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Volunteer
Support Our School Community and Volunteer
Our PTSA supports enhanced student experiences through volunteers like you! Comprising both Sandburg Elementary and Discovery Community School (DCS), the involvement of our volunteers within both our school communities is a distinction that sets us apart from other schools in our district. Every volunteer effort, big and small, makes an impact on our students, families and staff, and we take pride in our reputation as a tight-knit community.
All of this is possible because of YOU, our wonderful volunteers and we look forward to having you join us!
Please review the list of volunteer opportunities below and let us know what interests you. If you have questions, connect with us!
After you sign up, please make sure to complete the LWSD Volunteer Application
| Volunteer Opportunity | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| PTSA Membership | September - November (5 hours per month) | Update PTSA membership database and process membership fees | 2 |
| Welcome Events | August and September (2-3 hours per month) | Ideate and plan creative events to welcome families! Events include an ice cream social, kindergarten play dates, first day coffee, school picnic and more! | 2 |
| Budget Review Committee | Quarterly (4-5 meetings throughout the school year, approx. 1 hour per meeting) | Assist in reviewing PTSA budget, as needed. | 3 |
| Financial Review Committee | January and 1x over the summer (approx. 3 hours per meeting) | Assist with PTSA financial audit. Finance degree no required, just your smile and helpful hand! | 3 |
| Nominating Committee | Spring (hours vary) | Get to know our school community and gauge interest in joining our PTSA board! | 3 |
| Fundraising Committee | Fall (hours vary) | If you have engaging, out of the box ideas and/or just love to plan events, help us maximize our fundraising goals! | 3 |
| Alumni Scholarship | April to June (2-3 hours per month) | Alumni Scholarship Committee will advertise the program to district high schools, evaluate applications and award a college scholarship to former Carl Sandburg/DCS students. | 3 |
| Awards Committee | Spring (5 hours) | Help give awards to your fellow outstanding volunteers by collecting nominations and planning the Awards Celebration. | 3 |
| Reader Board | 1x per month (1 hour each time) | Update our school reader board with upcoming events. Great opportunity for volunteers with limited availability! | 2 |
| Back to School Packets | August (2 hours) | Assist in printing, collating and stuffing back to school packets for teachers to disseminate the first week of school. | 4 |
| Sandburg & DCS PTSA Website Committee | Year Round (1 hour per month) | Edit and update website content as needed by the PTSA Board. No web design experience necessary as the website platform is very user friendly. Our website is supported by a team of webcare professionals who are available to assist. | 3 |
| Sandburg & DCS PTSA Social Media Committee | Year Round (1 hour per month) | If you are a frequent social media connoisseur and would like to help us communicate all fun things on our social media channels, this may be the committee for you! | 3 |
| Family Dance Night | October (2 hours on the day of event) | This is an annual family event which requires setting up, selling concessions, and conducting check-ins. | 5+ |
| Celebrating Diversity Night Committee | Spring (3-4 hours) | Coordinate a fun evening event focused on the diversity of our school community. Plan dinner options and other activities. | 3 |
| Wellness Committee | September and May (2 hours per event) | Educating and encouraging school community on healthy living through organized school events (Walk to School, Bike to School, etc.) | 3 |
| Special Education Committee | Year Round (3 hours per month) | Support our special education local chair to inform school community about current issues impacting special education students and their families. Share information from LWSD and attend meetings at the Lake Washington School District offices. | 2 |
| Parent Ed Coordinator | Year Round (6 hours) | Assist in organizing content and guest speakers for PTSA General Membership meetings and other parent education events. | 2 |
| Advocacy | September through June (1 hour per month) | Advocate for all our children and youth's safety, welfare, and education. Be a relevant resource for parents by sharing it with the Sandburg & DCS Social Media Committee | 1-2 |
| Legislative Representative | 1x per month (1 hour each time) | Work to keep the Executive Board and members updated on key state/local legislative issues and work collaboratively for advocacy. Attendance of the Annual WA State PTA Legislative Convention is encouraged. | 1 |
| Lake Washington Schools Foundation Ambassador | TBD (Time dependent on LWSF meetings scheduled) | The LWS Foundation provides vital funding to schools in our district. The Ambassador attends meetings at the District office and passes Foundation news onto the Sandburg & DCS Community. | 1 |
| Volunteer Coordinator | Year Round (1 hour per month) | Use information gathered from this interest form to create an organized email list of volunteers for each event | 1 |
| School Pictures Day | October and November (retakes) (2 hours each) | Support the effective flow of classrooms on picture day. Help students look their best! | 5 |
| Lost and Found | Year Round (1/2 hour per week) | Check school grounds for lost clothing/items, organize in lost and found area, and publish notices. Donate unclaimed items. | 2 |
| School Spirit Wear | September and October (3 hours each) | Organize and coordinate sales of school spirit wear (marketing/advertising, making orders, delivering) | 2 |
| Yearbook Committee | Year Round (hours vary and are flexible) | Assist in creating our yearbook by taking and collecting photos from parents at events and uploading them to Dorian's online platform. Manage orders/sales and distribution | 3 |
| Hearing & Vision Screening | October (2 hours) | Assist with the annual vision screening and hearing tests. Training provided by LWSD nurse. | 15+ |
| Staff Appreciation Committee | October and May (3 hours each event) | Assist in organizing potluck dishes and snacks for teachers and staff during Conference and Staff Appreciation weeks | 3 |
| Community Outreach Committee | Year Round (hours vary) | Do you love helping your community at large? This committee is empowered to plan and implement a variety of outreach events. Bring your skills as an event planner and your love for volunteering to drive visibility, awareness and community support for Pantry Packs, End Summer Hunger, Giving Tree Event, Kindness Week and Help the Homeless...the possibilities are endless! | 3+ |
| Book Fair | January Conference Week (3 days, 2 hours per shift) | Set up, breakdown and cashiering the Book Fair Event. | 10 |
| Field Day | June (3 hours plus event, and additional hours flexible for planning) | Plan and coordinate this FUN outdoor celebration highlighting the end of the year. This is the most anticipated event for our kiddos! Manage volunteers, activities and organize other event logistics as needed. You can choose to contribute in the activity that speaks to you the most. We need all hands on deck for this one! | 10 |
| Book Rodeo | February and March (2 hour shifts) | Help students exchange and purchase their gently used books! | 10 |
| Book Rodeo Lead | Year Round (1 hour per month) | Collects books throughout the year, organize and store them until the Book Fair event. | 1 |
| Emergency Preparedness Committee | 1-2x per year, flexible (2-3 hours each) | Annual inventory and update of emergency supplies. Work with Sandburg & DCS Principal and LWSD E-Prep for support and mandates. | 3 |
| Popcorn Machine | 2-3x per year (1 hour each) | Love popcorn? Manage our popcorn machine and assist volunteers on proper usage. Coordinate popcorn supplies. One Food Handlers Permit required. | 1-3 |
| Watch D.O.G.S Program | Year Round (flexible hours and dates of your choice) | Dads Of Great Students is a national innovative male involvement educational initiative. This program focuses on male figures to be a positive and active role model for children at our school. These volunteers spend time in the classroom and socially interact with the kids during lunch in the cafeteria. | As many as possible! |
| Emergency Snack Closet | Year Round (1 hour per month) | Work with school counselor and office staff to keep snack closet in the office fully supplied throughout the year. This snack closet is for kids whom may have forgotten their lunch, breakfast or are in need of a snack during the day. | 1 |
| Volunteer Appreciation Party | May or June (2 hour event plus 2 hours planning) | Bring your party planning skills to help plan and coordinate our annual volunteer appreciation party. Manage guestlist and coordinate venue use aligned to budget. | 2 |
| After School Enrichment | 2 times a year for 4 hours based on the enrichment classes schedule | Source fun after-school enrichment programs and assist with registration of classes such as Spanish, drama and chess. Coordinate parent volunteers who will help with check in/out process and supervise for each enrichment class. | 1-2 |
| STEAM Night | November (1 hour shifts) | Man stations and help kids navigate the activities on the event date. | 15+ |
| STEAM Night Committee | September and October (3 hours of planning each) | Develop and plan a Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math focused event for families in accordance of our amazing teachers! | 3 |
| Reflections Committee | September and October (4 hours) | Help with distributing and marketing information about the event; collect entries from students and review them to ensure all contest rules have been followed; communicate with the participating families; help find and communicate with judges; pass winning entries along to the District PTA for further judging | 3 |
| School Play Coordinators | April and May (Volunteers for this event will have designated hours per week) | Do you love drama? Come be a part of our awesome school play production in coordination with Studio East! Work with vendor(s) and enrichment VP to coordinate, plan and produce our school play | 3+ |
| Fall FUN Festival Committee | Flexible hours of your choosing to plan and coordinate | Coordinate food trucks, bouncy houses, and other fun activitities for this social event. If you have ideas on how to make this an event to remember among our community please join in the fun and help us plan! | 15+ |
| Room Parent Coordinator | September and throughout the year (1 hour training session plus answer room parent questions throughout the year) | Train our new room parents for the year i.e. how to use the copy machine, where to locate supplies, etc. | 2 |
| 5th Grade Moving Up Ceremony | April and May (1-2 hours planning per month) | Help plan and execute 5th Grade Moving Up Ceremony (room set up, design and print programs, plan food and beverages and decor) | 2-3 (generally 4th grade parents) |
| Sustainability Committee | September through June (1-2 hours per month) | Volunteer to help students, teachers and staff with Green School initiatives and programs | unlimited |
| Herbicide-Free Grounds Committee | Year Round (1-2 hours per month) | Volunteer to weed and mulch our school grounds to keep harmful herbicides away from kids | unlimited |