Volunteer
We ask that each family try to volunteer at least 40 hours during the school year.
Whether you volunteer in the classroom, teach a pod, join the Auction Committee, get in the pool during Swim Days, or help at the Jog-A-Thon, our school needs your help to be successful.
How to get involved
- Ask your student’s teacher what classroom opportunities are available.
- Consider teaching a pod. If you have questions, contact transitional teacher Momoko Wear.
- Check for ongoing volunteer opportunities here.
- Contact our volunteer coordinator.
- Ask around! Many parents in our community can offer suggestions or point you in the right direction.
A few things to keep in mind
- A background check is needed every three years. Download the form.
- Our kids see what we do. They know how involved we are in our community and our investment level in their education. Your actions speak louder than words.
- We welcome the involvement of grandparents.
- Younger siblings can tag along in many situations. Ask ahead.
- Some volunteer tasks can be done from home or on the weekends.
FAQ
Can I bring my younger children when I volunteer?
You can bring younger children to events you have signed up to volunteer for, as long as you watch your children and make sure they are safe. When you sign up for classroom volunteer, please do not bring younger children. They can disrupt classroom time. If you are unsure if you can bring your younger children for an event or volunteer assignment, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator. You can also ask teachers directly if you are signed up to volunteer in the classroom.
Why are families asked to volunteer?
Sojourner relies on parent volunteers for many things. Every event that is put on requires parent volunteers. We also need parents in the classroom and leading pod classes 3 times a year. We understand your life can be busy and you may not be available during the day to volunteer. We ask that you take the opportunity to sign up for evening and/or weekend volunteer shifts if you work during the day. Some great volunteer opportunities for working parents throughout the year are as follows:
- Our Back-to-School Picnic falls on a Sunday each year.
- Auction: We need parents to help with procurement and event details, which can be done in the evenings. We also ask for a group of parents to help clean up after the auction.
- Celebration: We ask for parent help every year to bring instruments back to school after the event, which typically falls about 7–8 p.m.
- Enrichment Nights: We need help during enrichment nights, which usually start at 5:30 p.m.
- If you are willing to take time off of work for any events, Field Day requires many parent volunteers to make a successful event. Jog-A-Thon is another event that parents take days off for, as well as days during swim week.
How do I know what events I can sign up for?
The Volunteer Coordinator will send out emails about upcoming events with links that take you to the Helpcounter sign-up page. There, you can see what is available and sign up for shifts you want. You can also sign into Helpcounter directly by clicking here. If you have questions about volunteering, you can contact the volunteer coordinator at any time.
Where do I find information on what events are?
Check out our How to help section below for descriptions of typical volunteer opportunities. If you have any additional questions, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator.
How to help
There are many opportunities for you to get involved in volunteering for Sojourner:
Box Tops
One parent is needed to help encourage, collect, and submit Box Tops. This is an easy way to help make a little extra money for our school and it can be done almost entirely from home and with a few visits to the school.
Classroom volunteering
Specific needs vary depending on the classroom but staff and students alike appreciate classroom volunteers. The Primary classrooms especially appreciate a parent volunteer in the classroom each morning, and parent volunteers are also needed in the Violin room on a regular basis. If you have daytime availability, contact a classroom teacher for guidance.
Enrichment Nights
Enrichment Nights are family-friendly, evening events that offer our community the opportunity to get together outside of school hours. The themes of the evening vary — sometimes we get together to learn more about topics relevant to our school, and sometimes we just get together to have a little fun. Enrichment Nights are completely volunteer-run and we usually need a little help with set-up and take down. Requests for your help in creating successful events will come by email or through our community Facebook page.
Field Day
A favorite event among Sojourner Students, Field Day is an end-of-year celebration and day of fun! We need volunteers to contribute a few supplies, help serve food, snow cones, popcorn, and participate in and oversee multiple fun activities for the kids.
Field trips
Volunteers are needed to chaperone field trips during the school year. Sojourner staff will announce field trips and forms will be sent home to request being a chaperone. As with all volunteering opportunities, you must complete Volunteer Training and required District Volunteer Background Forms in order to participate.
Fundraising Committee
Fundraising is a necessity for the Sojourner Program and requires many hours of volunteerism to be successful. Please attend Auction and Raffle Meetings and get involved with the Fundraising Committee. There are dozens of ways that you can participate and help with these important events. Even if you work during the week, we have evening and weekend meetings to accommodate all schedules.
Hearing/vision testing
At the beginning of each school year, we need a few parents to assist the district school nurse in completing hearing and vision exams on students.
Jog-A-Thon
Our annual Jog-A-Thon is a community fundraiser. We need families to support their children’s efforts by helping to get pledges and also cheer them on at the event, run with the kids for encouragement, mark laps, and serve water and fruit. You can anticipate this event happening shortly after school starts in the fall.
Pods
Pods are mixed-age groups that encourage students to explore a common interest in great depth. They are a true highlight for Sojourner students, as they are allowed to select which topic they would like to explore! Subject examples include: guitar, gardening, soccer, jewelry making, origami, chess, sewing and more. There are three Pod sessions per school year that last 8–10 weeks and each Pod is 45 minutes, twice a week. In order to keep the groups small, we depend upon parent volunteers to help lead Pods. It is never too early to start brainstorming about a Pod you would like to teach.
Staff Appreciation Week
At Sojourner, we like to celebrate our wonderful staff for an entire month! One day per week, for one month, we ask our community to help shower our staff with appreciation by bringing themed food dishes, small handmade gifts, and flowers. Please keep an eye out for an email preceding the month of May and a sign-up for ways that you can contribute.
Swim Days
Sojourner students get to spend time in the water at North Clackamas Aquatic Park. This is an educational and school-wide opportunity to learn water safety and have fun. Parent Volunteers are an essential element of the swim program. Without volunteers, we would be unable to offer it. The North Clackamas Aquatic Park requires that we have 20–22 volunteers in the water during each session.
Violin helpers
Learning violin is a special experience for Sojourner students, but to be successful it takes the support of several parent volunteers:
- Daily Violin Tuners: Parents are needed for about 30 minutes each day to help get the violins ready. No experience is needed. This is a great volunteer gig for a parent who has a small child in tow. If you can help, please contact our parent volunteer.
- Violin Loan Program: Volunteers help collect the violins, inspect and tune the returned instruments, prepare them to go back out to students on Loan Return days. This time commitment is 1–2 hours. Again, no experience is needed. If you can help, please contact our Violin Instructor.
Violin Program Lead: The Violin Program Lead collaborates with the Violin Instructor to help coordinate tuning volunteers and the Loan Program. The time commitment for the Violin Program Lead is about 1–2 hours per week at home and in the classroom as needed. If this is a job you can help out with, contact our volunteer coordinator.