact of volunteers in the 4-H youth development program and demonstrated the value volunteers bring to youth development environments. The north central region 4-H volunteer impact study was conducted with volunteers in the 4-H Youth Development program across 12 states. The purpose of the study was to better understand the value of being a 4-H volunteer. Results showed that volunteers personally benefited from their involvement in these settings by becoming more experienced at working with youth and by learning skills that transferred to other settings. Volunteers also served as guides for youth as they gained leadership skills and gave back to their communities. In addition, the Extension organization benefits included volunteer time, donations of money and supplies, and volunteers serving as ambassadors for youth development programs.

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