Mississippi 4-H Volunteer Leaders' Association - MVLA

Mississippi 4-H Volunteer Association members at the 2024 MVLA Conference

Tammy Parker, MVLA coordinator and Extension agent in Alcorn County, recognizes Ruby Beckley for her 50 years as a 4-H volunteer.

Volunteers Are the Heart of 4-H!

Volunteers are the heart of any organization and Mississippi 4-H is fortunate to have many dedicated individuals who donate their time, money, and skills to support young people throughout the state.

Over 1,800 4-H Volunteers completed 396,000 hours of service worth $8.9 million dollars. Whether it's on the lake fishing, or at the grill, 4-H volunteers interact with youth in their communities, after-school programs, churches, and classrooms.

All that’s needed is a desire to provide a quality educational program for 4-H'ers. Previous 4-H youth development experience is not necessary. For more information, contact the youth development staff in your local Mississippi State University Extension Service office.

Additionally, 4-H volunteers have many opportunities for professional development through organizations like the Mississippi 4-H Volunteer Leaders’ Association.

What is the Mississippi 4-H Volunteer Leaders’ Association?

MVLA members are motivated by the same goal—to support youth development through 4-H.

MVLA’s mission is to provide a collective voice to promote youth and adult development through teamwork, support, leadership opportunities, motivational encouragement, and activities in partnership with the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

Advantages of MVLA membership

"4-H people" all seem to have one thing in common: They love 4-H and want to share the 4-H experience with everyone.

The Mississippi 4-H Volunteer Leaders Association was established to channel this positive energy across the state. You never leave an MVLA activity without feeling recharged and ready to make a difference!

Members of MVLA share a vast network of resources and people who are motivated by the same goal—to support youth development through 4-H. But MVLA goes one step further and intensely promotes adult leadership development. Through MVLA forums and conferences held throughout the year, MVLA members receive information on how to improve their 4-H programs, and they have the opportunity to network and share real-life experiences with other volunteer leaders across the state and country.

Members can also talk to Extension specialists and personnel to gain valuable insight into Extension programs. Members gain a greater understanding of the needs and challenges of Extension personnel, as well as educate Extension personnel on the needs of volunteer leaders. MVLA serves as a bridge to help Extension staff reach more youth throughout the state, even in times of budget constraints and personnel shortages.

The most important personal advantage of being a member of MVLA, however, is the face-to-face connection Volunteers have with other adult volunteer leaders who share the same challenges and opportunities. This connection can create a lifetime of memories and a network of friends and resource people across the state and country.

MVLA does one more very important thing: It serves as a collective voice to ensure that 4-H provides opportunities for young and old alike. Through this collective voice, we are able to:

provide funding for 4-H activities and scholarships.
promote the need for 4-H to our elected officials.
impact the future for thousands of young people in Mississippi.

MVLA leadership is available to help Extension Agents and 4-H Volunteer Leaders across the state start their own County 4-H Volunteer Leader Associations and can provide speakers and links to subject matter experts in many areas.

MVLA members can be found helping, instructing, supporting, transporting, and sometimes just waiting for 4-Hers at most 4-H activities. They can be seen at 4-H Project Achievement Day, 4-H Club Congress, the State Fair, Shooting Sports events, Livestock, Dairy, and Horse events, Legislative Day, and the many 4-H events held throughout the year.

They often fill the gap at the local level when vacancies exist and serve as a connection between all facets of 4-H life. MVLA is the ‘Power Line’ that connects a vast network of 4-H Volunteers and Extension personnel across Mississippi and through the use of today’s technology, that connection is even easier. Zoom meetings, webinars, Facebook postings, as well as face to face conferences and forums allow us to connect, recharge, and create a lifetime of memories and friends, dispersing the energy that keeps 4-H moving forward into the future.

MVLA celebrated 40 years of service in 2023 and we plan to continue that service well into the future, but we need you to make that happen. Through MVLA Volunteers can run for an office, recognize others or be recognized, attend and/or conduct workshops, serve on committees, network, and recruit, recruit, recruit to keep MVLA growing strong!

MVLA is the Power Line that helps Volunteers recharge and succeed. That’s the power of MVLA!

If you need more information about MVLA, contact any of the current MVLA Officers. They will be glad to answer your questions or direct you to someone who can.