Jumpstart Volunteer Event Coordinator (school year)

Level/Pay Range

Students are paid on an hourly basis. The range is $12 to $13 depending on experience and work study eligibility. Federal work-study or community service work-study is possible. This position also provides an AmeriCorps Education Award of $1,100 upon completion of 300 hours of service.

Hours

• approximately 10 to 15 hours per week, or 60 hours per month through June 2012
• Volunteer Coordinators work flexible schedules that allow for some of these hours to fall on evenings and weekends, as is convenient for the Volunteer Coordinator.

Reports to

Elizabeth Figueredo

Context

Jumpstart’s mission is to work toward the day every child in America enters school prepared to succeed. To this end, Jumpstart trains and supports college students to serve as part-time Corps members, working individually with young children to build skills crucial to school success. Jumpstart focuses on three program areas: building School Success for young children by fostering their early language, literacy, social, initiative skills; encouraging strong Family Involvement to help families support children’s learning; and training college students to be Future Teachers and leaders in early childhood education. Jumpstart serves young children in more than 60 communities nationwide.

In addition to supporting the work of college students as corps members, Jumpstart also engages a variety of community members as volunteers who contribute their time and talent to enhance Jumpstart’s service to our partner early childhood centers and the community at large.

The Volunteer Coordinator recruits, assists in training, and manages volunteers for various Jumpstart service projects that address specific program and community needs. The volunteers recruited by the volunteer coordinator should reflect a balance of college students, local community service organizations, and others who can participate in a range of volunteer service projects. Basic volunteer service project categories include one-day, short-term, and long-term service projects.

Volunteer Coordinators have the following option for participation in Jumpstart:

• 300-hour term: serve part-time during the school year

Responsibilities

Volunteer Recruitment and Training

• Recruit required number of volunteers (varies by site)
• Recruit volunteers to commit to one-day, short-term, and long-term volunteer projects
• Recruit volunteers to serve at Jumpstart’s annual Read for the Record Event
• Present Jumpstart to campus and local community organizations, students groups, faculty, and staff to obtain volunteers, and collaborate on service events
• Co-facilitate and support training of all volunteers. Site staff will work with the volunteer coordinator to make sure that all volunteer trainings meet Jumpstart quality standards

Planning and Implementation

• Assist site staff in identifying volunteer projects through needs assessment and ongoing communication with partner early childhood centers
• Assist site staff in implementation of events and support volunteers for service days held at partner early childhood centers
• Assist site staff in implementation of events and support volunteers serving with events related to Jumpstart’s Read for the Record
• Research relevant community organizations to coordinate additional volunteer opportunities for Corps members
• Work with site staff and Corps members to plan annual volunteer appreciation event
• Share promising practices across the Jumpstart network

Volunteer Management and Tracking

• Work with Jumpstart site staff to manage volunteers from Jumpstart’s corporate partners
• Establish and regularly update volunteer schedule and list of events
• Communicate regularly with volunteers through check-in phone calls, emails, and personal appreciations for their efforts
• Document and log volunteer hours in volunteer tracking system and report hours to Jumpstart regional office

Evaluation of Volunteer Activities

• Collect and manage feedback from all parties involved in volunteer activities, including volunteers, partnering early childhood center staff, and community members through written reports, testimonials, and verbal comments
• Share feedback with site staff to acknowledge strengths, successes, and to make improvements for future volunteer activities

Qualifications

Dedication to volunteerism and coordinating volunteer activities

• Experience in a leadership role
• Experience recruiting, training, managing, and supporting groups of people to address community needs through service projects
• Ability to build relationships and work with volunteers, Corps members, and community members
• Track record of planning and implementing events
• Desire to learn about Jumpstart practices, including early childhood best practices

Communication

• Strong language and communication skills (written and oral)
• Ability to give presentations to large groups
• Desire to share the jumpstart mission with the community

Commitment to service

• Community service experience
• Ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds
• Ability to fulfill an academic year-long community service commitment
• Enthusiastic and positive attitude towards helping others

Professionalism

• Ability to work well independently and on a team
• Maturity and good judgment in relating to Jumpstart peers, partners, and families
• Ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds
• Availability, dependability, and willingness to be flexible
• Demonstrated ability to solve problems and think strategically
• Enthusiastic and positive attitude towards helping others

To apply

Apply online at Jumpstart. For more information, please contact Elizabeth Figueredo.

Jumpstart is an equal opportunity organization and encourages applications from all individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, marital status, amnesty, political affiliation, or status as a covered veteran in accordance with all applicable federal, state and local laws. Qualified individuals with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply. Jumpstart will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals. Accommodation requests should be directed to the Jumpstart office to which you are applying. Jumpstart is a proud member of the AmeriCorps national service network. Please note that not all Jumpstart sites are directly supported by AmeriCorps. Please contact the site to which you are applying for more information.