Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do I sign up for a project?
A: You can sign up for a weekend or after-school project either by filling out the project sign-up form on the website, or by contacting the Team Leader office. If there is space on the project, we will sign you up. Please note that you are not to attend the project for which you have signed up until you receive confirmation from the Team Leaders. For weekend projects, you will receive a reminder email the week before the project is scheduled, in addition to a phone call a day or two before the event.
Q: Is there a minimum or maximum number of projects I can volunteer for?
A: Nope! Volunteer as much as you want! Many of our youth need a specific amount of volunteer hours for school or court-ordered community service, but many enjoy working with us so much that they volunteer hundreds of hours of their time.
Q: What do I need to bring with me to the project?
A: If this is your first time volunteering with YVCKC since August 1 of this school year, you need to download and complete the YVCKC Volunteer Profile and Guardian Waiver and have a parent/guardian sign where indicated if you are under age 18. Bring these forms with you to your first project. Some projects will require you to bring additional items such as a sack lunch, an agency waiver, or special clothing (e.g., closed-toe shoes for a construction project). Check out the project descriptions to see if your project has any additional requirements.
Q: Who will be supervising the youth at the projects?
A: All projects are led by one or more YVCKC adult Team Leaders. All Team Leaders are First-Aid/CPR certified and have passed full background checks. In addition, all Team Leaders are trained in how to lead successful, educational, and fun service projects.
Q: I need verification for the community service hours I have completed. How do I get that verification form from your organization?
A: We are happy to give you an official YVCKC form stating the number of hours you have completed with us. We can also sign any forms that your school or organization requires. Typically, we give you these forms at the end of a project (just ask the Team Leader) or you can call/e-mail us for the form at a later date. If you are doing several projects with us, please feel free to wait until the end of your last project to ask for the verification form.
Q: Can parents volunteer at projects with their children?
A: For most YVCKC projects, we prefer parents drop off their children. One of our goals is to encourage our Youth Volunteers to branch out, meet new people, take responsibility for certain tasks and learn the value of service as individuals and members of a team. In our experience, having parents around may discourage this type of growth.
However, we also realize family volunteering can be a wonderful experience, so we make sure to plan several projects each year in which the whole family is invited to participate. These projects are designated as "family projects" in our project descriptions.
Q: I am part of a school/church/youth group and we would like to volunteer together at a project. Can you take a group of volunteers at one of your projects or find a place for us to volunteer as a group?
A: Whether or not we can take a group of volunteers will vary depending on the project. Our typical policy is that only half of a project's available volunteer slots may be taken by a single group (for example, if a Saturday project has 10 available volunteer slots, no more than 5 of those could be filled by a school/church/youth group). However, these decisions are usually made on a case-by-case basis. Contact the Team Leader office with your specific request, and we'll try to work with you.
A: You can sign up for a weekend or after-school project either by filling out the project sign-up form on the website, or by contacting the Team Leader office. If there is space on the project, we will sign you up. Please note that you are not to attend the project for which you have signed up until you receive confirmation from the Team Leaders. For weekend projects, you will receive a reminder email the week before the project is scheduled, in addition to a phone call a day or two before the event.
Q: Is there a minimum or maximum number of projects I can volunteer for?
A: Nope! Volunteer as much as you want! Many of our youth need a specific amount of volunteer hours for school or court-ordered community service, but many enjoy working with us so much that they volunteer hundreds of hours of their time.
Q: What do I need to bring with me to the project?
A: If this is your first time volunteering with YVCKC since August 1 of this school year, you need to download and complete the YVCKC Volunteer Profile and Guardian Waiver and have a parent/guardian sign where indicated if you are under age 18. Bring these forms with you to your first project. Some projects will require you to bring additional items such as a sack lunch, an agency waiver, or special clothing (e.g., closed-toe shoes for a construction project). Check out the project descriptions to see if your project has any additional requirements.
Q: Who will be supervising the youth at the projects?
A: All projects are led by one or more YVCKC adult Team Leaders. All Team Leaders are First-Aid/CPR certified and have passed full background checks. In addition, all Team Leaders are trained in how to lead successful, educational, and fun service projects.
Q: I need verification for the community service hours I have completed. How do I get that verification form from your organization?
A: We are happy to give you an official YVCKC form stating the number of hours you have completed with us. We can also sign any forms that your school or organization requires. Typically, we give you these forms at the end of a project (just ask the Team Leader) or you can call/e-mail us for the form at a later date. If you are doing several projects with us, please feel free to wait until the end of your last project to ask for the verification form.
Q: Can parents volunteer at projects with their children?
A: For most YVCKC projects, we prefer parents drop off their children. One of our goals is to encourage our Youth Volunteers to branch out, meet new people, take responsibility for certain tasks and learn the value of service as individuals and members of a team. In our experience, having parents around may discourage this type of growth.
However, we also realize family volunteering can be a wonderful experience, so we make sure to plan several projects each year in which the whole family is invited to participate. These projects are designated as "family projects" in our project descriptions.
Q: I am part of a school/church/youth group and we would like to volunteer together at a project. Can you take a group of volunteers at one of your projects or find a place for us to volunteer as a group?
A: Whether or not we can take a group of volunteers will vary depending on the project. Our typical policy is that only half of a project's available volunteer slots may be taken by a single group (for example, if a Saturday project has 10 available volunteer slots, no more than 5 of those could be filled by a school/church/youth group). However, these decisions are usually made on a case-by-case basis. Contact the Team Leader office with your specific request, and we'll try to work with you.
4600 W. 51st St., Suite 300 // Shawnee Mission, KS 66205 // 913-432-9822 ext. 305 // yvc_kc@yvca.org
