Want to make an impact in the lives of the students we serve?
Become a Living Histories volunteer.
Volunteering is an integral part of the Living Histories model. We believe that our students have much to gain from individuals in their community, and likewise, we know from experience that there are many individuals in a given community that have tremendous gifts that they can share with students.
Our goal as an organization is to not only provide students with our programming, but to also connect volunteers with opportunities that will strengthen the learning experience of youth and help everyone - students, teacher and volunteers - grow as individuals.
Living Histories has a well executed and highly organized volunteer program.
All volunteers are well trained and supported and provided with specific outlines and guidelines. Most of our volunteers join us in the classroom during after school hours, working with a Living Histories teacher. Some veteran volunteers that can make the commitment might lead a class on their own. In either scenario, plenty of training, feedback and support is always provided.
Our goal is to empower both students and community: volunteering can be a powerful, life changing experience, and is at the heart of long lasting social change. Living Histories is embedded in the idea of ‘sustainability’; we make sure that volunteers have a rewarding experience that makes the most of their time so that they can continue to donate it.
We always keep a listing for our current volunteer needs, which you will find on this page.
Our most common volunteer need is in the classroom: assisting our teachers during after school hours, working with students on their projects. This typically means that as a volunteer, you’ll work with small groups of students, floating about and helping them with their projects (check out our curriculum page for more info on the types of classes we teach) and giving them the one on one feedback and support that makes a world of difference.
For volunteers with a specific talent - drawing, photography, writing, botany, the list is endless! - a special lesson can be created, or that volunteer can create a lesson relevant to their talent to fit into our curriculum. Again, we value the rich, diverse experiences our volunteers can bring to our program and students!
We have all sorts of individuals join us as volunteers: college students interested in teaching and social justice issues, retired teachers, community members with free time and a commitment for youth, and countless others.
Prior teaching experience isn’t necessarily required; patience, kindness and a commitment to seeing our students grow as individuals is what is at the core of our program.
Please note that per state and federal laws, we do require a background check of any individuals interested in working directly with students. Living Histories covers the financial and administrative aspects of these clearances.
Be sure to include your name, phone number and availability in your email, and in what capacity you would like to volunteer. We will follow up with you right away with more information.
Our next volunteer training sessions, for the Fall of 2009, will be held in Pasadena on:
Saturday, September 26th during morning hours
Wednesday, October 14th during eveing hours
Email us to sign up for one of these sessions, or to learn more.
Teaching assistants - after school hours (typically 2:30 to 4:30 or 5:30, M-Th) in Pasadena, CA.
Data base design and development for our website (no limit on location)
Graphic design (no limit on location)
Marketing
Fundraising