Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteer Recognition
In exchange for community service and fieldwork hours, SJCD provides volunteers with the following:
Volunteers working under 1-14 hours per year:
- Signed Evaluation Forms (provided by you, your school or community service organization) as needed
- Verification Form on our agency letterhead of hours served
- Heartfelt Thanks!
Volunteers working 15 hours or more per year:
- Signed Evaluation Forms (provided by you, your school or community service organization) as needed
- Verification Form on our agency letterhead of hours served
- Individual Certificates of Recognition (once a year)
- Letters of Recommendation by request
(* requests for letters must be made 2 weeks in advance) - Heartfelt Thanks!
Framed "Above and Beyond Award"
To celebrate the feast day of St. Joseph' the Worker, on or near May 1st each year, SJCD staff will nominate, vote on, and acknowledge the individual(s), school(s) or organization(s) who have made an Outstanding Contribution to SJCD and the Deaf Community in that school year.
A member of SJCD staff will contact you, your school or organization to arrange a special presentation of this Award if desired.
What Makes A Good Volunteer
We are looking for volunteers who are:
- Able to understand, positively represent and support the work SJCD does with the Deaf Community
- Reliable, Dependable and Dedicated
- Respectful, easy to direct, maintain a positive attitude, and are pleasant to work with
- Able to follow directions well and not afraid to ask for clarification
- Patient, Flexible and Accommodating when roles or duties need to change
- Open to suggestions, feedback or constructive critique
- Polite, Friendly, Confident and Good with Children and Adults
- Observant, Attentive, Careful and Responsible
- Willing to go the extra mile, and eager to assist in any way.
Volunteer Screening
For best practice, all SJCD volunteers will be:
- required to provide staff with their full name and contact information to be kept on file.
In addition, all volunteers who are over age 16 and work with children:
- will be screened by staff according to Megan's Law. (Megan’s Law is the process of checking all Diocesan volunteer rosters against the state of California’s list of registered sex offenders. The Megan’s Law website is located at www.meganslaw.ca.gov. Staff will perform this screening once you contact us about your interest in volunteering at SJCD.)
- must take our Diocesan approved Safe Environment Online Training
- must go through SJCD on-site training with staff as needed to guide you in your duties
Required Volunteer Training
- The Diocesan approved Safe Environment Online Training can be accessed at www.shieldthevulnerable.org by all volunteers interested in working with children. You must Log In an create your own ID. The training takes approximately 2 hours and can be done all at once, or in parts on your own time.
- SJCD will offer assistance with the Diocesan approved Safe Environment Online Training 4 times a year (Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall). SJCD has laptop computers and wireless connection available at our office in Hayward. To make arrangements to participate in the staff assisted training, please contact:
Kata Strawn
Director of Religious Education
510-881-2247 TTY
866-363-3110 VP - At the end of this online training, you will receive a Certificate of Completion that verifies that you are trained in how to "Recognize, Report and Prevent Child Abuse" for the Diocese of Oakland.
- You will need to submit this Certificate of Completion and a $5 training fee for this service to SJCD staff. SJCD staff will make a copy of your certificate and put into your volunteer file. You may keep the original Certificate of Completion for your professional portfolio.
Volunteer Work Available
- SJCD offers volunteer work in the following areas as needed:
- Childcare
Main Duties:to set up, prepare, and clean up our child care and parent education areas, supervise young hearing or deaf children during parent classes or parental counseling appointments, assist with snack preparation, serving, and clean up, practice your sign language skills, communicate and interact with the child's deaf or hard of hearing parents before, during and after class as needed. - Fundraising
Main Duties: to help plan and advertise fundraising events, prepare carnival game parts or decorations, construct haunted maze, interpret, photograph, help with parking, run game booths, practice your sign language skills, lead activities or entertainment, help with food sales, assist with set up and clean up, assist with car washes, outreach booths, sponsor our events, or help solicit for monetary or in-kind donations.
- General Office
Main Duties: folding, labeling, and sorting newsletters for bulk mailing, photocopying, stapling, counting, sorting or preparing workshop and curricula materials, filing, organizing storage area, or data entry on computers to help us update our mailing lists, and practice your sign language skills. - Pastoral Ministry
Main Duties: assist with Interpreting Catholic Mass at 10am on Sundays at our church in Union City, assist with Liturgical Readings, help teach CCD classes, First Communion and Confirmation Preparation, lead Liturgy of the Word for Pre-school Youth, practice your sign language skills, assist with special church events as needed. - Sign Language Interpreting
Main Duties: to polish your fluent sign language skills, interpret meetings, special events, entertainment or workshop presentations as needed. - Building Maintenance
Main Duties: changing light fixtures in SCJD Church and SJCD Center, assisting with light housekeeping, and general upkeep inside and outside of our building, and practice your sign language skills.
If interested in any of the above Volunteer opportunities, please contact:
Kata Strawn
Director of Religious Education
510-881-2247 TTY
866-363-3110 VP
