Great Schools need Great Volunteers
There is a place for you to volunteer and help the youth of Knox County, whether you have one hour or many hours to give. The following organizations and programs are all engaged in making the Knox Count Schools a great school system by helping the students. Look through this list, find a program that fits your skills and interests, and then contact the program. We need your help to make Great Schools!
Volunteering in the Schools
Knox County Schools has started a Volunteer Registration system, where volunteers can search for volunteer opportunities within classrooms. Click here to register and find out more about the opportunities.
Boys and Girls Club of the Tennessee Valley
The Boys and Girls Club is an after-school/summer program that serves school aged children and enables these youth to help themselves in realizing their potential for growth and development. The Boys and Girls Club staff and volunteers guide youth on the path to great futures by focusing on academic success, healthy lifestyles and good character and citizenship. There are five core programs: Character & Leadership Development, Education & Career Development, Health & Life Skills, the Arts, and Sports, Fitness & Recreation.
Volunteer needs:
- Playing or hanging out with the kids
- Tutoring
- Homework help
- Helping an instructor in one of our specific areas
A volunteer packet must be filled out prior to volunteering. To learn more go to www.bgctnv.org or contact Michelle Pitts at (865) 232-1124 or mpitts@bgctinv.org
Emerald Youth Foundation
JustLead, Emerald Youth’s flagship ministry, strives to make a difference in the lives of Knoxville’s urban young people by raising up righteous leaders. JustLead works with students in 8 inner city Knoxville neighborhoods to give them the best opportunity to succeed. The focus is ti instill the love of Christ, provide academic assistance, improve a young person’s health and teach what it means to become a leader in the community.
Volunteer needs:
- Tutors
- Small group leaders
- Coaches
- Other opportunities
To find out more visit www.justlead.org or contact Rachel Benway at (865) 637-3227 ext. 112.
Junior Achievement
Junior Achievement programs help prepare young people for the real world by showing them how to generate wealth and effectively manage it, how to create jobs which make their communities more robust, and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace. Students put these lessons into action and learn the value of contributing to their communities.
JA’s unique approach allows volunteers from the community to deliver our curriculum while sharing their experiences with students. To volunteer with Junior Achievement go to http://easttennessee.ja.org/ or contact Callie Archer at (865) 457-2461 or callie@jaeasttennessee.org.
TN Achieves
TN Achieves provides scholarships to this year’s graduating class to help them in attending a community college. While all Knox County students are eligible for TN Achieves, the program focuses primarily on students who are the first in their family to attend college. TN Achieves utilizes volunteers in three ways – 1) volunteers donate funds for scholarships 2) volunteers serve as mentors to our students to eliminate the barriers in achieving a post-secondary education and 3) recipients of the scholarships volunteer their time back to the community. The mentoring component makes this program unique and is where volunteers from the community are most needed.
To find out more visit www.tnachieves.org or contact Krissy DeAlejandro (865) 218-4093.
Partners in Education
The goal of Partners in Education is to create a spirit of involvement that has a positive impact on Knox County, through the establishment of personal relationships between community leaders and educators. The Knox County School System seeks to partner with organizations that have a desire to contribute to the education of the 55,000 students across the district. Some areas of the community that are already participating include: businesses (both local and national), civic clubs, government agencies (federal, state and local), professional organizations, churches, organizations at colleges and universities and nonprofit agencies.
If your organization would like to find out how it can partner with the Knox County School system or a particular school, call Scott Bacon at (865) 594-1909.
Project GRAD Knoxville
Project GRAD is a collaborative effort between Knox County Schools and the private sector to help improve the academic performance and future options of kids in 14 Knox County schools. The goals of Project GRAD are to increase academic achievement, high school graduation rates, and college attendance and success. Volunteers are need in various capacities and be a one time volunteer experience or an ongoing relationship. Volunteer opportunities include:
- Class guest reader
- Attend a lunch to share about your business experience
- Celebration Rally volunteer
- Walk for Success volunteer
- Annual Parent Conference volunteer
To learn more visit http://www.projectgradknoxville.org/getinvolved/ or call the Project GRAD office (865) 525-4030.
Vols4STEM
In 2008, the Knoxville Chamber, Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers, Knox County Schools and the Great Schools Partnership launched an internet-based clearinghouse called Vols4STEM to connect educators with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professionals and share expertise with students on K-12 STEM programs, competitions and projects relating to their field. These include programs like Future Cities, MathCounts, Lego League, FIRST, Bridge-building, Engineer’s Week, Science Fairs, JETS and Science Bowl.
To find out about all the volunteer opportunities visit vols4stem.org
Your Local School Needs Volunteers: contact the school principal at your area school to see how they can use volunteers