Volunteer Job Opportunities for August 2011
Note: Volunteer Jobs listed in Blue are available both Locally and Nationally. You can live anywhere in the United States and Volunteer for those jobs remotely. All you need is a good computer, internet access and a passion for our work!
Here are our current Volunteer Jobs. Information on how to sign up is located at the top and bottom of this page. Hope to hear from you!
Winter WonderlandAnnual Event
- Winter Wonderland is a Silent/Oral Auction/Dinner
- Held November 3 at the Valley River Inn
- In 2010 over 200 people attended! We hope to have 300 this year!
- This Event is critical to the overall support of all our programs.
- We would love to have your contributions for our Wine Wall and/or Dessert Dash!
We still need:
- 100 plus Bottles of Wine with a minimum value of $25.00
- 40 Desserts that feed 8 people
- Out of State Getaways, gift cards and more for our
Silent/Oral Auction
- We also still need Volunteers for Silent Auctions!
ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT ROLES
Submission Team
We send nearly 700 home studies each month to various caseworkers for families who are waiting to be selected. To do this it takes many volunteer hours from people who can pay attention to detail and are able to email and attach files. This position takes someone who is able to come to our office and can range anywhere from 5 to 20 hours a week, depending on your availability. While this work takes a lot of time it is highly rewarding, especially when you get to see a family chosen for a child!
Office Assistant
Various duties may include filing, answering phone calls, sending and receiving faxes, data entry, making copies, scanning and uploading documents, reference checking, creating forms and other as needed.
Appreciation Coordinator
Do the important work, sends thank-you's to our sponsors/donors/supporters, birthday cards and gifts if possible to our kids, recognizes volunteer’s birthdays and work effort and so on. These can be set up to trigger you when a thank-you is needed, this work can be done from our office or your home.
Volunteer Coordinator
Oversees the recruiting, interviewing, hiring, training, and scheduling of volunteer workers. Ensures that the activities of the volunteer workers meet the needs of the organization. Relies on experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals. Performs a variety of tasks. Leads and directs the work of others. A wide degree of creativity and latitude is expected. Typically reports to a supervisor or manager.
Data Base Expert
We use Salesforce.com and need a volunteer who can specialize in utilizing this site and its partners and expand its capability for our agency. Someone who can research and implement its many options and add-on programs as well as train our staff to use them. They will work directly with our Data base supervisor.
Training Coordinator
Work with different Program Directors-Coordinate, help build curriculum, build webinars, Promote trainings, orientations, etc
Web Bio Writers
We are looking for volunteer Child web bio's. It can be a skill taking the history and needs of a child and putting them in a form that gives the family as much appropriate information as possible. We have noticed a good writer can do a lot for these kids. This volunteer doesn't need to be local and could be handled through email.
Professional Photographers Needed
Photo's are used for all forms of recruitment, web sites, flyers, Heart Gallery displays and more. They give a child a much better chance of finding a family and being seen in a positive light.
Our Heart Gallery promises to:
- Recognize photographer in the newsletter and on the website.
- Give photographer an update when the child(ren) they photographed is(are) adopted.
- Photographer will be given all information and support necessary to make this an enjoyable experience for everyone involved.
- Photographer will receive an electronic version of the AFFEC logo that can link to AFFEC website. Photographers will be able to display this on their website so that clients and potential clients can see that you have worked with our organization.
We would not be here if it wasn't for all of the support from photographers.
State Representative Roles
Outreach to case workers/agencies/Heart Galleries and potential partners in each state. This Volunteer can live anywhere in any state. All work is done on the web/email. We all know of partners, businesses, organization and others that need to be on our team. We will supply you with sample letters and/or templates for emails/calls to engage partners. The following are possible roles:
- Starting a new Heart Gallery
- Recruiting photographers
- Building Media connections
- Bringing Case workers on board to photo list their kids
- Gathering Support information for your state, county by county or city by city that we will then put on the web.
- Linking our web site with partners
Outreach to case workers/agencies/Heart Galleries and potential partners in each state. This Volunteer can live anywhere in any state. All work is done on the web/email. We all know of partners, businesses, organization and others that need to be on our team. We will supply you with sample letters and/or templates for emails/calls to engage partners. The following are possible roles:
- Starting a new Heart Gallery
- Recruiting photographers
- Building Media connections
- Bringing Case workers on board to photo list their kids
- Gathering Support information for your state, county by county or city by city that we will then put on the web.
- Linking our web site with partners
- Reaching out to agencies to build relationships to help their families with our Matching Assistance Program
- Recruiting Volunteers
- Blogging about us
- Gathering email addresses for our newsletter list, this is often the first way we engage people and educate them in who we are.
- Grants/RFP's/Funding Opportunities
- Assisting other efforts/Heart Galleries/agencies in the state that we can in any way
- Any info for our web site from News Feed info about your state to child listing to support, new efforts and so on.
Any number of hours can be spent, we can either train you on our system to enter state information or you can keep a record on your own and we will do the data entry. We offer support daily as you move through this role and discover new ways we can partner. We encourage "outside the box" thinking and are open to all partnership ideas. We will provide you with letters, linking templates, sponsor flyers, brochures, whatever you need.
Child Listing Volunteer
We are currently working to partner with photo listing agencies, Heart Galleries and individual social workers from other states to list more children on our web sites. This is a free service we offer to help more children and families connect. We need volunteers who can help list these children in our database and on our sites. All training is provided. This volunteer can live anywhere in any state, all work is done on the web/email. If you can pay attention to detail, this is the job for you! Any number of hours a week would be great! 2-3 hours of skype/phone/webinar/How to training is available, in whatever way works best for you. We are only as good as the children we can help-
Targeted Email Outreach-searching for families for children in urgent need of placement-
After our training and support on using our systems and "How to's", this role consists of sending out a targeted email to families that fit the criteria of a given child in need of a placement. For example it could be a certain area, 2 parents, no other kids, and so on. The email will include positive information about the child, some of the barriers/issues as well as an image and contact info for next steps.
Often because of this simple email outreach (which can go out to 500 families at a time) we can find a placement in hours. We are committed to using technology in the most effective and urgent way to find forever families.This is an amazing role to be a part of and very gratifying. You can do as few or as many a week as you like.
Each email is approx. 1 hour to prepare and 2 hours to responds time with families (this is variable).
This is a very important role and the more you do it the better and faster you will get. Involves really understanding and using our data base. We get “urgent” requests from case workers for placement on children and see this as an opportunity for us to get families in front of case workers. We have a data base of over 15000 families.
Recruitment Family Liaison Coordinator & Inquiry Specialist
- Act as a “Family Liaison” for Families in our database
- Input families inquiries into database
- Send questionnaire to families in our database
- Send out “Urgent Need for Families” emails to above families
- Document all Recruitment Efforts for Process Binder Run prospective parent reports for kids that have been on our site the longest
- Assist in generating statistics for families and children in our database
- Work on new ways to match families and children.
- Streamline our processes to better serve families
- Create webinars and hold regularly to invite new families to learn about how we can help them
- Run prospective parent reports for kids that have been on our site the longest
- Adoption Inquiry Specialists –answers inquiries that come into our data base
Marketing/Media/Social Media/Graphic Design
Marketing & Public Relations Coordinator
Help build and/or follow our Media/Marketing Plan. The Marketing & Public Relations Coordinator will be responsible for creation of ads, psa’s, flyers, and other marketing materials for distribution and promotion of upcoming community events. This volunteer will be working closely with the Development Director and/or Executive Director to plan and relay event information to the media via social network, and communicate with existing donor and media database contacts. Other duties will include some administrative tasks, and assisting Development Director and Board members as needed. Great role for a local Internship.
Responsibilities include -
- Develop and produce messages that communicate the value of the agency, A Family for Every child: Heart Galleries
- Attend Fund Development Committee meetings
- Help with agenda and implementation of volunteer events
- Attend department brainstorming sessions, create and distribute marketing materials
- Represent, "A Family for Every Child: Heart Gallery" at service club meetings as public speaker
- and guest
- Create monthly update info for staff and volunteers
- Assist with keeping agency website updated on the media page
- Help recruit and maintain communications with volunteer committees
- Other as discussed and defined based upon interns goals and objectives
- Traditional media outreach, contacts, data updates and tracking
- Write Press releases
Skills needed -
- Creative and outgoing, energetic
- Writing and composition
- Work independently from the team
- Organization and time management
- Currently enrolled as Junior or Senior or volunteer
- Knowledge of Twitter, Face book, and other social media applications
Graphic Design Coordinator
This position includes:
- Flyer Creation (examples below)
- In-Kind Donations Flyer
- Annual Event Flyer
- Princess Event Flyer
- Orientation Flyer
- Slideshow Creation
- Video Editing
- Photo Editing
- Powerpoint Creation
Social Media Assistant
Someone who can can turn twitter into something much bigger for us, a blog, form and more! If you can use Twitter, Facebook, text messaging, online events and online fundraising to help benefit our overall exposure and help raise money for our cause, we have a job for you! Manage our Blog/Social Networking Sites (Ning, Facebook, My Space)
Communications Coordinators-Newsletters
Become a Constant Contacts Expert using Newletters and Alerts!
- Create a Constant Contacts user’s manual (so the process can be duplicated in other parts of the state)
- Manage AFFEC constant contacts email schedule and photo listing with in Constant contact
- Use in all the capacities it can be used. Press releases, surveys, email address gathering, interlinking with our social media etc.
DEVELOPMENT/FUNDING/EVENTS
Donations and Events Coordinator
These roles include:
- Manage and solicit In-kind donation request process
- Solicit “Monthly Gift Card” requests
- Create Forms and flyers for Donation requests, thank you letters, etc
- Data Entry Management for above items in Sales force
- Work closely with Executive Director to begin process for Annual Event
- Create Donation and Events Process Binders
- In-kind Donations Coordinator
- Community Out Reach Coordination
In-Kind Donations
We are looking for someone to head up our In-kind Donations. Duties would include applying for monthly donated gift cards from local businesses, soliciting food donations for meetings, trainings and pop-up events, and requesting items from our department wish lists.
Other volunteer opportunities in the Development Department
Research Assistant
Grant Writer (Beginning)
Fund Development Strategy
Events Coordinator
Organization Development – department volunteer training and incentive program development
Event Coordinator
Develop events small scale and large scale events.
FAMILY FINDING PROGRAM VOLUNTEERS
Volunteers are needed to help reconnect foster children with those they love and those who have loved them.
The Family Finding model offers methods and strategies to locate and engage relatives of children living in foster care. The goal of Family Finding is to provide each child with the lifelong connections that only a family can offer. Family Finding volunteers work closely with caseworkers. They perform file mining, make phone calls, and search the internet for relatives or other meaningful people in the child’s life. While each case is different, the typical case takes approximately three months to complete, and 5-10 hours a month in phone calls and research.
If you like playing detective, than this is the position for you! Most roles can be performed anywhere; nationwide. All training is provided for local and nationwide volunteers.
Family Finding volunteers work closely with caseworkers and the Family Finding Director.They perform file mining, make phone calls, and search the internet for relatives or other meaningful people in the child's life. While each case is different, the typical case takes approximately three months to complete, and approximately 5-10 hours a month in phone calls and research. All training is provided. This volunteer can be located anywhere nationwide.
All Family Finding volunteers will be requested to pass a background check before being given access to sensitive case files.
A Family Finding Volunteer position will be a rewarding opportunity for individuals who possess skills such as:
- Good phone skills. Do you enjoy speaking with new people and asking for information?
- Internet investigative skills. With our training, you will learn how to leave no stone unturned to discover contacts for waiting children.
- Adoptive or foster parents can offer valuable insights to benefit deserving children.
- Excellent follow-up skills. Be the one who made a commitment to a child.
- Detail Oriented–Do you have the skills to pick up on details that others might miss?
- Sense of urgency. Every child in our program has an immediate need to connect with family.
Follow-up volunteer: This volunteer follows up on cases after the children have been reconnected with their loved ones. Follow-ups consist of phone calls and data entry. Follow-ups are made in 3, 6, 9, and 12 month intervals. All training is provided. This volunteer can be located anywhere nationwide.
Family Finding Expert needed to learn and perform Genograms; our Family Tree project for our Family Finding Cases. We supply the software and need a volunteer,local or nationwide to learn the program and use it to complete a family tree project for a child.
Family Finding Department Support
flexible number of hours a week. The Family Finding Department needs a volunteer that can become familiar with the Family Finding process to assist with administrative projects. This is an ideal opportunity for a volunteer that is detailed oriented and enjoys a variety of tasks. This individual would assist with general administrative functions as well as take on tasks such as:
* Prepare materials for training sessions.
* Coordinate incoming volunteers.
* Build family trees with GenoPro software.
* Update blogs.
* Research family finding best practices.
Family Finding Volunteers
To Work Cases--How you can get involved:
* Join a search team
* Work closely with caseworkers
* Make phone calls
* Build family trees
* Search the internet for lost relatives
* Create positive supportive family connections for isolated foster children Please let us know if you are interested, and we can get you involved in this very innovative way to not only get kids out of foster care but reconnect them to lost loved ones. We would be happy to provide you with more detailed information and to answer any of your questions.
Please contact:
Ellen Pavlosek
(541) 343-2856 | FAX (541) 343-2866
famfind@afamilyforeverychild.org
MATCHING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
Volunteer Coordinator and Trainer
Contact, process and train the Volunteers that come to this program. This involved emailing, connecting, checking references, setting up training and following up.
Matching Family/Child Search Specialist
Searches national sites and compiles a list of kids that fit the criteria of our families and produce a list for each family once a week. We provide a large list of sites to search and sample templates for the list and a How to, plus whatever Training you may need. This volunteer can live anywhere in any state, all work is done on the web/email. This is very rewarding as you are actually involved in the Matching of families and kids, on your own time and days.
Family Adoption Specialist
5 hours a week per family - take as many families as you like. You only need to have computer/internet skills, adoption experience (as an adoptive parent/foster parent) or willingness to learn.
- We have a Matching Assistance Program that partners with families that are currently in the adoption process.This program is geared towards families who have not yet had a placement and have been in the process for a year or longer.
- The goal of this program and the task of the Family Adoption Specialist is to walk alongside families in their journey. Give them feedback on their family profile page, perform child searches for them, correspond with caseworkers on their behalf and surround them with resources and encouragement.
- While this may sound as a though it's a difficult position, please note that all training is provided by our organization and requires only that you are consistent and compassionate.
- If you excel in communicating, following up and have the capacity to give 5 hours a week per family, we would love to have you. We ask for a 6 month commitment as families need as much consistency as possible.
- This volunteer can live anywhere in any state, all work is done on the Phone/web/Internet/email.
Web Page/writing Volunteer
Research, write and compile info for us to link and paste on our Web pages, especially those on the Log on site that have “coming soon” on them.
Web Process Volunteer
Signing on to our new log on site and acting as a family, writing script and suggestions that will help our site be more user friendly for families. Help to create Web forms and other ways to assist families. Help to develop RSS feed tools, Twitter feeds and other ways families can get immediate info on children they are interested in adopting.
Newsletter Volunteer
3 newsletters a week, 1-2 hours a newsletter
Using our outreach tool-Constant Contact-build templates for newsletters and outreach tools. Create 3 newsletters a week as well odds and ends announcements and email outreach for recruitment. (Possible Newsletter themes—Kids in need—Resources—Sites to visit – Articles and updates on adoption.
Matching Admin. Volunteer
Any number of hours a week to assist with foundational support for the program and Director.
Help creating a program process binder, filing, data entry, outreach, faxing, scanning, creating check lists, helping with processes, Researching current programs in place in other states , Create materials and forms needed, reviewing families to make sure all time lines are being met and all material is current and effective.
Program outreach-National
Send our flyers, emails, materials to promote the Matching assistance program, link partner sites, share hour message about the program with Agencies, Adoption workers, Parent groups and Potential parent.
Research Volunteer—
Researching training, articles, support, state-by-state info for our web, family support materials and notebooks, newsletters and etc…
Assess/Evaluate Families Readiness-
2-3 hours per family
Evaluate a families registration with the program, evaluate their home study, recommend needed items to add or build into their bio page, evaluate for up to date, make recommendations on when and what to do to stay current and competitive.
Survey & Evaluation Volunteer-
Outreach to our families, how can we do more? What is most helpful? What is not? Survey and check in with families to help us improve our program
Scholarship program-
Project-help us build and run a Scholarship program for families that can’t afford the monthly fee
Matching assistance Blog- Form, Bulletin board-Help us develop information sharing tools for our log on matching assistance program.
Family Outreach Specialist - Local or National
Using our on line newsletter tools you will send out Feature
E-mails of all our families to Children's Case Workers and
recruiters all over the country. This is a wonderful opportunity
to help assist families and waiting foster children connect.
Most Case Workers are searching for families and our
newsletter is a wonderful resource to assist them in finding
homes for the children they work with. ADOPTION AGENCY
- A Volunteer or an intern to Line up speakers for Support Group Meetings; therapists, DHS Topics, attorney, DYS, speakers for different topics, aged out youth, successful adoptive families, successful adoptees, etc…………
This person would outreach to local resources, schedule times that a representative would be willing to present at our support group meetings. And do follow up emails
- Create Webinars – for families to use at each step in the process; How to create a lifebook, how to create a autobiography, how to create a useful parenting plan/safety plan, tips for a successful transition, etc. ………This could also be done by an intern.
- A volunteer or an Intern that could create a safety plan with the families, some one that could read the child evaluations, identify the behaviors or challenges of the child/children and help the family create an acceptable safety plan.
- Newsletter writer – someone who has been down the adoption journey, that could put together the Adoption Agency Newsletters and find articles helpful to adoptive families.
- Volunteer or Intern that could work on completing the family process manual adding to it and adding to the web as well.
- Adoption Mentors – those who have adopted from foster care who would be willing to mentor those in the process of adopting
- Someone that could build a support group in the Portland area
- Someone to use technology to video conference for the support groups - those in other areas could join in the topics they choose
Foster Support Meeting Volunteer
Family building support program-local. Twice a month we hold meetings at Boys and Girls Club for current foster families. We would love to have one or two volunteers that would commit to spending time with the kids while their foster parents are in support meetings. It would be ideal to have college age volunteers who are willing to play with and support these kids. The meetings are generally two hours and are on every other Thursday evening. |
