Volunter Information Session

Last night I went to a volunteer information session at Los Angeles Youth Network. The Volunteer Administrator gave the history and mission of the facility (for details go to LAYN.org) and how he became involved with the organization. The one thing I really notice about him is how he addressed the attendee of the session as if we were already a part of the LAYN volunteer team. Very cleaver of him and it definitely made me want to join immediately!

Also, there was a representative for the education and mentor program. The education section is about encouraging the youth to go back to school or get their GED and on to college. She gave a couple of success stories in which one youth was accepted to USC. They needed tutor volunteers who are require to a commitment of one hour a week. The mentor section matched same gender mentor and mentee and it is basically being there for the youth. Take them out to do things such as movies, volunteer events, and thing that other wise they would not experience. The volunteer would go through a mentor-training program and the commitment was at least 6hrs a month. What I found interesting is that a mentee can have more than one mentor, but the mentor can only have one mentee. She also mentioned that since they are employees they had rule and regulation that they have to follow, but the mentors had more liberties to help the youth and to have a consistent person in their life. She mention that in some cases the mentee becomes part of the mentor’s family.

In addition, the house coordinator was there and talked about the five houses and their purpose. He mentioned that they need volunteers for various purposes and there wasn’t any time commitments requirement. All volunteers who interact with the youth have to undergo a lifescan at the Federal level (fingerprinting identification) and TB test. One could also volunteer in the office to do clerical work, which did not have a time commitment or lifescan/TB test requirements.

Overall, it was a good experience. I was a little intimidated to volunteer at a facility, but after attending the session it is definitely something I am considering. I thought I would work in the office for now and possible in the future becoming a mentor.