We know that volunteering can sometimes feel like a lot of steps, but these requirements are in place to ensure a safe and positive environment for the youth we serve. Your commitment helps us protect and support children, and we truly appreciate your dedication!
Find Out if Your School is a Project Cornerstone Partner
You can do this by contacting the main office at the school, or by contacting us at 408-351-6482 or at [email protected].
Meet Your School's Volunteer Requirements
When contacting your school, be sure to understand and complete all necessary volunteer requirements set by your school.
Identify Your School Lead
Ask your school who the Project Cornerstone lead is. This person will guide you through the volunteer sign-up process be your main point of contact.
Complete the Project Cornerstone Volunteer application
After fulfilling your school's volunteer requirements, complete the Project Cornerstone volunteer application.
You will need to complete an online Assets 101 training module and confirm that you have read and understand the Code of Conduct and Volunteer policies.
You can access the Volunteer Application here.
Access Project Cornerstone Materials
Project Cornerstone Lead volunteers receive monthly trainings on each lesson from Project Cornerstone staff. The Lead will then train you on the lesson plan and prepare you for going into the classroom.
Lesson plans and related materials are available on a password-protected site. The Lead volunteer at your school will share the password with you once you have met all school and Project Cornerstone volunteer requirements.
Reach Out to Us
If your school does not currently offer Project Cornerstone programs, we'd love to help you bring our services to your community. Please contact us at [email protected] for more information.
Explore the information below and reach out to us if you have questions or need assistance. We're here to help you every step of the way.
Thank you for considering becoming a volunteer. Caring adults like you make a meaningful difference in the lives of youth!
Project Cornerstone engages with local preschools, elementary schools, and middle schools with parent engagement programs. These programs increase the number of caring adults in schools, parent engagement, and help build caring and welcoming schools. To read more thorough descriptions of these programs visit the School Based Programs page.
Each program includes mandatory training and all volunteers must meet the volunteer policies of their school and school district and YMCA Project Cornerstone. These brief descriptions explain level of commitment for each program.
The Preschool program is a 3 hour monthly commitment to attend a training, prepare, and deliver the lesson in a classroom. The program has been developed to provide introduction and early instruction to Developmental Asset Framework for parents, caregivers, teachers and students. This program features reading early childhood literature monthly to provide students with a set of skills and attitudes that promote a strong desire to learn. Lesson plans and books are in English and Spanish. Training for program volunteers is also available in both languages.
ABC is a 3 hour monthly commitment to attend a training, prepare, and deliver the lesson in a classroom. This parent engagement program has a kindergarten and elementary school strand. Volunteers are trained in the developmental assets model for positive youth development, and prepared to read a specially selected children’s book and lead related activities and discussions in classrooms each month.
Los Dichos is a 3 hour monthly commitment to attend a training, prepare, and deliver the lesson in a classroom. The program has a kindergarten and elementary strand. This program helps Spanish-speaking parents become involved in their children’s education and instill a sense of positive cultural identity. Los Dichos volunteers are trained in Spanish and read specially selected bilingual books monthly in the classroom and lead activities and discussions about topics including tolerance, family pride, peaceful conflict resolution and other important values.
Middle School Programs includes a variety of program to engage parents at the middle school level. The Middle School Social and Emotional Learning Curriculum delivers SEL lessons to middle school students and is a 3 hour monthly commitment to attend a training, prepare, and then deliver the lesson in the classroom. There are additional clubs and programs with different levels of commitment.
No, just once as a preschool/elementary/Middle School volunteer. This online module is embedded as part of the Volunteer Application.
Yes, the TIP workshop covers the developmental assets, but does not cover what it means to be a volunteer and the policies and procedures that volunteers must follow.
Each school/school district has different requirements for their volunteers. These may include fingerprinting, TB test, orientations, or other items. The school lead at each site will help volunteers to understand what volunteer requirements must be completed before they can volunteer in a classroom.