Families accrue completed volunteer hours by answering the call for help! Throughout the school year, there will be many opportunities to volunteer for Parent Org events, in your child’s classroom, for the school (front office) and for the parish, just to name a few. Volunteer opportunities will be made known through the Volunteer Opportunities page, the Weekly School Newsletter (emailed to families every Thursday), through emails from your child’s teacher, emails from your Parent Org class rep, and through additional -specific- opportunities also posted on the Parish Bulletin. The volunteer opportunities are many!
Fulfilling your Volunteer Hours Family Requirement
2023-2024 School Year Loop the ‘Lupe Exception:
An exception has been made to include the Loop the ‘Lupe event (June 8) in the 2023-24 school year. When families log hours for the Loop the ‘Lupe event, choose whether hours worked will go toward the 2023-24 or 2024-25 school year.
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Do we have to complete all our required hours at one time? No. There are plenty of opportunities for shorter volunteer roles.
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Can only the child’s parents or guardians complete the required volunteer hours? No. You have options. Any adult (i.e. over the age of 18) family members or friends you may have “recruited” to volunteer at an specific event or activity, on behalf of your family, may contribute towards that family’s volunteer hours requirement.
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What if my family is not able to complete our number of volunteer hours before May 31? One of the ways our school community remains robust is by all families contributing to the greater good by offering their time to help with various activities. We want all families to be successful in fulfilling their required number of hours. If you are unable to fulfill your hours for specific reasons, please contact the School Principal, Ms. Hobbs. All hours not fulfilled will result in a $50/hour charge to be paid before the close of the school year.
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I volunteered on June 2. Do those hours count for the current school year? No. Commitment hours (or volunteer time) for the current school year are accrued from June 1 through May 31. All volunteer time worked after May 31, counts towards your total for the next school year.
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My parents (grandparents to OLG student) volunteered at a school event. Can I claim their hours? Yes.
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My friend volunteers for the church. Can I claim her/his hours? No. If you’ve recruited friends to help with a particular event at the school or church, then yes, you can claim their hours. If your friend is a layperson or sings in the choir at church for example, then no, their hours do not count.
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I’m a CYO coach. How many hours do I submit? Track your hours independently and then submit them at the end of the season. Time requirements for coaches varies by the sport, the number of practices, the game schedule, etc.
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My middle school aged child volunteers in the community. Do those hours count? No. Middle Schoolers are required to fulfill service hours as part of their curriculum. These hours do not count towards family totals.
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I watched OLG kids so their parents could attend an OLG event. May I claim these hours? Yes. We want it to be easy for parents to attend school events.
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I was with my daughter while she sold Girl Scout cookies. May I claim these hours? Yes. Helping with Girl Scout and Boy Scout activities counts as service hours.
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I made a baked good for the Cake Walk/Light the Night/Cultural Night – do these hours count? Yes. Usually the number of hours you can claim per baked good is pre-announced. Generally, it is one hour per cake for the Cake Walk or for two dozen cookies for Light the Night.
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I put together a donation for the OLG auction. Can I claim the hours I spent putting this item together? No. Hours spent putting together your family’s donation are part of the donation. However, if you spend time procuring items for the auction from local businesses, these hours do count as being part of the Auction Procurement team.
Recording and Keeping Track of your Hours
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How do we log our family’s completed volunteer hours? You can log your hours through this tool: Record Completed Volunteer Hours. This information is then downloaded into an Excel report that tracks totals for all OLG families.
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How do we know where we stand on completed volunteer hours? The Parent Org will send email reports to school families, using the primary email address listed for your family. The reports will list the total number of hours logged by the family and will be sent roughly once a month at the beginning of each month starting in October and running through May. You will continue to receive a monthly report even after you meet your commitment for the year, and will receive one last report early June showing your final hour totals. The deadline for submitting hours is now May 31st.
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What if my family is not able to complete our number of required volunteer hours by May 31st? One of the ways our school community remains robust is by all families contributing to the greater good by offering their time to help with various activities. While we want all families to be successful in fulfilling their required number of hours and we are glad to offer as much flexibility as possible, we also need to be fair and consistent and hold families accountable for any unfulfilled required volunteer hours. Thus, all hours not fulfilled will result in a $50 per hour charge to be paid before the close of the school year. However, if you are unable to fulfill your hours for specific reasons, please contact the School Principal to discuss options.
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Can we roll over or transfer our completed volunteer hours (if we completed more than the minimum required) from one school year to the next? Extra hours may NOT be transferred to another family or held for next year.Extra hours may NOT be transferred to another family or held for next year.
Training Required
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Is there any training I need to complete before volunteering? YES! All volunteers are required to be up-to-date on the Archdiocesan Safe Environment requirements. In addition, some volunteers, depending on the role they will be fulfilling, will be also required to complete specific training prior to volunteering. Click HERE or in the link above to learn more.
Volunteering Options
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What are some common volunteer options? Some common volunteer opportunities include our Annual School Auction, Jog-A-Thon, Halloween Carnival, OLG Game Night, Light the Night (Christmas Lighting event), Math Night, and other Parent Org events, serving on a parish or school committee/board, field trip chaperone, helping in the classroom, Scouts, CYO coaching, Parish support, school office support, take home work for teachers or fundraising events, playground/recess duty, helping with extracurricular activities and summer camps, room parent, class auction project parent, middle school lab assistant, speech team coordinator (middle school), classroom book orders, community meals, participating in OLG’s Day of Service, providing free childcare for a school family so they can volunteer…
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How do I hear about volunteer opportunities? The weekly newsletter regularly lists upcoming volunteer opportunities in the “Parent Org Updates” section. And, you can always contact your student’s teacher or the office to see if they need help with a specific task.
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I don’t really know what would be the right volunteer option for me. I don’t see anything that excites me… We got you covered! Then TELL US WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO! Take a few minutes to complete our Volunteer Preferences Survey and let us help you!
