“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give” – Winston Churchill

The holidays are upon us and it is a great time to reflect on the season of service. 4-H strives to instill four essential elements: Mastery, Belonging, Independence, and Generosity, into every 4-H member. Generosity serves as an opportunity to value and practice service for others. 4-H members can show their generosity through service projects on the club, county, and state levels.

Purdue Extension developed a wonderful toolkit to teach generosity to 4-H members. Consider the following during this season of giving. (Generosity Factsheet from Purdue Extension)

Giving back is an important concept for 4-H members to learn

• Each member has received the benefits of contributions that volunteers, donors, and others have made
  to the 4-H program.
• Learning to be generous is a concept that will serve members well throughout their lives.

Generosity can take many forms:

• Giving our time to a cause.
• Using our talents or performing acts of kindness to help another.
• Sharing our treasures or financial/monetary support to reach a goal.

Generosity has benefits:

• Volunteering can boost your self-confidence.
• Generosity helps you become more comfortable in social situations.
• Volunteering helps develop leadership skills that can be helpful when you look for a job.
• Volunteer experiences can help you define a career choice.
• Volunteering can provide you with a sense of well-being.
• Volunteers report sleeping better at night knowing they did something to help others.
• Youth who volunteer to help others are less likely to abuse drugs or smoke.
• Adults who volunteer are less likely to have high blood pressure.
• Volunteering gives you a sense of belonging to your community or an organization.
• Volunteering helps you master difficult social interactions.
• Volunteering develops the independence to try new acts of kindness.

Do’s of being generous:

• Do volunteer for issues that are important to you.
• Do assess your talents — identify you strengths and use them to guide your generosity goals.
• Do journal your volunteer accomplishments — record what you learn from your volunteer experiences.
• Do try new roles as a volunteer to help you grow.
• Do count your acts of kindness as generosity.
• Do give time, if you can’t give money or gifts.

Duval County 4-H wishes all of our 4-H members, families, friends, and supporters a wonderful holiday season. We hope you take the time to remember all the things you have to be grateful for and take the opportunity to give back to your community.

Resources:
Adapted for Duval County 4-H from 4-H RSA Stacey Ellison, Florida 4-H: Northeast District Blog
Purdue Extension, VolunteerIN 4-H Toolkit for Success

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