What kind of volunteer are you?

BSV volunteers are diverse in their experiences, interests and reasons for volunteering. Please click on one of the below options to learn more about the corresponding type of volunteer process. Please note our new volunteer orientation schedule and that new volunteer placements pause in July, starting again the second week of the BUSD Fall semester (see note in red below):

Individual

Group

One-time-only projects

New Name Badge requests between July and September:

New volunteer requests and placements begin the second week of September, after the Labor Day holiday weekend. We must wait until school starts and teachers return to work to connect volunteers with teachers. Volunteers wishing to get into schools earlier must have completed an orientation prior and must have the teacher contact us to confirm the relationship before we can issue a name badge, as per BUSD request. Please contact us if you have questions. We thank you for your patience during this busy time of year!

Individual Volunteers

Please take a look at the volunteer orientation and placement process below, as well as our more specific pages on BSV orientations and volunteer opportunities. You can always contact BSV with specific questions or bring them to the orientation!

How to become a BSV Volunteer:

1. Attend one of our required, scheduled orientations. We will give you information about our programs, answer your questions, and have you fill out a Volunteer Registration Form with your preferences, so that we can match your needs with our available placements. These orientations occur about once a week throughout the semester on various times & days of the week, and is one hour long. See our orientation page for an updated schedule of orientations. There are no reservations required, but please do bring photo ID and the names and phone numbers of two references who can verify your educational, professional, volunteer or personal history. Please do not include your family members.
2. After the orientation, it will take us about 10 business days to process and send your placement contact information, site details and volunteer badge to your mailing address on file. We send the same placement confirmation and your contact information to the teacher or staff member to whom you are assigned. Please initiate contact with the teacher/staff member to decide on a start date and arrange a volunteer schedule. If you have not received your placement after 10 business days or you do not hear back from your teacher/staff person after at least 3 business days, please contact us for assistance. Mail can be slow and teachers are always busy, so don’t take it personally; they do want your help!
3. Once you are in contact with your teacher or staff member, please respect your placement and treat it like a job: arrive and leave on-time, communicate any schedule changes before an absence, follow the suggestions in the Volunteer Handbook. We ask that you make a commitment to volunteer at least 2 hours per week for one semester.
4. If for some reason you cannot continue your assignment (schedule changes, teacher is not responsive, not a good fit, etc.) please let us know as soon as possible and we will start the assignment process again.

Group Volunteering

We have many groups from our community volunteering in our schools! Groups interested in volunteering need to speak with BSV in order to ensure that the best match can be made between your group’s interests and skills and our district’s needs.

Before you contact BSV, please consider the following:

1. How often and when are your group members available to volunteer? Do you need to volunteer together, with the same host teacher and/or at the same school site? Please be specific!
2. Is there a particular grade level or subject area that your group would be interested in working with?
3. When would group members be available for a volunteer orientation?
   Please note we can only schedule private orientations for 10 or more volunteers per training. If you cannot schedule at least 10 people for the orientation time, your group will need to attend a regularly scheduled, new volunteer orientation.

Next, please contact BSV with your answers to discuss the next steps for your group. Thanks!

I am/my group is interested only in one-time volunteer projects

On occasion, BSV is able to place individual volunteers and/or groups with a teacher or school staff member who is in need of assistance with a one-time project.

Past projects have included:

• Library organization, display creation, and book maintenance
• Garden work day at one of our school gardens
• School clean-up or organization days
• School festivals, fundraisers, or other events

Before you contact BSV, please consider the following:

1. When is your group available to volunteer?
2. Does your group need to volunteer together, or are they flexible? Please explain any limitations.
3. What kind of one-time project is your group interested in?

Next, please contact BSV to discuss the next steps for your group. Thanks!

Thank you!

Volunteering in our community’s schools is an extremely rewarding and mutually beneficial experience for everyone involved—especially our youth. We are all so grateful for your time, energy and wealth of ideas! Please let us know if you have suggestions for programs, improvements of existing ones, or just good old fashioned observations. It’s volunteers like you, serving as our eyes and ears in the schools, who have helped us shape BSV into what it is today.