Info for Local Agencies

Attracting Volunteers	Directions to MA
Freshman Community Service Day -October	Campus Map
Agency Fairs - January 27, 2005
School - Agency Partnership

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Attracting Volunteers

Do YOU represent a community organization that really needs high school volunteers??

This year our Volunteer Fair, where local agencies set up tables to recruit volunteers, will be held on January 27, 2005.

If you would like to recruit Marin Academy's high school students in San Rafael to work in your agency, please send 5 detailed, colorful, eye-catching flyers for me to post on school bulletin boards to Heather Hamilton, Community Involvement & Service Learning Dept., Marin Academy, 1600 Mission Ave., San Rafael, CA 94901.

Please be sure to include this information:

contact person & phone number
time & dates of service
location of site & transportation information
organization description & mission
description of the activities student may engage in

For even greater visibility, feel free to email (info@ma.org) a VERY SHORT description of your need to include in our daily bulletin. The message should be no longer than two sentences, include a phone number, and have "info for bulletin" as the subject.

Also, remember that the requirement for students varies from class to class. Most require that students have at least 4 shifts at an organization. You may state that "community service credit may be available - check with Heather H. first," but please refrain from making any other statements about service/school credit.

Thanks for your help...in keeping us connected to the larger community!

Freshman Community Service Day

FSLD is the freshman introduction to service and to the CISL department. If you have any interactive volunteer opportunities or large projects you need some able bodied 13 & 14 year olds to work on, we will be sending kids out after they hear some speakers between 10 & 10:30 and will need to have them back in San Rafael by 3 PM. We can send a group of kids anywhere from 5 to 25 depending on your needs. Please let me know ASAP if you would like to work with us on that day. You can call or email a description of your project and number of kids needed to me at kmartin@ma.org or 415.453.4550. Also, if you are interested in sending a speaker to our morning session, please let me know that as well. I can also email you with more info, so if you call, please leave me your email address.

I look forward to this opportunity to create/further a lasting relationship with you and your organization!

Thanks so much

Agency Fair - January 27, 2005

The Community Involvement and Service Learning Assembly will be held on January 27, 2005. Please arrive by 10:30 am to set up, and you can expect to stay until noon. There will be a general Community Involvement Assembly at 11:15, after which students will visit the tables we have arranged. (If you have been invited to a fair in the circle during lunch, however, set up will be at 11:45 or 12:15, depending on the day.)

We would like you to bring flyers, brochures, videos, pictures or anything else that will show kids what you do. Please tell us if you will need a table, number of chairs, & video or other equipment.

If you are interested in speaking at our assembly, please let us know. If however, you are unable to send anyone to represent your agency, please feel free to send brochures or flyers to be put out on that day.

Please RSVP by emailing our Community Involvement Director, Kim Martin at kmartin@ma.org or by calling her at 415.453.4550.

Thanks very much! We look forward to seeing you!

Parking & Set Up:
Parking is on the street. You will set up either in the New Gym or in the circle in front of Foster Hall. This will be obvious when you arrive. Be sure to have heavy things to hold down any fliers or other papers you will have on hand.

School-Agency Partnerships

Dear Community Organization,

Over the years you may have noticed that many of our students have come to you in search of community service opportunities. Some of them you may have only seen once, while others made longer commitments and relationships with your organization, co-workers, or clients. Thank you for providing them with these opportunities! We are contacting you because students have enjoyed working with you and because we would like to create a more significant partnership with you.

We used to have what many schools call an "hours requirement" which every student fulfilled according to their interests and time. Now our program has developed a new structure- that of "projects." In an attempt to create a greater reward for our students and the agencies they serve, we now require that students do service at organizations at least 4 times/semester, for shifts of at least 2 hours each. This time may not be counted for trainings or info sessions, and must include significant work. Although we recognize that our new requirement may not meet your longer term needs, we hope that it will be a step forward in addressing the need of students to learn about and take action on social issues and the needs of organizations to have greater accountability from their high school volunteers.

One of the most prominent issues for teenagers is the access to transportation- and thus, to agencies. In response to this issue, we are creating partnerships between parent volunteers, local agencies, students, and the Community Involvement and Service Learning Department. This is how we would like it to work:

A team of parent volunteers would set up dates with your Volunteer Coordinator to bring students to your organization for the entire school year, with at least 8 visits per semester. This schedule would be confirmed in August, posted on our website & sent home with families.
The Parent Team and the Volunteer Coordinator would set up/agree on activities that would be meaningful for both the agency & the student volunteers, emphasizing hands-on work and contact with service recipients (instead of paperwork)
The Parent Team would manage issues of sign-ups, permission slips, and transportation. They would also be the contact people in case the agency needed to change the schedule.

Would you be interested in partnering with us this way? If so, we need to know! Please fill out the attached sheet and fax it to us as soon as possible.

Thanks again for doing the great work you do in our community-and for supporting our students' desires to work in the community. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Kim Martin
Director, Community Action

Photography by Frank Wing