Volunteer Opportunities

Weekend Food Backpack Program – This program provides 150 students from very low- income families with a backpack filled with nutritious, non-perishable food each weekend to combat hunger and help them come to school Monday ready to learn. The program is a partnership with the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina and its Bayer CropScience Backpack Program. 

Volunteer/information contact: Bud Reiter-Lavery, at bud@cisdurham.org or 682-9000, ext. 701.

Filling Backpacks: We need volunteers to spend 30-60 minutes filling the backpacks with food on:

 ·         Thursdays from 2:30 to 3:00 pm at Eastway Elementary School (610 Alston Ave., Durham , 919-560-3910) and

·         Fridays from 8:00 to 9:00 am at Burton Geo-World Magnet School (500 Mathison Street, 919-560-3908)

 Reading Buddies – In this program, adult volunteers meet twice a month, for 45 minutes each, with children at Club Boulevard Elementary School who need help to improve their reading. Volunteers meet the students during lunch hour (arriving at school by 12:20 pm and staying until about 1:30 pm) to read with the student and get to know them personally.

In the 2006-7 school year, our Reading Buddies helped 90 percent of the students involved increase their reading scores on End of Grade Exams. 

Volunteer/information contact: Bud Reiter-Lavery, at bud@cisdurham.org or 682-9000, ext. 701.  

Reading/Tutoring: We need volunteers to read with the students every other week. Ideally, an organization would create a team of 4 to 20 volunteers.  

The Durham Performance Learning Center is a new non-traditional Durham High

School located at Northgate Mall that targets students who have dropped out, or are at risk of dropping out of school. The 90 students must pass an interview, must read and do math on at least an 8^th-grade level, and are typically referred by guidance counselors. In this small, personal atmosphere, we strive to help students graduate from high school with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in college and careers. Our goal is to find a mentor for every student, offer them job shadowing and internship opportunities, to bring in speakers to introduce them to various career paths and college opportunities.  

Volunteer/information contact: Maya Rosman, PLC Services Coordinator, at maya.rosman@cisdurham.org or 560-9190 x11230.                              

Mentoring: PLC mentors meet with their mentee once a week at lunchtime, for 30 to 60 minutes. (Mentors can come any time between 12:45pm and1:45pm.) We ask mentors to commit to one school year.  

One of the five principles of Communities in Schools of Durham is to offer each student a one-on-one relationship with a caring adult. Mentoring a PLC student is one of the most productive and satisfying ways you can make a difference in Durham.  

Job Shadowing: Volunteers allow a student or students to spend a day accompanying him or her during a typical day on the job -- including attending meetings, working on projects – and talking with the student about what your job is like. This helps our students understand what a real day is like in a career they wish to explore. 

This is a one-time, one-day experience., etc. Ideally, a volunteer or a company would offer this several times during a year so that multiple students could participate. 

Speaking to Students: Professionals in the business, creative or nonprofit worlds speak for about 20 minutes to the student body about the path to their current jobs – including skills, education and interests are required – and to answer student questions.

The goal is to expose our students to a broad range of future possibilities, and to give them a sense of how to put their skills to use in the world of work. Past speakers have enjoyed the lively Q&A sessions from curious and motivated students.

 Offering Internships: We are seeking internship opportunities for our 11^th and 12^th grade students in fields they would like to pursue. Student Interns would ideally spend one day a week on-site at the company (6-8 hours).   

This will offer them crucial work experience, contacts, references, and the opportunity to learn about potential careers.

Expanding CIS of Durham’s Capacity as an Office/Special Events/Specialty Volunteer -- We can do more for Durham’s schoolchildren if creative and committed volunteers become an integral part of our organization. We are looking for the following:

 Volunteer/information contact: Rah Bickley, Director of Development and Communications, at rah@cisdurham.org or 919-682-9000, ext. 703

 Volunteer Database Administrator

 Volunteer Webmaster

 Volunteer Data Entry Helpers

 Volunteer Special Events Helpers

 Volunteer Coordinator

 

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