If you have a little extra time on your hands and are passionate about helping someone reach their goals (from the comfort of your home), a Pima Community College program is looking for several virtual volunteers.
PCC's Adult Basic Education for College and Career program is seeking volunteers to help students with skills like reading, writing, math, preparation for the GED exam and learning English. Volunteers will work with students either one-on-one or in small groups.
Students in the program are adults who have chosen to get back into the classroom to finish high school or learn English and they're highly motivated to reach those goals which makes volunteering for the program such a rewarding experience says Montserrat Caballero, volunteer coordinator for the program.
"If you are passionate about helping people learn, if you're a people person, if you like to see people reach their goals this is absolutely the place because adult education is the coolest thing ever," Caballero says. "... It's super rewarding because you're able to see true transformational change in people."
Volunteers can serve as tutors or classroom aides in a subject area of their choice and you don't have to have any prior teaching experience, you'll get training to prepare you for the job.
Caballero says volunteers should be willing to work with students of all levels of ability, ages, cultures and backgrounds, have good communication skills and be responsible, flexible and creative. And since volunteering will happen virtually, you'll also need reliable internet and be comfortable using programs like Zoom and Google Meet. You also have to be at least 18 years old.
The minimum time commitment for volunteers varies from an hour a week for tutors to three hours a week for classroom aides.
There is no deadline to apply to become a volunteer, and if this sounds like an opportunity you'd prefer participating in when in-person learning resumes you can be added to a list to be notified when that happens, Caballero says.
To learn more about volunteering and to apply email Montserrat Caballero at mcaballero1@pima.edu.
