Written by CAPA-BC Committee
In the last article on our public account, "Why Volunteering at CAPA-BC," we discussed why you should volunteer at the Chinese American Parent Association of Baltimore (CAPA-BC). In this article, we will discuss what you can do and how to calculate volunteer hours.
Currently, our association offers the following volunteer opportunities:
1. Special Needs Assistance: This is a one-on-one volunteer opportunity to assist children with special needs. If your child is willing to help and grow together with a child with special needs, we will match you with a family in need based on your interests. Volunteers engage in activities such as sports, playing, watching movies, drawing, etc. with children with special needs. Commitment is 1-2 hours per week. Volunteer age requirement: 5 years and above, various age groups needed.
2. Happy Tennis: This is a special education program that requires tennis coaches to play tennis with children with special needs. The commitment is one hour per week. We need 2-3 volunteers. Volunteer age requirement: middle school or high school students. Contact person: Qiao Ye.
3. Resource Collection Volunteer: The United States is a resource-rich country, including social resources such as cost-effective summer camps, leadership training courses, and youth entrepreneurship competitions. However, without relevant information, we cannot make good use of these resources. CAPA-BC is preparing to systematically collect information on various low-cost activities and scholarships. We currently need one male and one female student from high school and one from lower grades, led by a teacher. The collected information will be placed in a members-only area that can be accessed by paid members, and after six months, it will be available to all members. Contact person: Suji Xie.
4. Youth Club Volunteer: We are recruiting middle school and high school students for the following activities: a. Summer sale; b. Writing/Interview Club, writing for and editing the association's newsletter, interviewing outstanding individuals in various fields in Burnaby, and writing articles for display at public schools during the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (AAPI) celebration in May next year; c. Collecting unopened food donations for Thanksgiving; d. Collecting gifts for families in need during Christmas. Contact person: Lin Hanfang.
5. IT Student Volunteer: This role primarily assists the association's IT department in publishing articles, updating activity descriptions, and handling photos and videos in a timely manner. In the future, there may be opportunities to participate in web design and website management. Currently, we need 2-3 high school students. If there are many applicants, there will be a selection process.
As our association's work expands, there will be more activities and volunteer opportunities in the future. So, how should volunteer hours be defined? Do participation in certain activities count as volunteer hours? A basic guideline is that CAPA-BC calculates volunteer hours in the same way as public schools do. In other words, volunteer hours are counted for time spent serving others/organizations, not for activities one participates in out of personal interest. CAPA-HC has a detailed explanation that you can refer to: https://www.capa-hc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/PVSA-service-hours-guidelines.pdf
Building on this, we believe that participating in activities that serve the mission of the association can also be considered volunteer hours. For example, attending Board of Education meetings and speaking. To account for different levels of involvement, we have introduced the concept of "coefficients." For instance, during the summer, when we organize students to talk about Asian American history (Zoom, 1 hour), students who attend the meeting can record half an hour of volunteer time (actual time * 0.5), while the presenters can record two hours (actual time * 2). This way, the preparation time for the presenters is also included. We also have some basic principles for recording volunteer hours: firstly, parents cannot sign on behalf of their children; the responsible person for the activity must sign; secondly, after each volunteering session, participants need to record their hours on our website. Certification will occur once a month to avoid a mess at the end of the year. Lastly, the total volunteer hours per week (both internal and external to CAPA-BC) should not exceed forty hours.
From the beginning, we hope to reasonably quantify and qualify the volunteer service at CAPA-BC to reduce future workload. Of course, for specific activities, organizers may have some flexibility. Throughout the volunteering process, if you have any ideas, please feel free to communicate with the CAPA-BC leadership team in a timely manner.
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