Project design kit

In general, SVN cannot promote volunteer opportunities that take place during...

• YCP New Student Orientation (August)

• Labor day weekend (September)

• YCP Fall Fest/ Homecoming (October)

• YCP fall break (October)

• YCP Thanksgiving break (November)

• YCP finals week (December)

• YCP semester break (December & January)

• YCP New Student Orientation (January)

• YCP winter vacation (March)

• YCP spring vacation (April)

• YCP finals week (May)

• YCP semester break (May, June, July, & August)

The dates for these YCP calendar events will vary from year to year. You can view the YCP academic calendar at this link for specific dates.

During a standard week in a semester, student volunteers tend to be...

• most available on evenings and weekends.

• moderately available during weekday afternoons, and

• least available during weekday mornings.

For a more specific breakdown, check out this student volunteer availability chart.  

Ideally, Community Partners will submit a volunteer event posting prior to the start of an academic semester at YCP. This allows SVN staff to promote all volunteer events at once, and it allows students to sign up for projects before their semester schedules begin to fill up. With this in mind, however, Community Partners are free to submit a volunteer event posting at any time.

More likely: SVN volunteers are more likely to sign up for events that...

• are close to York College.

• involve children, animal welfare, gardening, painting, and community cleanups.

• have flexible hours or are available at multiple times, take place on evenings or weekends, or take place on lighter times of the semester.

• are less than 4 hours long.

• involve hands-on experiences.

• have clearly defined roles/tasks for each volunteer.

• have goals that seem achievable.

• allow volunteers to work alongside community partners and community members. 

• are marketed well, with regular reminders.

• have a high signup.

Less likely: SVN volunteers are less likely to sign up for events that...

• are more than 20 minutes away from York College.

• involve writing, social media engagement, website design, video production/editing, or technology assistance.

• take place during weekday mornings/afternoons, or take place during stressful parts of the semester

• are longer than 4 hours.

• do not have clearly defined transportation options.

• have ambiguously-defined goals, confusing descriptions, or not enough details.

• seem difficult, too much responsibility, or require specialized skills.

• require paperwork, especially if the paperwork cannot be completed as an online form.

• require clearances.

• have "too many people to contact for different things."

• have a low signup.

Gamify your volunteer events! Gamification is the application of game-playing elements to another type of activity (Jackson, 2016). In the context of volunteer engagement, gamifying your event can make a world of a difference!.

1. Narrative

• At the start of a volunteer event, use storytelling strategies to frame goals, tasks, and intended outcomes. Specifically, give your event description a compelling beginning, middle, and end. Frame each completed task as an exciting step toward the resolution of the story.   

2. Achievement

• Introduce low-stakes competition by randomly assigning volunteers to groups. Challenge them to see who can complete their volunteer assignment first, who can complete the most volunteer assignments, etc.

• Give volunteers points for completing volunteer tasks (individually, or as a group).

  • Example: for every 50 envelopes you stuff, you get 5 points. I'll tell you what the points are for at the end of the day!

• Establish levels, based on accomplishments or demonstrated skills. 

  • Example: okay, now that I see that you are pretty skilled at organizing things, I challenge you to organize this (pretty chaotic) supply closet.

• Offer badges or certificates to honor what volunteers achieved and/or learned. You could even have a badge ceremony at the end of the event!

3. Rewards

• Offer prizes based on the points or levels that volunteers achieve. Prizes might have monetary value (such as low-dollar gift cards, vouchers, free passes, etc). They could include organizational swag (t-shirts, hats, etc). They could be badges or certificates. They could even be experiential. Rewards don't need to be costly to be effective - they just have to have meaning.  

Suggestions adapted from Mindy Jackson's Gamification Elements to Use for Learning (2016). 

For opportunities that require specific or specialized skill sets, you are encouraged to participate in the YCP Internship Program, coordinated by the YCP Career Development office. 

Yes! Community Partners and YCP faculty can partner to include volunteer opportunities in their course curriculum. These partnerships are called Community-Based Service Learning. Learn more using the button below.

Yes! SVN regularly partners with faith-based organizations and communities. These partnerships can be particularly meaningful for students from a variety of faith traditions and worldviews. 

We encourage our faith-based Community Partners to share how their faith traditions shape their organization's community engagement commitments. This is helpful for students from all faith traditions and worldviews to contextualize their volunteer efforts.

It is important for faith-based Community Partners to ensure that they do not require or urge SVN volunteers to...

• participate in faith-specific activities (such as prayer),

• proselytize on behalf of a faith-based organization or religious belief, or

• sign a statement of faith.

SVN volunteers can definitely assist with fundraising efforts!

A caveat: YCP volunteers are not permitted to use their own accounts (Venmo, PayPal, etc) to collect electronic donations on behalf of a community partner or initiative. YCP volunteers are also discouraged from participating in cash-based donation drives as well.

If SVN volunteers are helping to raise money, they should direct donors to donate funds directly to the benefitting organization, using whatever online donation management platform is used by the organization.

For short-term (Spark) projects: We recommend against requiring clearances for short-term service projects. Clearance requirements drastically reduce the number of SVN volunteers who can participate in the event. 

For ongoing (Evergreen) projects: Yes, it is appropriate to ask ongoing volunteers to provide standard clearances to participate in a volunteer project. The majority of long-term volunteers already have their standard clearances completed, but some will not. Standard clearances include...

• PA Access to Criminal History (PATCH) background check

• Child Abuse History Clearance

• FBI fingerprint-based background check (this clearance is not completed by students who have lived in PA for 10+ consecutive years).

Note: It is less common for volunteers to have already completed their NSOR (National Sex Offender Registry) clearance as a standard clearance.

Yes! SVN does not typically provide supplies. The Community Partner or event organizer typically provide all tools, equipment, and supplies needed for SVN volunteers to complete a service project. 

Community partners are asked to confirm that easily-accessible bathrooms are available on-site for student volunteers to use during a volunteer event.

Yes. When Community Partners host a volunteer opportunity, at least once staff member from that organization remains on site during the entirety of the project.

Yes. SVN volunteer opportunities must be directly affiliated with a local organization, or be directly affiliated with an initiative of York College. 

No. In order to be approved, SVN volunteer event requests must be submitted by...

• a local organization,

• a staff member on behalf of their local organization, 

• a YCP staff member on behalf of their YCP-based initiative, or

• an SVN volunteer.

In general, no. SVN is not designed to assist with needs of individual community members. 

Volunteer event requests to assist individual community members with tasks such as yardwork, housework, or technology assistance will not be approved, unless this volunteer event is hosted by a local organization AND a staff member from that organization is on site throughout the volunteer opportunity.

When students understand the context of what they're doing, they are more likely to be invested and to continue their engagement. Here are some strategies for context-building:

• Give a tour: Take some time to show students around your organization, as well as the neighborhood you're in. Talk about the history and mission of the organization.

• Share introductions: If there are other staff, volunteers, or community members on site, allow folks to introduce themselves and network a bit at the beginning of the event.

• Ask questions: Feel free to put students on the spot! Ask them why they decided to volunteer, what they know about your organization and the community that surrounds them, and what skills they have to offer. This will help them build connections to the volunteer work they're doing. 

• Emphasize strengths: It's important to be honest with volunteers about the needs and challenges that a community is experiencing. It's equally important for students to understand the unique strengths and successes of a community.

• Tell stories: Stories can be powerful and can set the stage for student engagement. Tell the stories of your organization, your community, and even your own path to getting where you are now. 

When volunteers reflect about the highlights of their volunteer experiences, one common theme is the ability to talk with, and work alongside of, local residents and community members. Consider structuring your event so that volunteers can engage directly with community members, in both formal and informal contexts.

There are a few key strategies for maximizing student volunteer success:

Come prepared: Prepare the event ahead of time, so that all the information, supplies, resources that will be needed are on hand and easily accessible. 

Be inclusive and be ready to adapt: The SVN volunteer corps is diverse. Be mindful of the abilities and disabilities of volunteers, as well as the diverse strengths, skills, values, identities, and experiences that volunteers bring to your event.

Be specific with the what: Let volunteers know exactly what you want them to accomplish by the end of the event. The more specific, the better.

Invite creativity with the how: Each volunteer will come with a different set of skills. Empowering volunteers to use those skills creatively to reach their target will increase their engagement dramatically.

Have high, but reasonable, expectations: If volunteers suspect that they are not actually needed, they might disengage. Conversely, if volunteers feel overwhelmed by expectations that seem too high, or confused by expectations that seem too broad or vague, they might freeze. Volunteers should feel that their task is challenging, but that they have the information, skills, supplies, and resources to successful accomplish the challenge.

Promote a sense of accomplishment: When volunteers accomplish a task, be intentional about affirming the success. At the end of the project, highlight the specific accomplishments of the group. 

Reflect: Carve out a few minutes at the end of the project to ask the group to reflect. What was accomplished, and what work remains? What are some highlights, and what would you do differently next time? What did you learn? What else should I know?

Absolutely! You're encouraged to reach out to volunteers after your event to thank them for their involvement, to ask for feedback, and to invite them to future volunteer endeavors. If you need assistance accessing a current volunteer roster, you can email us at volunteer@ycp.edu.

Definitely! We maintain an SVN Instagram page and love to feature recent volunteer events. You can email us your photos (and any relevant details) at volunteer@ycp.edu.