Want to know how you can support your local community? N.C. Cooperative Extension in Guilford County offers a variety of opportunities for community members of all experience levels to volunteer! Check out the interest form below and the dates below to find your perfect fit. Click "register" beside the desired class to register. Thank you for your interest in volunteering with N.C. Cooperative Extension! Our programs serve the community through youth development, agriculture, family and consumer sciences, and more—and volunteers play a vital role in making that impact possible.

NC Cooperative Extension Ambassador: Volunteering Opportunities-

Let us learn more about you!

The Volunteer Interest Form is here!

If you are specifically interested in volunteering with consumer horticulture, please contact Holly Key at hmkey@ncsu.edu to learn more about our Extension Master Gardener℠ program.

Financial Literacy

Real Money, Real World

One of our most popular programs amongst youth is the Real Money. Real World. program. Real Money. Real World. (RMRW) is a youth-focused financial literacy program from Ohio State University Extension. It can be used with youth ages 12-18, but it is ideally suited for youth ages 13-16. The curriculum is time-tested and has been highly successful because of the creative community efforts of Extension educators, local school teachers, and community volunteers.

Real Money. Real World. is fun and distinctive because it includes an interactive spending simulation that provides the opportunity to make lifestyle and budget choices similar to those made by 27-year-old adults. As a program of Ohio State University Extension, the most preferred and successful RMRW programs are partnerships of the county OSU Extension office, the school, and the business community. RMRW has three parts:

Part I: Four preparatory classroom lessons

Part II: A hands-on budget management and decision-making spending simulation

Part III: A post-session evaluation of spending choices made during the simulation

Real Money. Real World. has three primary goals:

1. To increase participants' awareness of how education level and corresponding career choice influence personal income and financial security.
2. To increase the students’ knowledge of money management tools used in daily spending for cost-of-living decisions.
3. To increase participants’ awareness of how income and lifestyle choices affect the amount of money available for discretionary spending.

RMRW is designed to increase participant awareness related to:

• How the type of job affects how much income can be earned.
• The level of education needed to get the job desired.
• The amount of money deducted from paychecks for taxes, other withholdings, health insurance, and retirement.
• How financial institutions help with personal money management.
• What it costs to maintain a household.
• What it costs to care for a child.
• How every spending decision affects other spending opportunities.

RMRW Performance Outcomes

Because of RMRW, youth will place more importance on and plan for changes related to:

• Doing well in school.
• Getting more education or training after high school.
• Waiting until financially ready before having children.
• Having a plan for spending that includes both needs and wants.
• Learning how to make financial decisions that adjust spending to match income.
• Saving money regularly.

Information was dervied from the Ohio State University Extension website.

Before you are able to volunteer for any event at a Guilford County School you must register with GCS's volunteer system. Please follow the following instructions

• Register as a volunteer with GCS through https://www.gcsvolunteers.com/
  • This process will conduct a simple background check
  • Enter the school(s) you will be volunteering at 
• Forward the completed registration email or confirmation of the "cleared" profile to NC Cooperative extension agent at maramador@ncsu.edu and althom24@ncsu.edu
• Volunteer support is essential to the success of these programs.