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Get Involved

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.

We Want to Hear From You

Virginia Cooperative Extension is interested in hearing your ideas regarding local issues and needs, and how Extension might help address these areas. Your input is valuable to us, as it allows us to stay in touch with the pulse of the community.  We are constantly striving to keep our educational programs relevant to needs of our stakeholders.  We invite you to contact any of our Extension representatives or any of our county ELC members to share your ideas and/or concerns.  

The Rockingham County Extension Leadership Council is a group of concerned community members who meet quarterly to discuss Extension programming and provide county-wide need assessment information.  Each member represents a key focus of Extension programming (Youth Development, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Family and Consumer Sciences, and Community Viability).  

Mission of the Extension Leadership Council: To develop and implement a program plan that will direct Extension's resources toward the resolution of identified issues and concerns.

Roles and Functions of the ELC: Identify and prioritize issues and programs; design, develop and implement appropriate programming; assess and monitor programs and reports results to appropriate groups; be an advocate for Extension programming. 

If you would be interested in serving on the Extension Leadership Council, please contact Jeremy Daubert at 540-564-3080 or jdaubert@vt.edu.

The Extension Master Gardener program is a group of volunteers dedicated to working with the community to encourage and promote environmentally sound horticulture practices through sustainable landscape management educational programs.  these volunteers often provide information and assistance to other community members who have questions regarding home ornamental and vegetable gardens, and lawns.  Our local program is the Central Shenandoah Valley Master Gardeners.  Each member has undergone classes and training to be certified through Extension as a Master Gardener.  For more information, please visit the links on the Horticultural Programming page, or see the state extension Master Gardener topic page.

4-H is a youth development organization committed to assisting youth and the adults who work with them in acquiring the leadership abilities, life skills, and attitudes that will help them to become self-directing, productive members of society.  Through hands-on learning activities and programs, 4-H provides youth with opportunities to "learn by doing."  This is a volunteer-led, community-centered, and family-oriented program that is supervised by a trained youth development professional or extension agent.  If you are interested in helping to "make the best better," please contact Sam Leech at 540-564-3080 or spleech@vt.edu.