Volunteer Guidelines

This page will go over our guidelines & expectations for current volunteers and outline some processes that may be applicable to you during your time as a volunteer at Schoolhouse!

Supporting Inactive/Non-Contributing Volunteers 🤝

When a volunteer joins our team, we aim to support them in meeting our expectations and contributing effectively. However, in cases where volunteers are not meeting expectations (such as being inactive, not contributing, or unresponsive), we believe in giving them a chance to improve unless there is an urgent safety issue (if there is, you should reach out to your team supervisor and/or

the safety team⁠

If a volunteer, whether official or unofficial, becomes inactive or unresponsive for 10 or more days or is generally not contributing as per their role, a co-lead or team supervisor should reach out to investigate. The purpose is to ascertain if the volunteer wishes to remain part of the team, using the process outlined below. Before considering any off-boarding action, a co-lead and/or team supervisor needs to reach out with a message containing the following components:

Restating Expectations: We clearly communicate the expectations and provide clear, quantitative deliverables.

Confirming Agreement: We ask volunteers if they understand and agree to these expectations and if they have the capacity to fulfill them.

Setting a Timeframe: We provide a specific and reasonable timeframe for volunteers to turn things around.

Follow-Up: We follow up at the end of the specified timeframe to assess progress and see if the volunteer can continue to commit to the role or if they need to be off-boarded.

Here’s a sample message:

Co-leads should reach out to their supervisor for support if they are unsure of how to deal with inactive/non-contributing volunteers. In addition, co-leads should notify product team supervisors of any inactive/non-contributing volunteers they’ve had to reach out to. If a volunteer becomes inactive and/or doesn’t contribute and goes through this process more than once in a short period of time, you should reach out to your team supervisor to talk through how the situation should be handled.

Tracking Volunteer Hours 📜

Coming soon

Last updated xx/xx/xx

Taking A Leave of Absence 🤧

We understand that life happens and volunteers may need to adjust their focus to attend to academic and personal commitments. As long as such situations are communicated to co-leads and/or team supervisors, it is okay to be inactive for short periods (up to 14 days). However, if this occurs frequently, we may ask volunteers to reevaluate their volunteer commitment.

Avoiding Toxic Culture 🚫

We strive to maintain a positive and supportive culture within our volunteer community. To achieve this, we encourage all volunteers to:

Treat each other with respect and kindness.

Communicate openly and constructively.

Address any concerns or issues promptly and respectfully.

Foster an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued and heard.

Avoid contributing to a culture of gossip.

You can read more about ways to avoid a toxic culture by checking out

this help article⁠

By adhering to these guidelines, we can ensure a collaborative and rewarding experience for all volunteers. Failure to adhere to these guidelines may result in your removal as a volunteer and affect your eligibility to volunteer on other teams.

SHW Policy 📜

Violating SHW policy may affect your volunteer status.

Reporting community and/or safety concerns 📢

If you have a safety concern, please immediately consult

this help article⁠

to see what steps you should follow & notify your team supervisor. In the event that your team supervisor is unavailable or is the subject of your concern, please reach out to James or Mariah for support.

If you have a community related concern, please share it with James.

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