FAQ

Read below for some frequently asked questions.

What do we do?
Hands4Hope is a service learning organization, giving youth, kindergarten through 12th grade, the opportunity  to volunteer in our community and work hands-on with those in need.  Our volunteer events vary in time commitments, locations, and activities.  Some of our events are smaller, working with only 5-10 other youth, and some of our events involve more than 200 volunteers working together.  One of our goals is to train our youth to have leadership skills that will stick with them as they mature.

What is the time commitment?
We understand school schedules & extra-curricular activities, and therefore, Hands4Hope is flexible with your time.  Some months you may be able to volunteer more than others.  Our goal is to help youth experience community outreach and have a good feeling about it, allowing them to continue giving their time through out their life.

Our volunteers are asked to attend monthly meetings with their team to stay updated on what is happening in Hands4Hope.  These meetings are encouraged, but not required.

As a parent/guardian, what should I expect?
Elementary aged students should be accompanied by one parent or guardian per family at outreach events.  Parent/Guardians of middle and high schoolers are encouraged to be involved, but it is not required.   Special registration, transportation, and confidentiality forms are required for each youth who volunteers with Hands4Hope, and a parent/guardian is expected to sign off on these forms before a youth can volunteer.

Some of our parent volunteers like getting more involved with Hands4Hope, and we are happy to have you if you’re interested!  If you would like to help lead events, sit on our committees, or just be more involved, please let us know!  We do require all adult lead volunteers to be fingerprinted with Hands4Hope for the safety of our volunteers.

As a youth volunteer, what should I expect?
Youth volunteers are required to register with Hands4Hope and fill out the appropriate paperwork before they can volunteer. After registering, they have a choice of several different events to volunteer at and get involved with.  Some of the opportunities change monthly, but we also have outreach events that happen every month.

The hours our members volunteer will be tracked and at the end of the year, we host a volunteer recognition dinner!

What are the teams?
Hands4Hope has three teams: Team Hope, Team Dream, and Team Inspire.   Team Hope represents our elementary aged students.  Team Dream represents our middle school students, and Team Inspire represents our high school students.  Everyone involved in Hands4Hope is on their team.  It’s simply our way of classifying the different age levels of our youth.

Each Team has their own meeting, once per month, to discuss upcoming events and volunteer opportunities. The meetings are fun and allow new volunteers to meet their fellow members!

What are the clubs?
The clubs are only for Team Dream (middle school) and Team Inspire (high school).  At participating middle and high schools, clubs are on campus and everyone is welcome to join these clubs.  It’s simply a time for the members to gather and discuss upcoming opportunities and ideas for community outreach.  The leadership within these clubs are required to attend the Team monthly meetings.

How do I keep informed about upcoming events?
At the beginning of each month, we send out a newsletter to our volunteers.  In this emailed newsletter, all of the upcoming events for the month are listed with times, dates, and locations.  And coming soon, we will have our own online volunteer management site where volunteers can privately log on and sign up for upcoming volunteer opportunities.

How do I sign up to volunteer?
Before anyone can volunteer, Hands4Hope must have the appropriate paperwork filled out and signed.  Currently, to sign up for Hands4Hope, prospective members print out the paperwork in our downloadable forms section of the website.  You can visit that by clicking here.  Soon, we will have a new online system in place to make the process easier for signing up.

Do you have other questions? Email us: info@hands4hopeyouth.org