VOLUNTEERING BASICS

Engage in the life of your community and have a blast at the same time! On May 3, 2008, join with thousands of other volunteers from around the region to provide almost 11,000 hours of service to the DC Public Schools. Like walkathons and rideathons, Servathon helps raise money for Greater DC Cares to provide volunteer services for the rest of the year.

The money you raise for Servathon will make this region a better place to live and work for all. If each volunteer raises $100, we can:

Implement 1,000 volunteer projects throughout the region;
Help provide 36,000 meals to people who are homeless or living with HIV/AIDS and other illnesses;
Provide free tools to more than 200 local nonprofits through our tool “lending library,” so that they can upgrade their facilities; and
Paint 3,000 classrooms in local public schools.

You can participate in several ways:

Sign up on your own as an individual volunteer
Form or join a team of family, friends, work colleagues, alumni, sorority or fraternity members, people of faith, etc.
Become a Team Captain and help lead other volunteers
Have your company sponsor the event

There is a $20 registration fee for each volunteer to cover supplies, t-shirts, water and snacks. We also ask each volunteer to raise a minimum of $100. It’s not mandatory but we sure would appreciate your help! The box at right shows the impact your dollars will have. Learn more about the easy-to-use resources we will provide to help!

Click here for answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Servathon!

Party Time!

This year’s after-party will be held from 1:00pm – 4:00pm at Town, a fun dance club on the exciting U Street corridor. Town is easily accessible by car or from the U Street Metro stop on the Green/Yellow lines. Join us for good music, fun dancing, and mingling with friends as we celebrate the accomplishments of the day.

Town
2009 8th St, NW (at the corner of 8th and U Streets)
Washington, DC 20009
Get Driving Directions
Get Metro Directions

All volunteers are welcome! It’s our gift to you for helping make our community a better place to live. Mud- and paint-splattered clothes welcome!
NOTE: YOU MUST BRING A PHOTO ID FOR ENTRY!

Tell Your Friends!

Once you’ve registered as a volunteer, you’ll be able to see sample emails, fact sheets and other resources you can use to spread the word! Get your friends, family and colleagues to participate in Servathon themselves. If they can’t participate, ask them to sponsor you.

Think about all the groups you’re involved with: your sports teams, alumni group, church or spiritual group, sports teams, school, colleagues, book clubs, etc. Get them involved!

Don’t be shy! The more people who participate, and the more money we raise, the more we can help our communities with volunteers throughout the year. It’s a great opportunity to make a real difference!

TEAMS

Servathon 2008 is a fun way to spend time with family, friends and colleagues while providing service to your community. Think about all the groups you’re involved with: your sports teams, alumni group, church or spiritual group, colleagues, school, book clubs, etc. Be a leader! Get them involved!

Teams will be placed together at the same project site – whichever one they select. Selection of specific project sites starts on April 1, 2008.

To start a new team:

Decide with your group who will be the Team Captain. This person will play an important role in deciding on a team name, recruiting other team members and setting and meeting fundraising goals.
The Team Captain will register the team by going to www.servathon.org, clicking on Register Now and following the easy-to-use steps for creating a team.
Anyone wanting to join that team just needs to visit www.servathon.org, register as a volunteer and then click “Join a Team” and enter the names of the team and the Team Captain.

New for 2008! All teams with 25+ people who register by March 16, 2008 will be able to get their team name printed on their Servathon t-shirt. Once you have at least 25 people registered, email srepking@greaterdccares.org with your team name and team captain's name and we will customize your shirt for you. We will also be having a contest for the best team name, with prizes being awarded at the after party!

To join an existing team:
New team members will need to know the team name and Team Captain’s name.

Then you can:

Visit www.servathon.org
Click Register Now and follow the steps for joining a team.

Information for Family Teams: Children must be 6 or older to participate in Servathon. Children between 6 and 12 years old can volunteer at these projects, but must be accompanied by an adult at all times. All Children between 6 and 18 years old must also have a parent or legal guardian sign a liability waiver. Waiver forms will be available as soon as registration is open. Check back in the next few weeks to register.

For answers to other Frequently Asked Questions about Servathon, click here.

BECOME A PROJECT MANAGER OR PROJECT LEADER

Are you reliable? A good leader? Committed to service?

Then think about becoming a Servathon Project Manager or Project Leader!

We are looking for more than 200 volunteer leaders for Servathon 2008. We need:

Project Managers who will oversee all service happening at one of the 30-60 schools where we’re working on Servathon.
Project Leaders who will oversee one particular project on May 3, 2008. For example: Painting the lockers in rainbow colors; landscaping around the exterior; building a playground; painting 4-square or hopscotch on the blacktop; etc.

Below you can find more detailed descriptions for these two leadership roles. This could be a great way to build leadership skills as you contribute to the improvement of the DC Public Schools!

All Project Managers and Project Leaders will attend a TRAINING on Saturday, February 23, 2008, where they will learn everything that they need to know to lead a volunteer project. It will be fun! Informative! Nutritious! Entertaining! Provocative! Sensational!

If this is something that would be appealing to you, contact Billy Fettweis at wfettweis@greaterdccares.org ASAP and no later than February 1, 2008.

Project Manager & Project Leader Position Descriptions

Project Managers and Project Leaders are crucial to the success of Servathon! They serve as the lead volunteers at project sites, and are the “go-to” volunteers at the event! Help plan and run Servathon by becoming a Project Manager or Project Leader, and really make a difference in DC Public Schools!

Project Managers and Project Leaders work together to ensure successful projects. A Project Manager is responsible for what happens at the entire site, and Project Leaders are responsible for their volunteer team’s specific duties at that site.

For example, a Servathon project site could be Hine Jr. High School, and the tasks at the school could be painting a classroom on the third floor, planting trees in the courtyard, and painting new hopscotches on the playground. The Project Manager would be responsible for overseeing the entire project at the school, and Project Leaders would each be responsible for one aspect of the project. So, there would be one Project Manager and three Project Leaders: one leading the volunteers in the classroom, one leading the volunteers in the courtyard, and one leading the volunteers on the playground. That way, everyone is informed and the project will be a huge success!!

Project Manager Description

Project Managers are the lead volunteer at the site. These volunteers have ownership of the entire project, and are responsible for managing Project Leaders and volunteers at the event. Project Managers work with Greater DC Cares (GDCC) staff to oversee the development and implementation of all activities at their assigned site, and work closely with the school to ensure a successful project!

Duties Include:

attending 1 training session held on February 23rd from 9am-3pm.
reviewing the description of the project and devising a plan for meeting the goals of the school and GDCC
conducting a site visit prior to the project day to meet with the school point of contact, understand the project, and develop a relationship with school point of contact and staff
making requests to GDCC staff about specific tools and supplies necessary to complete the project
working with Project Leaders to communicate tasks to volunteers and to efficiently organize them
managing the entire project site to ensure a successful Servathon/MLK Day project!

Project Managers should:

be enthusiastic about volunteering!
be organized and detail-oriented
be able to commit the time necessary to successfully lead the project
have strong communication skills
have strong leadership skills
be people-oriented and able to develop working relationships with Project Leaders and school points of contact

Project Leader Description

Project Leaders work directly with Project Managers on a specific task at a project. They are responsible for leading a group of volunteers to accomplish a specific goal to ensure success of the project overall.

Duties Include:

attending 1 training session held on February 23rd from 9am-3pm
working closely with the PM at the project to ensure success of a particular project aspect
communicating clear objectives to volunteers about goals and procedures for the project
ensuring that volunteers are working in a timely and efficient manner
making sure the volunteer group successfully completes the task, cleans up tools and supplies, and has fun!!

Project Leaders should:

be detail-oriented and organized
be able to lead a group of volunteers
be responsible and willing the be accountable for a particular aspect of the overall project
have strong communication skills
be excited about service and leading others