Launched in the classroom in the fall of 2001,Volunteer PowerCrew is a free youth volunteer initiative designed to give students resources for becoming involved in the community.  Components of the program include: 

Volunteer PowerCrew Web site

The Web site links middle and high school students and educators to volunteer opportunities in the community and provides ideas for service learning projects in the classroom. Web site features include:

• A tracking component that enables students to track their own volunteer time. It also allows teachers, youth leaders and/or school administrators to create reports based on an individual, class or project.

 

• A project management feature that allows educators to register individual projects and manage them online.

• A comprehensive database search function that allows students to find volunteer opportunities by type of activity, group size, minimum age that the agency accepts and location.

• A section where students can share their own personal volunteer successes with others and highlight their school’s activities.

Service Learning Trainings

Volunteer PowerCrew provides free trainings for educators utilizing a specially developed service learning curriculum. The training offers in-class lessons for middle and high school students in subjects such as math, social studies, language arts, science and health. The lessons address community challenges such as recycling and homelessness and were developed by educators with years of experience in service learning.

Each lesson is tied directly to the related TEKS component as well. Academics are reinforced with hands-on volunteer opportunities that encourage students to sharpen new skills and further expand their knowledge. Educators introduce diverse volunteer opportunities to yield a wealth of educational and emotional benefits such as character education, sharpened critical thinking and problem solving skills, expanded vocabulary and enhanced self-esteem. Volunteer PowerCrew also strives to have a long-term positive impact by sparking students' awareness of the many opportunities for and rewards from volunteer service.

Each trained educator is provided with a multi-media teacher kit, including lesson plans, video and CD-ROM. Volunteer PowerCrew also provides educators free in-class trainings for their students to learn about the importance of volunteering and how to utilize the Web site.  

Click here for information on upcoming service learning trainings.

Youth Summit

Volunteer PowerCrew hosted a free event for all Dallas County middle and high school students that were interested in learning about volunteering. The day was full of fun and exciting activities including a nonprofit agency fair, challenging and meaningful breakout sessions, motivational speakers and opportunities to make new friends. Students also discovered the power of youth volunteerism and explored how to find local volunteer opportunities to fit their own unique interests. 

To see a video of last year's STOMP Summit 

Volunteer PowerNews

This monthly newsletter is full of useful information for students, parents and educators. It contains youth volunteer opportunities, agency and student spotlights, upcoming special events, scholarship, grant information and much more!

Click here to view past Volunteer PowerNews issues!

Volunteering 101 Presentations

A workshop designed for students that defines the "who, what, when, where and why" of volunteering. Students also receive information on how to utilize the Web site (i.e.: track hours) as well as how volunteering can benefit them.

Volunteer Project Consulting

Your resource to provide you expert help on planning projects by offering ideas, strategies and agency contact information.

For further information on these, other Volunteer PowerCrew resources or 

to find out how we can come to your school, contact:

Volunteer PowerCrew

(214) 818-9846

vpc@powercrew.org