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Volunteer

Virginia Cooperative Extension relies on volunteers to accomplish its mission. We believe that active citizen involvement in our programs makes a difference in our success. The work of volunteers at the local level helps us leverage our paid faculty and staff resources into a much greater impact for the people of Virginia.

There are many ways you can get involved with us. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact us and we will be happy to discuss available opportunities.

Extension Master Gardener Volunteers

Extension Master Gardeners are trained volunteer educators. They work within their local communities to encourage and promote environmentally sound horticulture practices through sustainable landscape management education and training. As an educational outreach component of Virginia Cooperative Extension, the Master Gardener program brings the resources of Virginia’s land-grant universities – Virginia Tech and Virginia State University – to the people of the commonwealth. All volunteers are trained and have at least 50 hours of horticultural classes and return at least 50 hours of volunteer community service through their local Extension office.

Applications to become an Extension Master Gardener Volunteer are accepted between September 1 and October 31 and can be found at gpmga.org.  Training runs January-April.  If you are a current Extension Master Gardener Volunteer in good standing who has recently moved to the county, you can transfer to our chapter.   

The local Master Gardener group for Goochland and Powhatan Counties is the Goochland Powhatan Master Gardener Association. To find out more about this group of Master Gardeners please click on the group name to visit their website.  

Goochland Leadership Enterprise 

Click here for the GLE Brochure.  Click here for the GLE Application.

GLE History:

Good and effective leadership is not limited to those in positions of authority, nor is it limited to any one race, culture or economic status. In order to reap the benefits of the varied backgrounds of the citizens of Goochland, the County should introduce a leadership development program. It should be a partnership between local government and various organizations throughout the county (i.e. Cooperative Extension, Chamber of Commerce, NAACP, civic organizations, citizens’ organizations, etc.). The purpose would be the following:

  • Identify potential leaders throughout the County.
  • Help to cultivate the leadership skills of citizens.
  • Encourage potential leaders to take a more active role in the County.
  • Educate participants about the opportunities and problems in Goochland.
  • Bring current and potential leaders in contact to encourage discussion and debate.
  • Develop a spirit of cooperation to benefit the County as a whole.

4-H Volunteers

The youth development education program of Virginia Cooperative Extension, 4-H is rich with learning experiences in which young people partner with caring adults and volunteers in a fellowship unlike any other program available to youth today. Through 4-H, young people are encouraged to participate in a variety of activities that emphasize 4-H's "learning by doing" philosophy of youth development. 

Developing Confident Leaders

Standing for head, heart, hands, and health, 4-H uses more than a century of experience in youth development programming to build strong, confident leaders.    Young people in the 4-H community learn leadership, citizenship, and a vast array of life skills that benefit them for the rest of their lives. Through school-based, after-school, and community clubs as well as camp settings, 4-H members pledge to build a better community, country, and world.

Ready for the Future

4-H participants are youth, ages 5 to 19, taking part in programs provided as the result of actions planned and initiated by Extension personnel in cooperation with volunteers. With a direct connection to research at Virginia's land-grant universities, Virginia Tech and Virginia State University, 4-H is the first experience many young people have with higher education. 4-H is characterized as being community-centered, volunteer-led, Extension-staff supervised, research-based, home- and family-oriented, publicly and privately funded, and responsive to change.

For more information on how to become a 4-H Volunteer please contact our 4-H Agent.