Become a Volunteer

Thank you for your interest in volunteering! Please follow the steps below to begin the process of becoming a volunteer tutor, a Partnership for Literacy Rehabilitation (PLR) Tutor at the jail, or a Non-Instructional Volunteer.

Step 1

To become a volunteer tutor, please start by filling out the following form. 

Contact Information

Demographic Information

Criminal History

* If you check yes to either of the following questions, TLC staff will contact you before your volunteer assignment.

Experience

Volunteer Positions of Interest

(Select all that Apply)

Availability

Volunteer Agreement

TLC Expectations

a. The focus of The Literacy Center (TLC) is to improve adult literacy. TLC is a substance-free environment. Unfortunately, TLC does not offer childcare and is not equipped to accommodate children.

b. General: Your appearance, demeanor, and behavior should be professional whenever and wherever you are representing The Literacy Center (TLC).

c. Reporting: All volunteers (Instructional and Non-Instructional) are required to report volunteer time to TLC Staff. If you are an Instructional Volunteer, please ensure that your learner(s) are also reporting learning time. **NOTE: Please remember that consistent and accurate reporting is crucial to TLC funding.**

d. Housekeeping: Whether you are volunteering onsite at The Literacy Center, or offsite at another location, always clean up after volunteering.

e. Please no personal use of TLC printer, printing or office supplies.

f. Substitutes (Applies to Instructional Volunteers): If you have an emergency and cannot tutor/teach during your scheduled time, please call TLC to arrange for a substitute at least 24 hours in advance.

g. Learner Information (Applies to Instructional Volunteers): If you need access to non-confidential assessment and/or educational information about a learner, please ask a staff member.

Ethics, Confidentiality, Non-discrimination

a. All Literacy Volunteers are expected to adhere to a standard of ethics that demonstrates respect of personal dignity, individuality, responsibility, and initiative.

b. Personal information about any tutor, learner, volunteer or staff member is confidential.

c. All documents and/or records you may come into contact with during tutoring or volunteer sessions are confidential, unless otherwise specified by staff.

d. Records may not be released except with written consent of the individual, and/or in accordance with state or federal law. Failure to keep this confidentiality may be cause for dismissal.

e. The Literacy Center values diversity and seeks learners, volunteers, and employees from diverse backgrounds. It is the policy of TLC to:

  i. Prohibit unlawful discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship, gender, age, disability, sexual preference or orientation, or marital status.

  ii. Comply with both the letter and the spirit of all applicable laws and regulations governing employment.

  iii. Provide equal opportunity to all employees and to all qualified applicants for employment.

  iv. Make reasonable accommodations for the physical and/or mental limitations of qualified employees, volunteers, learners, or applicants with disabilities.

f. Please present complaints about discrimination to the Executive Director of TLC. All complaints received by the Executive Director shall be reported to the President of the Board of Directors of TLC. A full and impartial investigation of any such complaint will be carried out promptly by the Executive Committee. After the investigation, the appropriate parties will be notified promptly of the findings and corrective action will be taken if deemed necessary. Such action may range from a warning to termination of paid employees or volunteer/tutor/learner status. Confidentiality will be maintained to the fullest extent possible, consistent with the need to investigate the complaint fairly and thoroughly. No individual shall be retaliated against for reporting instances of possible discrimination.

Safety and Security

a. Any Literacy Volunteer who provides transportation for others does so at his/her discretion, and assumes responsibility for this. TLC does not provide liability insurance for volunteers.

b. Personal belongings should be left in your vehicle or kept on/near your person at all times. TLC is not responsible for any lost or stolen item/s.

c. Use discretion in disclosing personal details/information to another volunteer and/or learner.

d. If you decide to meet with a learner/volunteer outside of TLC, please be sure to meet in a public place.

e. If a situation becomes uncomfortable and/or seemingly dangerous for any reason, please leave the situation immediately and inform a staff member.

I have read the above information and agree to the terms of this policy.

ONLY If volunteer is younger than 18 years of age, a parent/guardian signature is required below:

If you give The Literacy Center permission to use written comments or to take photo or video of you for promotional material or publication, please initial and date below:

Step 2

Watch the videos below to learn about the origins and evolution of our language and why English often has confusing spelling.

Step 3

Attend the introductory tutor orientation session. This training is 1.5 hours long. It covers an overview of The Literacy Center and the various types of volunteer roles, an overview of the types of learners we assist, and materials and resources.

Orientation sessions occur regularly. Once you complete the online form, the Program Director will contact you by email from  program@thinkliteracy.org to arrange a time and date for the meeting.

Step 4

Follow up with our Program Director at program@thinkliteracy.org to select a volunteer role and schedule observations if needed.

Step 5

Attend various professional opportunities.  We typically offer a variety of professional and social opportunities throughout the year.  Please consult our events page for information regarding upcoming trainings.

Partnership
for Literacy Rehabilitation

If you are interested in the Partnership for Literacy Rehabilitation (PLR) program at Coconino County Jail, please note this program requires training with the jail in addition to standard volunteer tutor training TLC. Please first complete steps 1-5 above to become a Volunteer Literacy Tutor.

When you register for the initial training, be sure to state your interest in being involved with the PLR program. The Program Director will contact you with more information about training dates and other relevant information.

PLR Step 1

Read the following Coconino County Jail Facilitator Handbook and submit a Coconino County Jail Volunteer Clearance Application below to program@thinkliteracy.org

If you have specific questions about the Coconino County Detention Facility policies and protocols, please contact the County Jail at (928) 226-5211 

PLR Step 2

Volunteers interested in working in the Coconino County Detention Facility (jail) must attend an on-site jail orientation in addition to completing TLC training specific to our PLR program. These two trainings can occur in any order. 

For upcoming days and times, please consult our events calendar. During the TLC training specific to our PLR program, you will learn about jail policies about working with incarcerated learners. 

You’ll also go over the jail curriculum in detail and learn about the nuances of balancing employment literacy, basic literacy, and poetry/creative writing lessons to prepare learners for employment and life after release from detention.

PLR Step 3

Complete at least one observation of an existing jail class. You must be approved to enter the jail and have already attended the mandatory jail orientation to schedule this observation. Your observation should be followed by a brief reflection which you email to the Program Director at program@thinkliteracy.org by clicking the link below.

Non-Instructional
Opportunities

The Literacy Center also has training sessions for volunteers who are interested in non-instructional opportunities such as conducting initial learner assessments and progress assessments for ongoing learners. 

We also have periodic professional development offerings for our literacy tutor volunteers. In addition, staff will provide individualized support and training sessions as necessary for specific programs. Please feel free to inquire about any of these additional training opportunities.

Volunteer Resources

HOURS

Tuesday – Thursday
from 11am – 7pm
Monday & Friday
by appointment

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