Guidelines for Student Volunteers

1)   Schedule a Visit.  Making a visit to an organization that you are interested in volunteering for will give you valuable first-hand information on the type of services they offer and the environment you will be working in.

2)   Estimate a Realistic Time Commitment. Take all of your schoolwork and other activities into account before scheduling the time you can give to the volunteer organization. Remember, it is easier to start small and add hours later than to have to break a commitment for hours that you cannot fulfill because your schedule is too impacted.

3)   Understand the Organization’s Mission. This will help clarify the goals of the organization and put into perspective the work you will be doing and help illustrate how even the smallest task help progress toward the organizations success.

4)   Request a Job Description.  This will clarify your responsibilities and the tasks expected of you as a volunteer and give you a clear understanding of what you can expect.

5)   Discuss Training and Supervision. Find out how the organization will support the tasks and responsibilities of its volunteers by offering training and supervision.

6)   Seek Feedback. Volunteering is a great opportunity for personal growth and will be valuable for job and college applications.  Ask for a written letter of recommendation or evaluation.

7)   Respect. The success of many service organizations lies in their dependence on volunteer work and they highly value and respect their volunteers. In turn, you need to respect the mission and goals of the organization and task you are responsible for.

8)   Be Enthusiastic.  Find and organization in a field that is of interest to you.  This will make your volunteer work enjoyable and personally rewarding.  The Coordinator can help you with this process.

9)   Keep records.  Volunteers should keep photocopies of all Verification of Community Service forms for their own records during their four years of high school.