Volunteer Resources

Are you a STARS volunteer or just thinking about becoming one? Below we have included links to resources that can help you become a successful STARS volunteer. Whether you are interested in tutoring or mentoring Job Corps students, or inspiring them by sharing your own success story, we hope these resources will answer your questions.

If you know of any other useful resources that you think should be cited here, please share them with your STARS Coordinator.

Tutoring Resources

Tutoring Resources—General (listed in alphabetical order)

• Crossroads of Learning. This website offers several free tutoring resources, including real-time chats with other tutors, filesharing, and “Town Hall” meetings on topics of interest to tutors. (User registration required for access to these features.)  http://crossroadsoflearning.com/

• Developing Instructional Skills.  Project PARA at the University of Nebraska has posted a helpful unit on developing instructional skills for academic tutors. It contains practical suggestions for developing and delivering a tutoring session, examples of tutoring plans, and sample evaluation forms. http://para.unl.edu/para/Instruction/Intro.html

• Effective Practices Collection.  This site, administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, contains short articles offering practical suggestions for tutors, as well as strategies for establishing and maintaining successful tutoring programs. [Search effective practices for 'tutoring.'] http://www.nationalserviceresources.org/

• Fresno Reads. California State University, Fresno, has developed the Fresno Reading Enrichment and Academic Development through Service program. Although much of the information on the website is specific to the Fresno Reads program, it also includes general tips that new tutors and mentors may find useful. http://www.csufresno.edu/scs/reads/

• National Tutoring Association (NTA). The NTA is the primary certifying organization for both volunteer and professional tutors. Learn about the organization’s goals and opportunities for membership. http://www.ntatutor.org/

• Tutoring Strategies. The Writing Center at Lynchburg College (Virginia) has posted guides for successful tutoring, including working with student with learning disabilities and English as Second Language students. While the site is intended for college-level tutors, it contains good, practical information of benefit to tutors at any academic level. http://www.lynchburg.edu/x2377.xml

• Tutor Tip Archive. The Minnesota Literacy Council has posted this archive with many practical and engaging tutoring activities for young adult learners. http://www.themlc.org/Tutor_Tips.html

• Tutor Training Guidebook: Twenty-five Pointers for Tutors. The Tutoring Center at Fitchburg State College (Massachusetts) has reproduced these helpful pointers from the book Tutoring Matters: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About How to Tutor, by Jerome Rabow, Tiffani Chin and Nima Fahimian. http://www.fsc.edu/tutoring/tutorguidebook/pointers.htm

Tutoring Resources—English/Reading

Tutors teaching reading and literacy skills to STARS students can follow these links to find engaging ideas and activities: 

• Guide to Grammar and Writing. This site, created by Capital Community College (Connecticut), includes activities for learning grammar, types of sentence construction, and parts of speech. http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/

• LEO: Literacy Education Online. Created by the writing center at St. Cloud State University (Minnesota), this website offers lots of useful advice for tutoring students in writing skills. http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/index.html

• Skillswise. This website, created and maintained by the BBC, features activities and games that tutors can use to teach literacy and reading skills. http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/

Tutoring Resources—Math

Tutors teaching math skills to STARS students can find fresh ideas and activities by following these links:

• Coolmath. Builled as an "amusement park of math," Coolmath offers many fun resources for teaching math skills. http://www.coolmath.com/

• Math.com. This site is filled with engaging activities for teaching basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division skills, as well as more advanced math concepts. http://www.math.com/

• Mathematics Interactivities. On this website you can find many interactive math games and number puzzles to share with students.http://mathematics.hellam.net/

• Purplemath. This site is filled with explanations of math concepts that may be helpful to students with intermediate and advanced math skills. http://www.purplemath.com/modules/index.htm

• Skillswise. This site, created by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), provides many activities for teaching both literacy and math skills. http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/

Mentoring Resources

• Effective Practices Collection. This site, administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, contains short articles that offer practical suggestions for mentors, as well as strategies for establishing and maintaining successful mentoring programs. [Search effective practices for 'mentoring.'] http://www.nationalserviceresources.org/

• Mentoring.org.  Established by two philanthropists in 1990, the mentoring.org web site provides a good introduction for prospective mentors. Learn about what it means to become a mentor and the concerns typically expressed by new mentors.   http://www.mentoring.org/mentors/

• National Mentoring Center. Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory's (NWREL) National Mentoring Center brings together resources for mentors as well as mentoring program administrators. http://www.nwrel.org/mentoring/index.php

• So You Want to be a Mentor. This presentation from North Dakota State University provides a good general introduction to the roles, responsibilities, and rewards of mentoring. [Note: On the Collaborative for Mathematics and Engineering Scholarships (CoMES) page, click the Mentoring link.] http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/comes/res-links.html

Speaking Resources

• Suggested Topics for Job Corps students. http://jccdrc.jobcorps.gov/STARS/resources/resources_speaker#2

• Allyn & Bacon Public Speaking Website. This site features detailed modules for planning and preparing speeches and presentations, from audience assessment to delivery. http://wps.ablongman.com/ab_public_speaking_2

• Strategies to Succeed in Public Speaking. Practical strategies for public speaking are provided in this site, courtesy of School for Champions. http://www.school-for-champions.com/speaking.htm#Deliver

• Ten Tips for Successful Public Speaking. The Toastmasters have helped countless individuals sharpen their public speaking skills. These ten tips serve as a quick guide to planning and delivering a successful talk. http://www.toastmasters.org/tips.asp

Volunteer Program Management Resources

Below is a list of resource links for volunteer program managers and coordinators.  

• Association of Volunteer Resources Management. This organization was created to represent managers and administrators who work in the volunteer resources management profession. http://www.avrm.org

• Charity Channel. The Charity Channel connects you with nonprofit colleagues nationally and internationally. It contains forums, newsletters, and other resources of interest to volunteers everywhere. http://www.charitychannel.com

• Energize, Inc. You’ll find lots of inspiration and ideas in this site created for leaders of volunteers. http://www.energizeinc.com

• Idealist. This website is loaded with resources that will be valuable to coordinators nationwide, including opportunities for recruiting volunteers. 

• Points of Light Foundation. This organization functions as a hub for the volunteer center national network and includes a searchable national directory of volunteer centers. http://www.pointsoflight.org

• Service Leader. Service Leader is an excellent resource for both new and experienced volunteers. It provides plenty of useful and practical advice for every facet of volunteering. http://www.serviceleader.org

• Volunteer Today. This free site provides new articles each month on topics that volunteer program managers face every day. http://www.volunteertoday.com

Volunteer Recruitment Resources

Resources for recruiting volunteers are everywhere. Here are just a few that you might explore, although no online resource is as effective as establishing face-to-face relationships with organizations within your immediate community.

• 1-800-volunteer. This site calls itself “America’s address for volunteering,” with options for recruiting volunteers. http://www.1-800-volunteer.org.

• Craigslist.org. You can search for local volunteers through this site. Many cities now have their own local Craigslist pages. http://www.craigslist.org

• Volunteer Match. Agencies in need of volunteers can post their needs on this site. http://www.volunteermatch.org