Successfully Engaging Youth Volunteers

Participants will learn how to attract and engage youth volunteers who can bring a wealth of energy and bright ideas and re-energize your organization.  Did you know 39% of teenagers are regular volunteers; 35% are occasional volunteers; and 27% are episodic volunteers? The overwhelming trend towards short term, episodic volunteering is consistent across a variety of age groups.  Studies show that young people are competent, reliable, committed volunteers when they find an organization that offers them meaningful work and respectful support. (GenerationOn)

Local schools and post-secondary institutions are incorporating service learning as a way to integrate community service with instruction to enrich the learning experience.  Join us to learn more about how to create a mutually beneficial service learning project.

Our panel members bring a variety of perspectives to help you understand the particular needs and benefits of engaging youth volunteers.

Learning Objectives
- Understand the benefits to your organization of having youth volunteers
- Understand how to communicate with and engage youth volunteers
- Understand how to take a volunteer project and turn it into a service learning project

Level
Introductory/Intermediate

Audience
Volunteer managers and staff who work with volunteers

Presenters
Marjori M. Krebs is an Associate Professor at the University of New Mexico.  She teaches in the College of Education, specifically in teacher preparation and graduate education.  She also is a Presidential Fellow in the UNM President's Office focusing her work on K-12 education.  Marjori has been a teacher for 25 years, from public school through the University.  She also is a consultant with Partnerships Make a Difference, providing professional development workshops for teachers about service-learning and project-based learning.

Stephanie Becker is the Director of Community Engagement at Amy Biehl High, a public charter school dedicated to graduating college-ready and civic-minded young people. She oversees the service-learning program, in which school-wide community engagement requires that all students participate in service projects from ninth through twelfth grade. In their senior year, students create and carry out a 100 hour service project centered on the students' passions to make a difference in their communities. Additionally, Stephanie teaches Heritage Spanish and Civics. She has been in the classroom for over twenty years both in high schools and universities. On Saturdays, you can find her teaching film at University of New Mexico.

Sarah R. Newman is the Development Director for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of New Mexico, where she oversees the organization's fundraising activities.  Sarah oversees the Ronald McDonald House Charities of New Mexico’s Teen Ambassador Program, which engages 20 Albuquerque area High School and College students in outreach and donor engagement activities.  She holds a Bachelors of Science from the University of Arizona.   Prior to joining the organization Sarah was a Retail Buyer, Executive Recruiter and ran mentorship, training and direct service programs for local nonprofits. She is a certified grant writer. She is an active member of multiple community engagement groups in Albuquerque and serves on the boards of multiple nonprofit organizations.