As one can imagine, our Youth Odyssey staff are pretty busy year-round. The demand for our programs continues to grow each year. You may have heard the phrase, “Volunteers are the lifeblood of a non-profit”. This is absolutely correct!
Volunteers bring fresh perspectives, life experiences, and energy. They lend an extra set of eyes and become role models for our participants. Here’s a list of front-line and behind-the-scenes activities that our volunteers do:
- Two-hour teambuilding sessions
- Day trips to the Ropes Course
- Day trips kayaking
- Weekend and week-long camping trips
- Ambassadors helping spread our mission
- Writing grants to help ensure funding
- Fundraisers throughout the year
- Organizing week long summer camps/retreats
- Helping clean Blucher Park
- Assisting with mail-outs
- Social media marketing
- Promotional development
Every year we have more and more opportunities to share our programs with different groups and make new connections within the community. As the demand for our style of programming grows, we as an organization continue to grow with it. Currently, we service more sites in Corpus Christi than ever before but we still have to spread ourselves a bit thin to accommodate our growth.
That’s where you guys come it! Youth Odyssey is always looking for energetic and outdoorsy individuals who are willing to give of their time and efforts to help us be the best we can be.
As a volunteer, you will be able to join in any activity that Youth Odyssey has going on. If you like to camp, you can come on camping trips. If you love ropes courses or want to learn more about rock climbing, come to a ropes course. If you want to get more experience working with kids and witnessing those ‘lightbulb’ moments, come to our programs and help out there. If you think we’re great and want to help us with fundraising, volunteer at our annual fundraisers. There’s tons of things that we’d love your help with! You can always refer a friend or a volunteer club or organization that might need volunteer hours.
The process is pretty simple if you are interested in volunteering to some extent. The main requirement is that the applicant be a minimum of 18 years old. There is an application that needs to be filled out and returned. Once Youth Odyssey receives the application, we will set up a time to talk and meet with the prospective volunteer. At the meeting we will go over ever aspect of volunteering to see which Youth Odyssey activity(s) interests you the most. That way we can pair you with your passion. After the meeting, there’s a background check and fingerprinting process to go through. Once cleared, you’re good to go! You would then receive a schedule with volunteer opportunities listed and you can sign up for any activity or event that you’d like.
Youth Odyssey is excited about the prospect of gaining, not just more volunteers, but more Youth Odyssey Ambassadors to spread the word about our mission. So let’s get started!
