volunteers:
How To Volunteer
We are very pleased you want to participate in the GAMER Program as a volunteer. Thank you. There are many guidelines governing our role as volunteers for this program and school district guidelines. Volunteers must adhere to these guidelines to maintain compliance with existing state and local policies and regulations.
The Mission of Motivate Our Students Texas, Inc and its GAMER Program is to assist the public school system in their mission to effectively prepare students to succeed in life. That is, ensure all students have access to quality education, verified by objective measures, that enable students to become productive, competitive citizens globally, socially, economically, and educationally.
Our objective is an increased dedication to education in the classroom leading to increased academic skill, increased self-esteem and increased social skills thereby decreasing classroom disruptions, hostile learning environments and discipline problems.
Our Vision is for every student to obtain higher levels of education thus increasing their productivity in our society and their overall quality of life.
Getting Started
You must attend Volunteer Orientation Training to participate as a volunteer in the GAMER Program / school district activity. It is required that you read this handbook then complete and sign the following forms:
Volunteer Information Release (criminal history record release)
Volunteer Agreement (includes signature of GAMER Program volunteer trainer).
(Forms and additional information concerning these requirements are found at the back of this handbook.)
Role of the Volunteer
Volunteers can assist teachers in a variety of ways, thereby freeing the teacher to focus more time on the teaching/learning experience. An organized program of volunteer assistance can provide a unique contribution to the educational program by helping assume some of the many roles necessary for success. Follow school and district procedures regarding signing in and out at the school, wearing a badge, using school materials and maintaining health and security. Know emergency procedures for situations involving student safety.
The volunteer takes directions from the teacher who is in charge of all phases of classroom activity and educational learning expeditions. Volunteers should support efforts of teachers but not replace them or exceed their authority. Maintain a spirit of partnership with school staff.
Volunteers need to be prompt and dependable. Maintain good communication. If a situation arises and you cannot fulfill a volunteer commitment, contact the MOST office as soon as possible.
There are 6 basic volunteer jobs that you can perform to help Dr. Whitney and Motivate Our Students Texas implement the GAMER Program.
1. Educational Learning Expedition facilitator
2. Motivational speaker
3. Facilitator for motivational speaker
4. Recruiter for motivational speakers and/or facilitators of educational expeditions and speakers
5. Administrative helpers
6. Fundraisers
Facilitator of the Educational Learning Expeditions
The first volunteer job is to facilitate the GAMER educational expeditions. Each and every year, GAMER will take each student on three educational expeditions. One third of the expeditions will be to an institution of higher learning while the other 2 will be to business, industry and/or the military. The educational expeditions will last a half day. The students will be loaded up in buses at their school and taken to the work site. At the work site the students will be exposed to various professions who will talk about their background, education, jobs and job satisfaction. Immediately following the presentation before any moves away, the GAMER facilitator will ask questions of the presenter to reinforce the material learned and possibly to bring additional important information that was not covered. Examples of these questions are as follows.
1. What was your education level?
2. Did you wait for the last minute to cram for tests or did you study everyday?
3. You hear a lot about partying and drinking in college. What was your experience?
4. Did you or others you knew ever get messed up with drugs?
5. Do you show up to work on time?
6. Do you really like your job?
7. Do you make a decent living?
8. Did you get to where you are instantly or did you have to work your way up?
9. Did you have children before you finished school?
10. Why do you like your job so much?
11. Did you get in trouble with the law?
12. Do you exercise regularly?
13. Was proper diet, especially eating fruits and vegetables important to you?
14. Did you like studying? (hopefully they will say no, i.e., they would have rather played, but they knew they had to do it to get ahead or some variation).
The next function of the GAMER facilitator is to obtain evaluations from the students when possible. On the trip back, you can interact with the students and ask them what they liked about the trip, what jobs they would like, and what they learned. Take good notes. You can also reinforce the material based upon your experiences. This job is really a lot of fun and virtually all of our volunteers that have helped with the program have really enjoyed the experience.
Motivational Speaker
The next volunteer job is motivational speaker. If you become a motivational speaker you will be asked to speak to 25 students, 2 times a year. The talks will normally be in the morning and last 30 minutes. The first part of the talk will be to introduce yourself and to communicate how much you enjoy(ed) your job and life. If you have pictures of neat things you own or have done, bring them into the class room and let them be passed out. Next, talk about your life, where you grew up, went to school and then your job history. Discuss your current job, what you do and what you accomplish. Talk about the special characteristics that you have that have allowed you to be successful.
The next part of your talk, will be on the non-academic keys to success. Please go to the keys /curricula site of this Web site to see topics for your talk. The topics are listed according to grade. There will be 5 talks per year from kindergarten to 12th grade. The first talk for kindergarten will be designed K-1. The second talk will be K-2 up to K-5. The first talk for first grade will be 1-1 and the second talk will be 1-2. The fifth talk for 12th grade will be 12-5, etc.
The next part of your talk will be an ethics issue that has faced you and/or an associate. The typical ethics issue I talk about is how some people who have had heart surgery try to get permanent disability even though they have been fixed and are fully able to go back to work. When I refuse to give them disability, they generally leave and get another physician who may give them disability. I lose money but it’s very important to me to do the right thing. It is unethical not to work when a person is able to work. It is a form of stealing.
The last part of your talk will be to answer questions from the children and faculty. Virtually all of the schools have Power Point Projectors. If you want to make a Power Point to use during your talk, we highly encourage it.
Facilitator of the Motivational Speaker
Not everyone can remember to cover all the material in their talk and it is always good to reinforce the material covered. The facilitator of the motivational speakers will ask same or similar questions of the speaker at the end of the presentation just as the facilitator of the educational expeditions.
Many people may be uncomfortable giving a motivational talk. However, they can really improve the overall program by being a facilitator of the speaker at the end of the talk. This has also been a very enjoyable job for our volunteers thus far.
Recruiter for Motivational Speakers
MOST will need over 6,000 motivational speakers and facilitators for the GAMER program this next year, since we are only asking our speakers and facilitators to volunteer 2 times per year. If you are a member of any organization (church, optimist club etc) which has individuals who care about the quality of our children coming out of the school system, we would appreciate it very much if you would arrange for one of our staff or even one of our volunteers to make a presentation at the organizational meeting to recruit volunteers for GAMER.
Administrative Help
In the next 2 years, GAMER will be in virtually every school district in Bexar County. We are looking to service over 100,000 at-risk students. Coordinating this will be a challenge. If you want to be a liaison between a school and MOST, we have a job for your. If you want to answer phones, make phone calls, mail letters, help us disseminate information answer questions, help new schools enroll in the GAMER program, we have a job for you. Our administrative office is in the Heart and Vascular Institute of Texas building 1933 NE Loop 410. San Antonio, Tx.
Fund Raising
Right now, GAMER is being funded by a single private donor. In the very near future, we will need to generate additional revenues to expand our program. If you want to help in this area, we can really use you. Hints for working with students
Be yourself. Warmth and friendliness foster good volunteer – student relationships. Maintaining a sense of humor and comfort will help ensure your success with young people. Try to learn student and teacher names quickly. Encourage and praise students when appropriate. Be aware of and sensitive to the unique gifts and needs of individual students. This is critical at all age levels.
Important Information
Volunteers are under the direct supervision of school staff who are responsible for providing a clear understanding of duties, procedures and expectations of volunteers.
Volunteers are role models for students and should set a good example. Volunteers follow the same dress code and practices established for school staff. Clothing that is too short, revealing, or advertise drugs, alcohol, sexual innuendo, slurs or violence is not appropriate for volunteer work. School staff in charge of an event involving GAMER Program volunteers may request a volunteer to alter their dress or even leave the campus if they feel clothing, in any way, disrupts the education environment.
Discipline is the responsibility of school staff. Should a volunteer encounter discipline problems with a student(s), the volunteer must refer the problem to school staff immediately.
The most significant gift a volunteer gives is the gift of time so a volunteer’s importance is not tied to material gifts. Gift giving and receiving is discouraged.
On any school campus, adults have designated restrooms. Volunteers do not use student restrooms.
Policy and Procedures
Confidentiality
GAMER Volunteers uphold the policy of confidentiality. Volunteers should not share information about children or their families. Volunteers shall not be permitted to access, review, disclose or use confidential student information, or participate in meetings in which confidential student information is discussed. Volunteers who do not respect this policy will be removed from the volunteer program. Failure to respect confidentiality can have legal ramifications.
Security
Volunteers must enter through the school office area and sign-in at the main office in the Visitor Notebook when they arrive on campus. In the interest of safety for students all visitors and volunteers are required to present a photo id. (driver's license, state id, passport, etc.) Following sign-in procedures allows school staff to know where to locate volunteers in case of emergency and documents the hours of service for volunteer recognition. Volunteers must wear a nametag provided by the school. Proper I.D. allows volunteers to be recognized as campus people and assures student safety,
Alcohol, drugs & other substances
School campuses are smoke free—drug free environments. GAMER Volunteers will not glamorize or lend approval to the use of alcohol, drugs, or tobacco products on school property or field educational expeditions. No alcoholic beverages or illicit drugs can be brought to a school campus or field educational expedition by a volunteer. Violation of this rule will result in immediate and permanent termination of volunteer privileges and possible legal ramification.
Verbal or physical abuse
Verbal or physical abuse of a student is not be tolerated nor accepted. Volunteers will conduct themselves in a manner reflecting the utmost respect for all individuals with whom they come in contact with on the campus and field educational expedition. Volunteers should not use curse words or other offensive language. This would include any racial, gender, age, appearance, or religious slurs. All people involved in an education settings will respect the rights of others. Any suspicion or indication of abuse or neglect should be immediately reported to School officials.
Commercial promotion
GAMER Volunteers will avoid promoting commercial products or brand names. Volunteers will not sell products at any School campus or department.
Personal beliefs
Students come from a variety of backgrounds. Volunteers must demonstrate respect for their differences and individual rights. In that regard, GAMER Volunteers should not propose religious beliefs or doctrines nor promote political parties or candidates.
Special needs, safety & medication
Volunteers must be sensitive to the special needs of students and must not involve any students in activities which might be hazardous to their health or safety. Occasionally a student will have special medical or behavioral restrictions, and the volunteers must abide by these restrictions. Volunteers are not authorized to give medical treatment or prescription or nonprescription medication to any student. School personnel are responsible for addressing medical needs of students
Contact with student(s)
Contact with students is limited to the campus activities and must be conducted in a public area.
Violations Procedures
Our Volunteers are a valued part of our educational assistance program. We appreciate every volunteer that donates time and energy to work with us in assisting our schools. Please carefully read the Violation Procedures before signing the Volunteer Agreement. Violations of the rules outlined in this handbook are rare. However, for the protection of everyone, if a violation occurs the following steps are followed:
First Infraction - School and GAMER Program personnel and will speak with the volunteer about the problem and review the Volunteer Handbook.
Second Infraction - The volunteer will be dismissed from the program in writing.
To contact us by email :info@motivateourstudents.org
Or call: 210-804-6063
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