Become a CHARLEE Volunteer! "To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world." -Anonymous Volunteers are an integral part of CHARLEE and we are always looking for responsible, energetic, and reliable individuals interested in helping our foster children. We have a variety of volunteer opportunities ranging from mentoring a child to helping in the coordination of our annual events.* Become a CHARLEE Volunteer! CHARLEE provides a wide range of opportunities for different levels of volunteers. A thorough and effective screening process is important to the success of our volunteers. Each volunteer will asked to participate in the following: • Attend a volunteer orientation. This informational session will discuss issues including: agency background and services, child abuse, foster care, agency screening process, communication skills, job descriptions, time commitments and confidentiality. • References and background checks: Each applicant will be asked to provide CHARLEE with three character references and two forms of identification. Fingerprinting and extensive background checks will be performed at the discretion of CHARLEE depending on the extent of contact with the children. Once certified, volunteers will be issued a picture ID badge. Different levels of volunteers will be identified to reflect the experience and gifts the volunteers have to offer to CHARLEE. There will be different colors, which will be displayed on volunteer ID badges, distinguishing the types of volunteers. Green - Volunteers who have been screened to work with children and will be provided the necessary training to deal with the children in our care. Blue - Professional experience to assist with legal, accounting, administrative, logistic, and helping the agency in our daily operations. Red - Volunteers for the Development Department projects including fundraising drives, holiday drives, school drives, and special events. _________________________________________________________________ Volunteer Opportunities: 1. Residential Facilities Volunteers: Among the most important aspects of CHARLEE Homes for Children is our network of residential facilities. CHARLEE has a variety of group homes throughout the Miami-Dade community that are geared towards children with specific needs. There are great volunteer opportunities available to those in the Miami-Dade community that are interested in donating their time to work directly with the CHARLEE children. CHARLEE currently has 5 residential facilities of different capacities allowing for several types of one-on-one or group opportunities for volunteers. Dependent on the facility, volunteer opportunities will vary. Among the projects available to volunteers are home beautification projects, such as landscaping or repainting the residential facilities, and chaperone/supervision responsibilities during group outings. Individualized tutoring and homework supervision for groups are other potential projects available to volunteers*. CHARLEE is also extremely open to project proposals from volunteers as long as the project is in accordance with clientele and CHARLEE policy and laws. *Please note that in order to be a CHARLEE tutor proper documentation must be provided, such as education board certification, to assure that tutors are qualified to teach the clients. A contract must also be signed dictating the duration of the tutoring course and the specific hours per week the tutor will be available to work with the client/s. CHARLEE expects that tutors will complete the tutoring course according to the contract signed. 2. Special Events Volunteers: CHARLEE often has Special Events that require the assistance of volunteers. These events vary, are sporadic and have different obligations. Due to the importance of keeping the identities of our children private, many events that involve our children’s participation will allow only those volunteers who are 18 years or older. If you are someone younger then 18 who would like to volunteer and/or receive community service hours for school at one of CHARLEE’s events please call Caroline Blanchet for more information at 305-779-9796 or email her at [email protected]. Volunteer duties at special events include but are not limited to: working registration/check out, taking tickets, set up or break down of event, distribution of gift bags, loading and/or unloading boxes, silent auction, raffle, t-shirt distribution, working different booths such as tattoo booth, balloon toss booth, etc., and much more. 3. Administrative Volunteers: There are many opportunities for volunteers to work in the CHARLEE offices. Following are a list of department and volunteer needs. Department: Court Description: • Assisting the diligent search unit with administrative tasks such as mailings, contacting various agencies for information, and helping to organize and maintain order within the department • This position does not require direct contact with children Department: Facilities Maintenance Description: • Assisting the Vehicle Maintenance Coordinator with the servicing and inspections of the CHARLEE vehicles • Delivering Inter-Office Mail (Additional Requirements: current driver’s license, familiarity with Miami-Dade County) Department: Independent Living Description: • A variety of clerical tasks including answering phones, filing, data entry, meeting and greeting clients, and organizing updated resource lists • Volunteers working in this position will be occasionally working directly with the clients in our Independent Living Program (18-23 year olds still receiving support from CHARLEE) Department: Management Information Systems (MIS) Description: • Supporting the MIS department through daily activities including the handling of data entry, testing, and follow up reports Department: Quality Improvement / Information Management Description: • General tasks include copying, sorting, filing, creating and breaking down client files, and shredding documents • HIPAA checks of printer and fax machines Department: Placement Department Description: • Assisting the Placement Department through general administrative work such as: answering phones, data entry, tracking data, copying, document retrieval and faxing • Volunteers will assist the department with client supervision, leading to direct contact with children and young adults in the CHARLEE system Department: Support Operation and Maintenance (SOM) Description: • Acting as a receptionist and ensuring the prompt acknowledgement of guests/visitors • Coordinating communication, which includes working the phone switchboard • Serve as a customer service representative by organizing complaints and ensuring appropriate follow-up of all concerns (Additional Requirements: excellent interpersonal skills, willingness to work with a diverse population and computer literacy.) *Note: Due to foster care confidentiality issues, children under the age of eighteen are unable to have direct contact with CHARLEE children. If you would like more information about CHARLEE volunteer opportunities, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator at (305) 779-9796. We look forward to hearing from you!