Volunteer

Show up. That’s the whole job.

You do not need a teaching credential, a hard-luck story of your own, or a plan for anybody’s life. You need one weeknight you can actually hold, and the willingness to come back after a bad one.

Start the mentor form See the programs

Volunteers signing in at the door on a program night

Tuesday, five o’clock

Before you scroll

The bar is lower than you think and the effect is bigger.

Almost everybody who fills out our form says some version of “I am not sure I am qualified.” Here is what the job actually requires.

Skip to the form

You keep one weeknight open, September through June.
You meet your student in our building, never alone and never off-site without staff.
You are not the tutor, the therapist or the parent. You are the adult who is still there.
You get trained, you get a staff contact, and you get to say when something is over your head.
You can pause for a hard season. Telling us early is the responsible move, not a failure.

The roles

Four ways to be useful

Every one of these is screened and trained. Pick the one that matches the time you actually have, not the one that sounds most impressive.

One program night a week

Mentor

Best for: people who can commit to a season and would rather go deep with one kid than wide with twenty.

Apply for this role

One weekday afternoon a week

Homework lab tutor

Best for: retired teachers, grad students, and anybody who still remembers how to factor.

Apply for this role

A few Saturdays a year

Event crew

Best for: people with unpredictable weeks who still want in.

Apply for this role

A meeting a month, plus homework

Board and committees

Best for: people with a professional skill and a stubborn streak.

Apply for this role

No surprises

What each role really asks of you

Written in words on purpose. We would rather you read this and say no than say yes and disappear in November.

Mentor One evening a week, plus a text or two School year, renewed each fall Background check, references, one Saturday session Mentor One evening a week, plus a text or two School year, renewed each fall Background check, references, one Saturday session Mentor One evening a week, plus a text or two School year, renewed each fall Background check, references, one Saturday session Mentor One evening a week, plus a text or two School year, renewed each fall Background check, references, one Saturday session

Role	Rhythm	Season	Training and screening

After you hit send

What happens next, in order

Step one

A real reply

Devon writes back within two business days, from a person’s email address, with your next step in it.

Step two

A half-hour conversation

In the building or on the phone. We ask about your week, your patience, and what you are hoping for.

Step three

Screening and training

Background check, two references, and one Saturday morning of training with other new mentors.

Step four

Your first Tuesday

You are introduced over dinner with staff right there, and then you come back the next week.

From a first-year mentor

“I almost did not apply because I am not good with teenagers. Nobody is good with teenagers. You just keep turning up until you are the guy who turns up.”

Kevin Osei · Mentor · Bronzeville

The form

Six minutes. Then a real reply.

This goes straight to our program director. Say which role you are curious about and roughly which nights work — the rest we can figure out on the phone.

Cannot take a weeknight?

There is more than one way to hold the door open

Event crew takes a Saturday. Giving takes a minute. Telling one reliable adult about this page takes less than that.

Give instead See what comes of it