The nonprofit organization, Toastmasters International, has a Youth Leadership Program that lasts anywhere from 5 to 8 sessions. Each session is an hour and a half and allows students to work on their public speaking, listening and leadership skills.
In the Youth Leadership Program, kids learn how to run a meeting with basic Parliamentary procedures, delegate tasks and plan and conduct meetings. The program affords multiple leadership opportunities to all of the kids that participate, since they rotate roles throughout the program.
To get a Youth Leadership Program started near you, go to the Toastmasters.org website and request a local club sponsor the program for your community.
4-H stands for the four areas of personal development: head, heart, hands and health.
"4-H empowers youth to reach their full potential, working and learning in partnership with caring adults," according to the national organization's mission statement.
While many people perceive 4-H to be a program for rural kids wanting to learn about agricultural activities, the program has much more to offer all kids. Modern 4-H programs focus on citizenship, science, crafts, social activities, fashion, healthy living, engineering and technology programs and more.
The leadership opportunities for kids in 4-H are limitless, as they can take on a leadership role in whatever projects they choose. Personal involvement in a project can develop into a leadership opportunity, as 4-H's learning structure is very flexible for all kids.
To find a 4-H program near you, go to the 4-H.org homepage, click on "Resources," then "Youth," and use the interactive map on the bottom of that page for your state.
Volunteerism is an excellent opportunity for kids to practice leadership skills. Your child can initiate a neighborhood effort, such as roadside spring trash collection, additional recycling efforts or stream restoration.
You also can encourage your child to volunteer at organized events or become an ongoing volunteer with a nonprofit organization that matches his interests. The ongoing experience with a volunteer organization will lead to leadership opportunities, as there is always a shortage of leaders and volunteers for many social, environmental and ecological projects.
To find volunteer opportunities, go to volunteermatch.org and use the advanced search tool to find activities that match the interests of your child, as well as activities that specifically target kids. There are more than 60,000 activities and 70,000 participating organizations.