Volunteer with Youth Life
Becoming a tutor is the first step in volunteering with Youth Life Foundation (and our greatest need)! A tutor is a volunteer who commits to coming once a week to assist students with their homework and pre-made activities to help them target specific math and reading goals.
Tutors provide emotional encouragement, homework assistance and read with the children daily. Check out the description or review the details below to see if it’s the right volunteer position for you!
Become an Elementary TUTOR!
Tutoring Details:
One full school year commitment highly preferred, late August - May. (Note: we recognize that for college students, class schedules may impact ability to tutor for the full year. While we prefer a full year’s commitment, we can be flexible in this area!)
Tutoring is a 1.5 hours, once a week commitment (Tutors commit to a day, Monday-Thursday, and come on that day each week from 4-5:30pm)
Currently all tutoring positions are for our Elementary center (Kindergarten- Fifth Grade students)
Tutors work with a small group, typically two to four students using pre-made, staff-provided academic activities. We try our best to keep tutors with the same group of students each week so that they can also build relationships, but there may be shuffles throughout the year as students change levels or our tutor needs change.
A teacher will always be present in each classroom to help if you need it, but the ability to multitask and the ability to maintain leadership of your group and keep kids focused are important skills to have!
How do I become a Tutor?
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Fill out an application.
All potential tutors must fill out an application. This application includes a form that allows us to conduct a background check. You can download a PDF of the application here or fill it out online using the button below.
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Complete a training.
We also require that new potential tutors complete a 1-hour New Tutor Training Session before beginning. This session provides important information for working with our student population as well as great strategies and resources.
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Get started!
Once you have completed an application, background check, and a New Tutor Training Session, you will be all set!
Our Community Engagement Coordinator will connect you with the Program Director at your Learning Center.
You can reach out to check on the status of your application by emailing volunteer@ylfr.org
Why does Tutoring with Youth Life Matter?
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It makes academic intervention possible.
Tutors assist their students with homework assigned by their school and individualized academic work assigned by their Learning Center teacher. We could not offer such individualized academic intervention without multiple volunteers willing to work closely with students.
You do not need to be a master of education in order to tutor! Mostly students need help focusing. Learning Center teachers can assist if there are concepts you are unfamiliar with.
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It gives students positive role models.
Studies say that when a child has just one solid, adult mentor, they are significantly less at-risk for developing behavioral, emotional, and even health problems in adulthood.
Mentors especially, but also consistent tutors, can be monumentally influential in a student’s life. They give students an example to follow by showing self-control, talking through problems, and not giving up in any situation.
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It changes you.
We believe that our students and the families we work with have just as much to offer us as we offer them. Volunteering with Youth Life Foundation can give you insight into a different culture, broaden your worldview, and inspire you in ways you never imagined.
Cross-cultural and multi-ethnic relationships require patience, hard work, and humility, and they can change your life.
Other Ways to Serve
One-Time Volunteer Opportunities
If you’re unable to become a consistent tutor or mentor, there are still many opportunities for you to volunteer with Youth Life such as events, service days, or field trips. The best way to be kept up to date on these opportunities is by subscribing to our monthly newsletter. You may also email volunteer@ylfr.org for more information.
Become a Community Partner
If you work for or are involved in an organization that would like to partner with Youth Life, please contact mcusumano@ylfr.org to explore possibilities!
You can view our current community partners here.
Become a MENTOR
Once a student graduates from our elementary program and enters middle or high school, they have the opportunity to be paired with a volunteer MENTOR who can arrange outings and develop a deeper, mentoring relationship with the student outside of just an academic context. In order to be a MENTOR, a volunteer must have already tutored or been closely connected with Youth Life for a year. In addition, a motor vehicle background check, reference check, and additional training are required.
Our mentoring program is still new and we are currently only recruiting mentors for a few specific students and by invitation only. If you are interested in learning more or being a mentor in the future, please contact mentor@ylfr.org.
