Policies & resources

The Spartan Volunteer Network is a hub for all adult members of the YCP community who strive to make a difference through volunteer engagement. This includes YCP students, faculty, staff, and alum.

If you are under 18 and currently enrolled full-time as a York College student...

• You may participate in most SVN volunteer opportunities. Some opportunities are only open to SVN volunteers who are 18 or older.  

If you are under 18 and currently dual-enrolled, or enrolled part-time, as a York College (YCP) student, or if you are a high school student at York Country Day School (YCDS)...

• You are only permitted to participate in SVN volunteer opportunities if a full-time YCP faculty member, YCP staff member, or a YCDS employee is on site with you for the duration of the project. This includes YCCOSP students and YCDS students who are currently in high school.

If you are under 18 and not enrolled as a York College student, but your parent or legal guardian works at York College...

• You are only permitted to participate in SVN volunteer opportunities if your parent or legal guardian is on site with you for the duration of the project.

If you are under 18, not enrolled as a York College student, and do not have a parent or guardian who works at York College...

• You are not permitted to participate in volunteer opportunities through Spartan Volunteer Network. 

The Changemaker Community is a diverse coalition of student groups and multi-year scholarship programs that promote volunteer engagement. They include Impact York, Spartan Service Alliance, Eisenhart Scholars, and Hope Scholars. YCCOSP and Promise are Student Success Scholarship Programs that also partner with the Changemaker Community.

Use the Spartan Volunteer Network portal to find volunteer opportunities, sign up for volunteer opportunities, and submit hours. Visit the SVN Portal Guide page to read more about how to use the SVN portal as a volunteer.

Program-specific criteria: Many YCP student volunteers are members of one or more programs (such as YCCOSP), clubs (such as DAPi), or groups that require or encourage volunteer engagement. Each program has a different set of expectations regarding the approval of volunteer hours, which may or may not align with SVN's general criteria listed below. Ask your program advisor if you're not sure what counts for your specific program.

General criteria: After you submit your volunteer hours in the SVN portal, they will show up as approved by default. At various points during the semester, SVN staff reviews your recently-submitted volunteer hours, and may approve, deny, or deactivate certain submissions based on the guidelines below. Again, it is your responsibility to check with your Program Advisor to understand the specific criteria used by your program to approve hours.

Volunteer hours should...

• directly contribute to the success of a volunteer opportunity.

• be unpaid.

• take place in York, PA, or benefit one or more communities in the York, PA region, unless the volunteer receives approval for out-of-region volunteer hours from their program advisor PRIOR to the completion of the volunteer hours. 

• take place during the fall and/or spring academic semesters.

• not be required for an internship, co-op, or field experience.

• not be required for a team, club, or student organization in which you're involved.

• not directly and intentionally benefit a family member or close friend.

Volunteer leadership: If you are leading a short-term, ongoing, or asynchronous volunteer opportunity in an unpaid capacity, this meets SVN's general criteria for volunteer hours. Ask your program advisor if you're not sure what counts for your specific program.

Behind-the-scenes work: Keep in mind that meaningful volunteer engagement may also include activities that take place behind the scenes, including project preparation and development, community research, volunteer recruitment, meetings and communication with volunteers and community partners, and paperwork. If it directly contributes to the success of your project, it will meet SVN's general criteria for volunteer hours. Ask your program advisor if you're not sure what counts for your specific program.

Absolutely!

• To create your own Spark project, send a detailed summary of your proposed project to volunteer@ycp.edu. Your Project Coordinator will reach out to you to determine any additional details needed, and if the project is approved, your PC will post the project on the SVN portal so that volunteers can start to sign up.

• To create your own Evergreen project, follow the steps listed on the Evergreen projects page. Your Evergreen project can be individual or team-based.

No. When you sign up for a project, read the project description thoroughly.  Make sure that you're actually available to attend on the day and time the project is scheduled for, and that you understand the volunteer responsibilities of the project.

Yes. When you sign up for a project, read the project description thoroughly. To review the project description after you signed up, log in to the SVN portal, then go to your opportunity responses tab. 

Yes. Leading up to the project, you will likely receive emails from the Community Partner, as well as your Project Coordinator and/or your Team Leader, with project updates (and potential changes). You are responsible for reading these emails and replying as needed.

Pay attention to the location of the project when you sign up. If you're carpooling or taking a YCP van, make sure you know where/ when to meet the driver. If you're driving yourself, make sure you know where you're going, and how long it will take to get there. Always aim to be at least 10 minutes early.

If you need to arrive late or leave early from a project (for class or other scheduling conflicts), contact the community partner directly to ask. Some project descriptions will indicate whether volunteers are permitted to arrive late or leave early. Do not sign up for a project if you need to arrive late or leave early, unless you've gotten approval from the Community Partner or the project listing.

If you are no longer available to attend a project, you should unregister from the project on the SVN portal at least 3 business days before the day of the project. You should ONLY need to cancel last-minute if an emergency or sudden illness comes up.

Canceling in advance: If you are no longer available to attend a project, you should unregister from the project on the SVN portal at least 3 business days before the day of the project. To do so, log in to the SVN portal, then go to your opportunity responses tab.

Last-minute cancellations: You should ONLY need to cancel last-minute if an emergency, sudden illness, or unexpected travel complication comes up. In these situations, unregister from the project AND contact the community partner directly (by phone or email). The Community Partner's contact information will be included in your project's description, which you can find on your opportunity responses tab.

• In most cases, skipping a project without notice is unacceptable. Doing so may hinder the goals of a project, waste the time and resources of the Community Partner (and fellow volunteers), and reduce the likelihood that the Community Partner will be interested in hosting YCP volunteers for future projects.

If you skip a project without notifying the Community Partner, or if you demonstrate a pattern of last-minute signup cancelations, you may be removed from the SVN portal and prohibited from participating in future SVN volunteer opportunities for a period of time. You are invited to contact SVN at volunteer@ycp.edu to discuss extenuating circumstances.

Required for Changemakers

• All volunteers in the Changemakers Community are required to have up-to-date clearances on file. Information for Changemakers about completing clearances can be found here.

• Some other YCP programs and departments require up-to-date clearances, including the Education department.

• Some Community Partners require up-to-date clearances. These typically include institutions that work directly with children (such as k-12 schools) or vulnerable populations (such as senior care facilities). 

Recommended for SVN volunteers

• Even if an SVN volunteer is not part of a YCP program or department that requires up-to-date clearances, it is still recommended to have them. Otherwise, they may not be able to sign up for certain projects in the future that require clearances.

• Standard volunteer clearances must be renewed once every 5 years.

• Some local organizations require clearances to be renewed more frequently than every 5 years. A few require renewals annually.

• If a volunteer does not have any clearances currently on file at York College, they are asked to submit clearances that are less than two years old. 

There are three* standard clearances for volunteers. 

1. Child Abuse History Clearance (CAC)

2. PA Access to Criminal History (PATCH) background check clearance

3. FBI fingerprint-based background check (*only applies to SVN volunteers who have NOT lived in PA for 10+ consecutive years)

Occasionally, local organizations will also ask volunteers to complete additional clearances, such as the National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR). 

Guides for completing and submitting clearances are available for all SVN volunteers.

• General SVN volunteers should use the clearance completion guides available in this folder. 

• Changemaker Community members should review the information available on this page.

• SVN volunteers may encourage others to donate directly to an organization. Most local organizations have a link on their website to accept donations.

• SVN volunteers may encourage others to donate to an organization through Give Local York, an annual day of giving organized by the White Rose Leadership Institute. 

• SVN volunteers may not use their own accounts (Venmo, PayPal, GoFundMe, etc) to collect electronic donations on behalf of a community partner. 

Yes! Funding requests are approved based on the availability of funds. Please keep in mind that Community Partners are generally expected to provide supplies for any volunteer opportunities they host. 

SVN volunteers can complete a project funding request form using this template, and submit the completed form to volunteer@ycp.edu.

Yes! If you have received approval for a project funding request, your purchase may be reimbursed. Below are the steps for reimbursement.

part 1: funding request form

1. Complete a funding request form. 

2. Submit your completed funding request form to volunteer@ycp.edu.

part 2: reimbursement request form

1. If your funding request is approved, complete a reimbursement request form. 

2. Include all relevant receipts. The Business Office will not approve a reimbursement request without receipts.

3. Submit your completed reimbursement request form, with all relevant receipts, to volunteer@ycp.edu, or to the SVN headquarters in the Humanities Center, room 125.

part 3: business office

1. If approved, your signed reimbursement request (& receipts) will be returned to you. 

2. When your reimbursement request (& receipts) are signed and returned to you, take them to the business office.

3. The Business Office will review the completed request (& receipts). 

4. If they determine that the reimbursement request is valid, the Business Office will issue a reimbursement.

Yes! If you have been approved to make a project-related purchase, your purchase should be tax-exempt.  When you make the purchase, please present YCP's tax exemption certificate at checkout. You will likely be asked to complete a brief form. 

Note: Target requires you to open a tax exemption account before making a tax-exempt purchase. You can do so at the Customer Service desk.

Sure! Here's how:

1. Review the Policy: Read the Use of College Facilities by Student Organizations policy in the Student Handbook, linked here. 

2. Get an event request form: You can get the most recent event request form by contacting Lora Snyder, Administrative Assistant for OSAO, at lsnyde16@ycp.edu, 717.815.1239, or in the Student Union, Room 205. 

3. Complete the event request form. 

   • This form requires you to obtain signatures from all relevant faculty and staff, so make sure to give yourself some time!

   • Include some backup/contingency requests in your plan, in case the day(s), time(s), or location(s) of your requested event are not available. 

4. Submit the completed event request form.

   • Submit this form to Lora Snyder, Administrative Assistant for OSAO, at lsnyde16@ycp.edu, 717.815.1239, or in the Student Union, Room 205. 

   • This should be submitted at least 2 weeks before the event is proposed to take place. 

Definitely! Here are a few details:

• Schmidt Library: If you'd like to reserve a study room in the Library for a team meeting, you can do so on 25Live. Here's a quick guide.

• Humanities 125: Email us at volunteer@ycp.edu if you'd like to reserve Humanities 125 for a team meeting (or you can contact your Project Coordinator (PC) directly). 

• Student union: Contact Lora Snyder (lsnyde16@ycp.edu, 717.815.1239) to request a team meeting space in the student union. 

Absolutely. Email us at volunteer@ycp.edu with as many details of the project as you can share, and we'll go from there!

We can! There are two ways you can get pictures to us:

• Email pictures to us, with any relevant details we need for the caption, at volunteer@ycp.edu.

• Submit pictures using the Social Media Submission Point on Canvas (Changemakers community only).

You can! Here are a few considerations. 

• All tabling activities in JDH must be scheduled through the Office of Student Activities and orientation. To do so, please Contact Lora Snyder, Administrative Assistant for OSAO, at lsnyde16@ycp.edu, 717.815.1239, or in the Student Union, Room 205. 

• The earlier you contact OSAO to schedule a tabling activity, the better! Tabling in the SU lobby will be limited to two tables total at any given time. 

• Additional details about the tabling policy are available on the OSAO website.

Yes! Here's how:

1. Read the Campus Posting policy in the YCP student handbook. 

2. Check for accuracy: Before moving forward, ask a trusted friend/ fellow volunteer to review your flyer for accuracy.

3. Get approval: Submit a copy of your flyer to the Office of Student Activities (OSAO), located right outside Johnson Dining Hall. They will review your flyer and provide a stamp if it is approved. Make sure to give them 1-2 weeks turnaround time. 

4. Make copies: Once your flyer has an approval stamp from OSAO, make as many copies as you need.

5. Post flyers on bulletin boards: Approved flyers may be posted on untitled bulletin boards for a maximum of one week. 

   • You may need to gain additional approvals before posting in some specific buildings/locations on campus.

   • If you would like your flyers to be posted in residence halls, you can take them to the Residence Life Office (2nd floor of Johnson Dining Hall). The flyers will be distributed to RAs, who will post them during their rounds. 

   • Some bulletin boards are reserved strictly for CAB and Student Senate as well as departmental use.

Yes! Here's how:

1. Read the Campus Posting policy in the YCP student handbook. 

2. Get approval: Submit a detailed chalking plan (including your proposed design and location) to the Office of Student Activities, located right outside Johnson Dining Hall. They will review your flyer and provide a stamp if it is approved. Make sure to give them 1-2 weeks turnaround time. 

3. Chalk in approved zones: Remember that chalking can be done ONLY on exposed sidewalks on campus (areas where the chalk will be washed away once it rains).