St. Lawrence School 2014-15 Volunteer Policy SCHOOL MISSION We are a Catholic School family dedicated to nurturing and celebrating a love for Jesus Christ and educating the whole child with academic excellence. Complete outline of the St. Lawrence Volunteer Policy can be found on our website.
God calls each one of us to donate our time and talent “ Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” (Margaret Mead) “ One is not born into the world to do everything but to do something.” (Henry David Thoreau) “We make a living by what we do, but we make a life by what we give.” (Winston Churchill) “ The miracle is this - - The more we share the more we have.” (Leonard Nimoy) Complete outline of the St. Lawrence Volunteer Policy can be found on our website.
St. Lawrence School Volunteer Policy Volunteerism is an essential component of St. Lawrence School. Thanks to our wonderful parent and grandparent volunteers, St. Lawrence accomplishes many things for our children. In volunteering, parents and grandparents become living examples of our Catholic Stewardship as they volunteer their time and talent, and they instill in our children the importance of Christian Service. Lessons learned in school are better understood when children see their parents actively participating in projects. Furthermore, in order to keep our tuition at a manageable level, we need volunteers for many tasks at St. Lawrence School. Complete outline of the St. Lawrence Volunteer Policy can be found on our website.
St. Lawrence School Volunteer Policy So that everyone assumes a fair share of the responsibility, each family at SLS is expected to participate in three types of projects annually: • One four-hour shift at Applefest in September; • Spring Gala/dinner dance; and • 10 additional hours of volunteer work at St. Lawrence School on or before the annual Field Day in late May/early June. Complete outline of the St. Lawrence Volunteer Policy can be found on our website.
St. Lawrence School Volunteer Policy Assessment and Development Three Components of St. Lawrence: Parish : Sponsored activities that benefit the parishioners and community. Athletics: CYO sponsored and managed by an independent Board. Open to the Community. School: All programs are staffed by volunteers with the exception of maintenance, teaching staff, administration, 2 lunch room positions and the office staff. Complete outline of the St. Lawrence Volunteer Policy can be found on our website.
St. Lawrence School Volunteer Policy Assessment and Development • Volunteerism is down across the country. • More families require two incomes. • In the past 5 years our parent volunteers have decreased 50%. • Programs that were almost cancelled in 2013 were: – Christmas Shop – Forensics – Talent Show – Science Olympiad – Field Day – Fun Run Complete outline of the St. Lawrence Volunteer Policy can be found on our website.
St. Lawrence School Volunteer Policy Assessment and Development • School Administration, Fr. Bob, PTO and School Committee discussed possible solutions at great length. • St. Lawrence previously had an honor system and asked parents to log in their hours. It was not successful. • As children and parents leave or graduate from St Lawrence we are left with a larger need for volunteers. • We had no chairperson instruction manuals, co-chair transition plan or documentation of how to fulfill the duties of the various volunteer positions. Complete outline of the St. Lawrence Volunteer Policy can be found on our website.
St. Lawrence School Volunteer Policy Assessment and Development • Volunteer policy research was conducted at over 10 Catholic K-8 grade schools in Macomb and Oakland County. • Most schools have a required volunteer hour commitment with a non-commitment fee if not met. • Many have a full-time paid IT departments, Communications and Volunteer Coordinators. • Most schools require sign off from the chairperson in charge of the volunteer hours and are not self reported. • The list of volunteer opportunities is not static. Complete outline of the St. Lawrence Volunteer Policy can be found on our website.
St. Lawrence School Volunteer Policy Assessment and Development • The proposed policy was brought to our well attended open PTO meeting in May. – Feedback was solicited on implementing a mandatory requirement – Positions that should be eligible for credit – Hourly non-commitment fee: $100 an hour is what we value our volunteer time is worth. The policy was overwhelmingly approved with not one opposing vote. Complete outline of the St. Lawrence Volunteer Policy can be found on our website.
St. Lawrence School Volunteer Policy Questions • Please stand and tell us your name and the ages or grades of your children. • Please limit your comments or questions to 5 minutes. Thank you! Complete outline of the St. Lawrence Volunteer Policy can be found on our website.
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