The Volun-Teen Program

Volunteers between the ages of 13 and 18 can sign up for the Volun-Teen Program. The Volun-Teen Program requires a volunteer to commit to a minimum of three hours a week at Fairytale Town each week for three months. This program is set up to teach young adults how to inspire and educate children in the arts, cultural and literary programming, all while learning introductory job skills that will make them more prepared to enter the workforce. Volun-Teens meet once a month to outline their availability and create monthly schedules for themselves. They learn necessary job skills by having the responsibility of “clocking” in and out for each shift on their own and will learn how to follow the “chain of command” to obtain their daily duties and assignments. Volun-Teens are also given uniform T-Shirts and a dress code that they must follow during their shift. A sample of the typical job duties of a Volun-Teen are listed below:

Theater Assistant

Arts & Crafts

Office Assistant

Animal Assistant

Maintenance Assistant

Event Prep

Inventory & Organization

Theater Usher (apron-cashier)

Computer Tasks

The goal of the Volun-Teen Program is to teach young adults the responsibilities of having a job and equip them with the experience they need to go out and obtain a job in the Recreation/Community Services field. Volun-Teens track their hours on a time sheet that will be turned in bi-weekly to make sure they have met their hour requirements for the session. Once the three-month session has expired, Volun-Teens can sign on for another session, or opt out of the program.

Since it began, the Volun-Teen program has developed a waiting list. In order to be placed on the waiting list a volunteer must already have attended New Volunteer Orientation and be active with us. When spots in the program open, volunteers on the waiting list are invited to participate in a competitive screening process, similar to a traditional interview process. Based on their interview scores, new Volun-Teens are selected and invited to join the program. The Volun-Teen program requires a volunteer to maintain a GPA of 2.0 or higher in order to be considered for a spot in the program.