National Volunteer Positions

 

NATIONAL VOLUNTEER POSITIONS


Are you a writer?
Then we need you! We have many volunteer needs around writing.
∗Child web bio profiles
∗Helping Families create a profile page
∗Writing "how to's" for our families
∗Writing for our newsletters & Web page.  Plus many more

Volunteer Photographers
Photo's are used for all forms of recruitment, web sites, flyers, Heart Gallery displays and more. They give a child a much better chance of finding a family and being seen in a positive light.

Heart Gallery promises to:

  1. Recognize photographer in the newsletter and on the website.
  2. Give photographer an update when the child(ren) they photographed is(are) adopted.
  3. Photographer will be given all information and support necessary to make this an enjoyable experience for everyone involved.
  4. Photographer will receive an electronic version of the AFFEC logo that can link to AFFEC website. Photographers will be able to display this on their website so that clients and potential clients can see that you have worked with our organization.

We would not be here if it wasn't for all of the support from photographers.

FAMILY & CHILD RECRUITMENT PROGRAM
State Representative for outreach to case workers/agencies/Heart Galleries and potential partners, in each state. This Volunteer can live anywhere in any state, all work is done on the web/email. We all know of partners, businesses, organization and others that need to be on our team. We are happen to supply you with sample letters and/or templates for emails/calls to engage partners. This can look like:

  • Starting a new Heart Gallery
  • Recruiting photographers
  • Building Media connections
  • Bringing Case workers on board to photo list their kids
  • Gathering Support information for your state, county by county or city by city that we will then put on the web.
  • Linking our web site with partners
  • Reaching out to agencies to build relationships to help their families with our Matching Assistance Program
  • Recruiting Volunteers
  • Blogging about us
  • Gathering email addresses for our newsletter list, this is often the first way we engage people and educate them in who we are.
  • Grants/RFP's/Funding Opportunities
  • Assisting other efforts/Heart Galleries/agencies in the state that we can in any way
  • Any info for our web site from News Feed info about your state to child listing to support, new efforts and so on.

Any number of hours can be spent, we can either train you on our system to enter state information or you can keep a record on your own and we will do the data entry. We offer support daily as you move through this role and discover new ways we can partner. We encourage "outside the box" thinking and are open to all partnership ideas. We will provide you with letters, linking templates, sponsor flyers, brochures, whatever you need.

Web Bio Writers
National or Local
We are looking for volunteer Child web bio's. It can be a skill taking the history and needs of a child and putting them in a form that gives the family as much appropriate information as possible. We have noticed a good writer can do a lot for these kids. This volunteer doesn't need to be local and could be handled through email. Little training is involved, but you will need to complete our volunteer and confidentiality forms

Child Listing Volunteer
We are currently working to partner with photo listing agencies/Heart Galleries/individual social workers and others from other states to list more children on our web sites. This is a free service we offer to help more children and families connect.
We need volunteers who can help list these children in our database and on our sites. All training is provided. This volunteer can live anywhere in any state, all work is done on the web/email. If you can pay attention to detail, this is the job for you! Any number of hours a week would be great! 2-3 hours of skype/phone/webinar/How to training is available, in whatever way works best for you.
We are only as good as the children we can help-

Targeted Email Outreach-searching for families for children in urgent need of placement
After our training and support on using our systems and "How to's", this role consists of.
Sending out a targeted email to families that fit the criteria of a given child in need of a placement. For example it could be a certain area, 2 parents, no other kids, and so on. The email will include positive information about the child, some of the barriers/issues as well, an image and contact info for next steps.
Often because of this simple email outreach (which can go out to 500 families at a time) we can find a placement in hours. We truly are using technology in the most effective and urgent way to find forever families.
This is an amazing role to be apart of and very gratifying. You can do as few or as many a week as you like.
Each email is approx. 1 hour to prepare and 2 hours to responds time with families (this is variable).
This is our most important role, the more you do it the better and faster you will get. Involves really understanding and using our data base. We get “urgent” requests from case workers for placement on children, this we see as an opportunity for us to get families in front of case workers. We go into our data base of over 15000 families.

Recruitment Family Liaison Coordinator-& Inquiry Specialist
This position would include:

  • Act as a “Family Liaison” for Families in our database
  • Input  families inquiries into database
  • Send questionnaire to families in our database
  • Send out “Urgent Need for Families” emails to above families
  • Document all Recruitment Efforts for Process Binder Run prospective parent reports for kids that have been on our site the longest
  • Assist in generating statistics for families and children in our database
  • Work on new ways to match families and children.
  • Streamline our processes to better serve families
  • Create webinars and hold regularly to invite new families to learn about how we can help them
  • Run prospective parent reports for kids that have been on our site the longest
  • Adoption Inquiry Specialists –answers inquiries that come into our data base


MARKETING/ MEDIA/SOCIAL MEDIA/GRAPHIC DESIGN

Marketing & Public Relations Coordinator
Volunteer/Internship Opportunity
Main Role:  Help build and/or follow our Media/Marketing Plan
Summary of Volunteer/intern responsibilities:
The Marketing & Public Relations Coordinator will be responsible for creation of ads, psa’s, flyers, and other marketing materials for distribution and promotion of upcoming community events. The vol/intern will be working closely with the Development Director and/or executive director to plan and relay event information to the media via social network, and communicate with existing donor and media database contacts. Other duties will include some administrative tasks, and assisting Development Director and Board members as needed.
Responsibilities include:

  • Develop and produce messages that communicate the value of the agency, A Family for Every child: Heart Galleries
  • Attend Fund Development Committee meetings
  • Help with agenda and implementation of volunteer events
  • Attend department brainstorming sessions, create and distribute marketing materials
  • Represent, "A Family for Every Child: Heart Gallery" at service club meetings as public speaker and guest
  • Create monthly update info for staff and volunteers
  • Assist with keeping agency website updated on the media page
  • Help recruit and maintain communications with volunteer committees
  • Other as discussed and defined based upon interns goals and objectives
  • Traditional media outreach, contacts, data updates and tracking
  • Write Press releases

Skills needed:

  • Creative and outgoing, energetic
  • Writing and composition
  • Work independently from the team
  • Organization and time management
  • Currently enrolled as Junior or Senior or volunteer
  • Knowledge of Twitter, Face book, and other social media applications

Graphic Design Coordinator
This position would include:

  • Flyer Creation (examples below)
    • In-Kind Donations Flyer
    • Annual Event Flyer
    • Princess Event Flyer
    • Orientation Flyer
  • Slideshow Creation
  • Video Editing
  • Photo Editing
  • Powerpoint Creation

 

Social Media Assistance

  • Someone who can can turn twitter into something much bigger for us, a blog, form and more! If you can use Twitter, Facebook, text messaging, online events and online fundraising to help benefit our overall exposure and help raise money for our cause, we have a job for you! Manage our Blog/Social Networking Sites (Ning, Facebook, My Space)

Communications Coordinators-Newsletters
Become a Constant Contacts Expert –Newletters/Alerts

  • Create a Constant Contacts user’s manual (so the process can be duplicated in other parts of the state)
  • Manage AFFEC constant contacts email schedule and photo listing with in Constant contact
  • Use in all the capacities it can be used.  Press releases, surveys, email address gathering, interlinking with our social media and ect…..

DEVELOPMENT/FUNDING/EVENTS
Donations and Events Coordinator-These roles include:

  • Manage and solicit In-kind donation request process
  • Solicit “Monthly Gift Card” requests
  • Create Forms and flyers for Donation requests, thank you letters, etc
  • Data Entry Management for above items in Sales force
  • Work closely with Executive Director to begin process for Annual Event
  • Create Donation and Events Process Binders
  • In-kind Donations Coordinator
  • Community out reach coordiation

In-Kind Donations
We are looking for someone to head up our In-kind Donations. Duties would include applying for monthly donated gift cards from local businesses, soliciting food donations for meetings, trainings and pop-up events, and requesting items from our department wish lists.

Other volunteer opportunities in the Development Department:
Research Assistant
Grant Writer (Beginning)
Fund Development Strategy
Events Coordinator
Organization Development – department volunteer training and incentive program development

EVENTS
Annual Event Volunteers Needed
What: Winter Wonderland is a fun-filled Silent/Oral Auction with
a Guest Speaker and Catered Dinner.
When: November 3 at Valley River Inn
Who: In 2010 over 200 people attended! We hope to have
300 this year!

 

FAMILY FINDING-NATIONAL AND LOCAL

Volunteers are needed to help reconnect foster children with those they love and those who have loved them.
The Family Finding model offers methods and strategies to locate and engage relatives of children living in foster care. The goal of Family Finding is to provide each child with the lifelong connections that only a family can offer. Family Finding volunteers work closely with caseworkers. They perform file mining, make phone calls, and search the internet for relatives or other meaningful people in the child’s life. While each case is different, the typical case takes approximately three months to complete, and 5-10 hours a month in phone calls and research.
If you like playing detective, than this is the position for you! Most roles can be performed anywhere; nationwide. All training is provided for local and nationwide volunteers.
Current needs:
· Spanish speaking volunteer: We are in need of a bilingual Spanish speaking volunteer and have deserving children waiting for the right person! Family Finding volunteers work closely with caseworkers and the Family Finding Director. They perform file mining, make phone calls, and search the internet for relatives or other meaningful people in the child's life. While each case is different, the typical case takes approximately three months to complete, and approximately 5-10 hours a month in phone calls and research. All training is provided. This volunteer can be located anywhere nationwide.
· Follow-up volunteer: This volunteer follows up on cases after the children have been reconnected with their loved ones. Follow-ups consist of phone calls and data entry. Follow-ups are made in 3, 6, 9, and 12 month intervals. All training is provided. This volunteer can be located anywhere nationwide.
· Family Finding Expert needed to learn and perform Genograms; our Family Tree project for our Family Finding Cases. We supply the software and need a volunteer, local or nationwide to learn the program and use it to complete a family tree project for a child.
· Volunteers can perform one or all of the following functions:
-File mining. This function must be performed at local DHS offices. Volunteer needs to be local.
-Internet research and phone calling. This function may be done anywhere nationwide.
-Engaging loved ones for waiting children. This function may be done anywhere nationwide.
All volunteers will be requested to pass a background check before being given access to sensitive case files.
A Family Finding Volunteer position will be a rewarding opportunity for individuals who possess skills such as:
∗ Good phone skills. Do you enjoy speaking with new people and asking for information?
∗ Internet investigative skills. With our training, you will learn how to leave no stone unturned to discover contacts for waiting children.
∗ Adoptive or foster parents can offer valuable insights to benefit deserving children.
∗ Excellent follow-up skills. Be the one who made a commitment to a child.
∗ Detail oriented. Do you have the ability to pick up on the finer points that others might miss?
∗ Sense of urgency. Every child in our program has an immediate need to connect with family.

Family Finding Volunteers
To Work Cases--How you can get involved:
∗ Join a search team
∗ Work closely with caseworkers
∗ Make phone calls
∗ Build family trees
∗ Search the internet for lost relatives
∗ Create positive supportive family connections for isolated foster children

Please let us know if you are interested, and we can get you involved in this very innovative way to not only get kids out of foster care but reconnect them to lost loved ones. We would be happy to provide you with more detailed information and to answer any of your questions.
Please contact:
Caitlin Baird
(541) 343-2856 | FAX (541) 343-2866
famfind@afamilyforeverychild.org

Matching Assistance Program

Web Page/writing Volunteer
Research, write and compile info for us to link and paste on our Web pages, especially those on the Log on site that have “coming soon” on them.

Web Process Volunteer
Signing on to our new log on site and acting as a family, writing script and suggestions that will help our site be more user friendly for families. Help to create Web forms and other ways to assist families. Help to develop RSS feed tools, Twitter feeds and other ways families can get immediate info on children they are interested in adopting.

Newsletter Volunteer
3 newsletters a week, 1-2 hours a newsletter
Using our outreach tool-Constant Contact-build templates for newsletters and outreach tools. Create 3 newsletters a week as well odds and ends announcements and email outreach for recruitment. (Possible Newsletters themes—Kids in need—Resources—Sites to visit – Articles and updates on adoption.

Matching Admin. Volunteer-
Any number of hours a week to assist with foundational support for the program and Director.
Help creating a program process binder, filing, data entry, outreach, faxing, scanning, creating check lists, helping with processes, Researching current programs in place in other states , Create materials and forms needed, reviewing families to make sure all time lines are being met and all material is current and effective.

Program outreach-National
Send our flyers, emails, materials to promote the Matching assistance program, link partner sites, share hour message about the program with Agencies, Adoption workers, Parent groups and Potential parent.

Research Volunteer
Researching training, articles, support, state-by-state info for our web, family support materials and notebooks, newsletters and etc…

Assess/Evaluate Families Readiness
2-3 hours per family
Evaluate a families registration with the program, evaluate their home study, recommend needed items to add or build into their bio page, evaluate for up to date, make recommendations on when and what to do to stay current and competitive.

Survey & Evaluation Volunteer
Outreach to our families, how can we do more? What is most helpful? What is not? Survey and check in with families to help us improve our program

Scholarship program
Project-help us build and run a Scholarship program for families that can’t afford the monthly fee

Matching assistance Blog-Form, Bulletin board
Help us develop information sharing tools for our log on matching assistance program.

Family Outreach Specialist
Using our on line newsletter tools you will send out Feature
E-mails of all our families to Children's Case Workers and
recruiters all over the country. This is a wonderful opportunity
to help assist families and waiting foster children connect.
Most Case Workers are searching for families and our
newsletter is a wonderful resource to assist them in finding
homes for the children they work with.

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State Representative for outreach to case workers/agencies/Heart Galleries and potential partners, in each state. This Volunteer can live anywhere in any state, all work is done on the web/email. We all know of partners, businesses, organization and others that need to be on our team. We are happen to supply you with sample letters and/or templates for emails/calls to engage partners. This can look like:

Any number of hours can be spent, we can either train you on our system to enter state information or you can keep a record on your own and we will do the data entry. We offer support daily as you move through this role and discover new ways we can partner. We encourage "outside the box" thinking and are open to all partnership ideas. We will provide you with letters, linking templates, sponsor flyers, brochures, whatever you need.

WEB SITE/WORK
Logo/Linking Partner volunteer: We are only as strong as our searches, so to drive traffic to us we need to be linked from as many web sites/partners as we can. We have a template and logo that we give our outreach volunteers to use to help us increase the web hits and, therefore, families. This volunteer can live anywhere in any state, all work is done on the web/email. If you would like to be involved in this effort or have web sites/businesses or partners you would like to suggest, please email info@afamilyforeverychild.org. It truly takes a Village, and we need you!

Web Editor
Skills required:
HTML/CSS/Javascript/Dreamweaver
Duties:
Maintain the various news feeds on the websites, the events page, calendar page.
Work with the web team who does the large edits while performing the small changes and uploads.
Proofread to see that the feeds show as desired.
Get daily input from google, childwelfare.gov, cherry pick relevant content for our website.
Featured Child, Featured Family, updates to the front page, keep up with relevant developments internal to AFFEC.


SEO Expert
==========
Skills required:
SEO, careful record keeping, HTML/CSS/Dreamweaver
Duties:
Locate sites which would have an interest or a need to reference us in their website.
(use Google keywords to do this over the first 40 pages of hits).
Supply lists of sites to the web team, who will send them templated letters.
Check lists to make sure we are not repeatedly asking the same sites to list us.
Adjust google adwords according to hit rates.

Web Programmer
==============
Skills Required
HTML/CSS/Javascript/PHP/MySQLi/Dreamweaver
Duties:
Team work with web coordinator to make site improvements in functionality.
Document work so that it can be understood by other web programmers.
Design, code, test, implement, and release bug fixes.
Design, code, test, implement, and release major site functionality upgrades.

National Web Site Outreach-Heart Gallery of America website-Develop list of Specialty Agencies Nations wide-Developing relationships with other photo listings for our children
Web Bio Writers
We are looking for volunteer Child web bio's. It can be a skill taking the history and needs of a child and putting them in a form that gives the family as much appropriate information as possible. We have noticed a good writer can do a lot for these kids. This volunteer doesn't need to be local and could be handled through email. Little training is involved, but you will need to complete our volunteer and confidentiality forms

 

Other Web Volunteer—


Misc…..

Legislator/politician Outreach
Because we are a 501c we cannot indorse or back any one policing. But, we think it would be in our favor to have a volunteer that is reaching out to likeminded politicians, obtaining their emails for our newsletters and educating them on whom we are. Also, educating themselves on the different issues and people that we need to be connected to in this realm. Someone that has an interest in politics and legislator would be a natural fit.  This could be for Oregon and Nationally.

General Awareness Campaign "Why Not Me"
This is a general awareness and education campaign, involving media, social media, in person venues, traditional media and more.  Could be a smaller traveling display that we are hoping to have circulate the community at different festivals, conventions, and small venues. We need people to man booths as well as someone to coordinate this effort.
This can also include many other kinds of "Why Not Me" outreach, such as, billboards, bus sides, sports field signs, lawn signs, posters and so on!  Unlimited area and possibilities.

Policy Expert
Do you love to read policy?  We can use you!  We need several folks that are willing to spend time reading and understanding the policies of different states and nationally, and convert them to a format (how to, webinar, cheat sheet) that we can use to educate our staff and families as well as use on our web site.  This is a role that we can direct you to sites to find policy and procedure information, that can be done from any where, with as many hours a week as you have to give.