Head Start encourages volunteering and/or donating to all service areas of Head Start. Examples of ways one could volunteer or donate are assisting the Education staff in such activities as storytelling and supervising play activities, assisting the Health Services staff in providing health services, assisting the Family Services staff with recruitment of children, assisting the Nutrition staff with food preparation and kitchen clean-up, and assisting the Transportation staff with bus moitoring..

Each hour of volunteered service for the BROC Head Start program or monetary donation is counted as non-Federal Match, or Program In-kind, if the service is an integral and necessary part of the approved project, which means that the program would normally pay for the services if the volunteer were not providing it.

According to the Head Start Performance Standards, a volunteer is an unpaid person who is trained to assist in implementing ongoing program activities on a regular basis under the supervision of a staff person in areas such as health, education, transportation, nutrition, and management.

From its inception in 1965, Head Start has actively promoted using volunteers and community resources to expand and improve program operations for the benefit of Head Start children and families. Therefore, BROC Head Start has a sound program for including volunteers in the everyday operation of the program.

BROC Head Start determines the need of volunteers by reviewing the current Community Assessment, the annual Program Self-Assessment, recent On-Site Monitoring Reviews, and staff surveys. This helps program staff to determine what services a volunteer can assist with in the Head Start Program in each service area. BROC Head Start utilizes volunteer job descriptions that explain duties, qualifications and requirements, which are expected of volunteers.

BROC Head Start utilizes various means of advertising for volunteers, in places such as local newspapers, public service announcements, Chamber of Commerce, Public Schools, Churches, doctor’s offices, and libraries.

The following is a list of requirements, which is necessary to be a regular volunteer (at least one day per week or 20 hours a month) in the BROC Head Start Program:

• Criminal Background Checks: all regular volunteers are required to furnish criminal background checks
• Fingerprint Checks: anyone who has not lived in the county at least 5 years should submit fingerprint checks, to ensure the safety of the Head Start children.
• Physicals: volunteers that make up staff/child ratio are required by North Carolina Child Care Licensing to submit a recent physical form to the BROC Head Start program.

• Tuberculin Tests: volunteers are required by BROC Head Start, according to recommendations from the Health Advisory Committee and Policy Council approval to submit a recent tuberculin screening, and one every two years thereafter, to the BROC Head Start program.

• Verification of age (e.g. Driver’s License or Birth Certificate)
• Complete “Required Documentation for Volunteer” Packet which includes:
• Volunteer Application
• BROC Head Start Confidentiality Statement
• Code of Conduct for Volunteers
• Emergency Information 10A NCAC 09.0701(a)
• Health Questionnaire 10A NCAC 09.0701(a)
• No Smoking Policy
• Prevention of Shaken Baby Syndrome and Abusive Head Trauma Policy
• Child Abuse Code of Conduct

• Volunteer Recognition

The BROC Head Start program recognizes each center top volunteer at the end of each month with a certificate of appreciation.  A certificate with the volunteer’s name is posted at each center, and a volunteer report is submitted to the Policy Council Committee and BROC Board Members.

BROC Head Start also recognizes our parents at the end of the program year on “Parent Appreciation Night”. Each volunteer that receives a certificate of appreciation along with a meal. One parent selected from each center with overall contribution to the center, is recognized as their centers “Top Volunteer”. These “Top Volunteers” will receive a special certificate of appreciation, along with a small gift of gratitude.

All Volunteer names are submitted annually to their local newspaper by the Blue Ridge Opportunity Commission Inc. thanking them all for their dedication and support to the community.