Opportunities From: Volunteer Iowa

Volunteer Iowa is seeking volunteers for our Service-Learning Stakeholder Committee focused on expanding service-learning efforts in Iowa. Volunteers will act in a capacity-building role and work to identify and implement strategies to increase youth-initiated and youth-led volunteering and service-learning.

Volunteer will: 

Make training available for youth on service-learning and volunteering Engage youth and adult partners to identify and address barriers to youth volunteerism Develop and maintain resources to support youth service-learning to be hosted on the Volunteer Iowa website Assist in creating partnerships with nonprofits, afterschool programs, and schools to increase service-learning opportunities Identify and provide recognition for successful examples of youth volunteerism and service Develop opportunities to leverage Days of Service (9/11, MLK, GYSD (Global Youth Service Day) to promote youth volunteerism and service-learning.

The Stakeholder Committee meets for an hour, once every 3 months to collaborate on this work. We also facilitate 1-on-1 meetings with our volunteers in the time between meetings. Additional time commitments may arise in the form of reviewing material for feedback or assisting in creating and providing training sessions.

Mentoring has long been a strong preventive measure that has strengthen the lives of young people across the country. In a survey conducted by MENTOR of 1,000 adults, more than half attribute their success to a caring responsible adult that was not their parent or guardian. Even though mentoring has grown over the past 30 years in formalization of organizations, groups, and clubs after school, one in four youth are still growing up without a mentor. According to the Iowa Department of Education Condition for Learning Survey, only 40% of Iowa youth feel emotionally safe at school and about 50% of youth feel physically safe. Iowa MENTOR supports, promotes, and coaches mentoring organizations throughout the state, giving them the best practices in mentoring and training to increase their sustainability and longevity.

Iowa MENTOR is looking for a volunteer to enhance our social media and community outreach platform through engaging the community in a broader understanding of mentorship. 

What you’ll do

·       Lead storytelling initiatives that connect the public to the impact of mentoring across our state.

·       Analyze behavior and data regarding impact and adjust strategies to enhance engagement.

·       Build relationships with community partners to broaden our reach and understanding of community needs.

·       Become familiar with Iowa MENTOR, our program partners, and the work we do.

·       Create unique content to showcase learning opportunities and volunteer opportunities within our network.

Iowa MENTOR is a statewide agency dedicated to promoting, supporting and building quality mentoring relationships by elevating the capacity of programs, systems, and policies that foster proven results for Iowa.