Teen Center VolunteerAt — Olive Crest

Be a part of our Teen Drop-In Center where youth drop by 

be present, connect and get to know the local youth

make yourself available to cook a meal, watch tv, play games and/or lead a class for the youth about basic skills or something you are passionate about

Tasks:

This is considered a supervised volunteer with regular contact with minors

- Help prepare for classes and teen hours:

Teen hours (3pm-6pm), are the hours consisting of set activities for the local high schoolers that can spend time in the drop in center. Classes booked specifically for those teens happen during this time as well. The space that this volunteer opportunity/internship takes place in, is a center designed to be a safe place for local teenagers to cook a meal, take part in a craft, class, group activity or just watch tv, play video or board games, do their homework, or spend time alone. The space is reserved for teens who may not have a designated place to go after school, cannot go home, OR maybe they don't want to go home. To help prepare for this time, volunteers or interns can help set up chairs and tables if the activity requires it, setting up craft or activity materials, picking up the lounge space, and general organizing of the space.

- Clean and organize the location:

The location consists of a pantry that is open to the community, rooms with tables and chairs to be used for doing homework, a full kitchen that can be used by teenagers or staff, a lounge area with couches, a ps5, and tv. 

- Refill snacks and pantry closet
- Connect and engage with the youth that drop into the resource center:

The drop-in center is open to teenagers local to the Bellflower/Lakewood area, we currently see high school students from Bellflower High School and Mayfair High School. They are not necessarily at risk or foster, but they could be. Activities range from independent living skill classes (transitional age youth can also come to these specific classes) such as: financial or budgeting help, cooking class, hygiene/self care, spiritual classes) to craft nights or just making desserts and snacks with each other.

- Assist the on-site staff member with coordinating and facilitating activities and workshops for the youth

Training:

Initial organizational overview
Overview of assigned tasks
Job shadowing of Teen Resource Center Coordinator

Job shadowing will consist of the volunteer/intern spending a large amount of time with our teen center coordinator, being a second pair of hands for her and learning about how to best connect with teenagers and build relationships through consistency and trust. The mandatory training would be conducted with me, we have a volunteer onboarding process with all recurring volunteers that includes a slideshow that gives an organizational overview, other volunteer opportunities, volunteer expectations (both general and specific to opportunities), and policies and procedures regarding safety, attendance, attire, and contact information.

As far as my involvement as a supervisor, aside from being available and on-site during the entirety of the volunteer/internship shift, I would like to begin each shift with an overview of instructions, quick check-in with the student to ensure their comfort and emotional safety, and then have a formal one-on-one meeting for feedback, encouragement, answering questions biweekly or as needed or requested.

Learning Outcome:

- understand and connect with teens on a personal level
- recognize that a teen's growth takes time and building trust through consistency is essential
- empower teens to believe in themselves to encourage confidence, ultimately leading them to success
- building community and interpersonal resource knowledge