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Do I have to use the Youth Leadership or Families in Action curriculum as it is organized?

How do I go about recruiting participants for the Youth Leadership or Families in Action program?

Do I have to be in contact with mentors?

What do I do if a Friendship student isn’t meeting program requirements?

What kind of document is needed for enrollment for Youth Leadership/Families in Action?

If a student relocates to a school/community that FFC does not work with, are they still eligible?

A Friendship student recently relocated, what do I do?

How do I go about recruiting students for the Friendship program?

What are the qualifications for becoming a volunteer?

How can I become a Volunteer?

What type of volunteer opportunities does Futures for Children offer?

Do I have to use the Youth Leadership or Families in Action curriculum as it is organized?

Both curriculums are designed to be flexible and to fit the needs of the Project Coach/Facilitator. This means the curriculums can be used exactly the way they are organized or the modules can be used out of order depending on the lesson plan for the day.

Example: A Project Coach wants to focus on team building to get their students more comfortable with each other before they begin exploring individual values; in this case they can start with some activities from Module Five: Group Self-Help and then move on to Module Two: Finding your Voice: Values and Leadership at a later date.
 

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How do I go about recruiting participants for the Youth Leadership or Families in Action program?

Each Youth Leadership site or Families in Action site differs from how Project Coaches or Facilitators recruit participants. We do our best to leave it up to the volunteers and community to decide how they would like to implement Youth Leadership or the Families in Action Program. However, we do give support and ask that volunteers work with other community members to decide how to recruit students. Youth Leadership Program is incorporated in either the classroom by teachers or implemented in after-school or community youth programs. Families in Action is usually implemented within existing parent groups, such as a Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO), Parent Advisory Committee (PAC), or within the role of a Parent Liaison/Educator. However we do not limit our programs to these settings, we also support our programs outside these existing groups.
 

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Do I have to be in contact with mentors?

It is generally not expected that volunteers be in contact with mentors. Occasionally, volunteers may speak with mentors about problems that arise with their students, but it is the responsibility of the Regional Coordinators and the Mentor Assistant to be in contact with the mentors.
 

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What do I do if a Friendship student isn’t meeting program requirements?

If a student is not meeting the minimum GPA, attendance, or behavior expectations of the Friendship program, the volunteer should gather documents that show these changes in the student’s performance. Contact your Regional Coordinator and inform them of the student’s performance and provide them with documentation. The Regional Coordinator will take the documents to the Program Directors and the mentor will be informed. A decision will be made by FFC if the student will be taken off the program or allowed to continue on the condition that the situation improves.
 

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What kind of document is needed for enrollment for Youth Leadership/Families in Action?

Enrollment is very important and necessary to have in order to continue to provide FFC programs and resources to the communities. Regional Coordinators have enrollment forms that can be mailed, faxed, or delivered to you. However, we also accept copies of an attendance sheet or sign-in sheet for our records. No personal information will be shared; all enrollment documents are used to count the number of participants involved in FFC programs and then filed for our records.
 

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If a student relocates to a school/community that FFC does not work with, are they still eligible?

Possibly. The student’s Regional Coordinator will assess the student’s mentorship by contacting the student and their mentor. The Regional Coordinator will check into both parties to see how the mentorship is progressing, if communication happens regularly and if the student is following the program requirements, the mentorship is strong and the student and their family agree with following up with program requirements without the help of a community volunteer, then FFC will keep the mentorship active. However, if the mentorship does not seem strong and the program requirements are not being fulfilled, then the student’s participation will end and the mentor will be encouraged to transfer to a new student. This is why it is important for the student(s) and their families to contact FFC if they relocate, so we can try to work with them to keep them on the program.


 

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A Friendship student recently relocated, what do I do?

Please contact your Regional Coordinator immediately to notify them of the student that relocated. If possible, please let the student and the family know they need to contact FFC as soon as possible. Please let FFC know where the student is now attending school and provide current contact information. It is important for us to know where the student is attending school; it helps keep mentors informed as well.
 

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How do I go about recruiting students for the Friendship program?

Each Friendship site differs from how volunteers recruit students. We leave it up to volunteers to decide how they would like to run the Friendship/Mentorship program. We support and encourage communication between all volunteers by encouraging volunteers to work with other community members on how to decide to recruit. For example, some volunteers work with teachers within their community to recommend particular students for the program; others use the program as an incentive, if students are well behaved and are working hard in school, a volunteer might reward them by allowing them to apply to the program. Other volunteers have open recruitment and advertise to the whole community about the program.
 

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What are the qualifications for becoming a volunteer?

Each volunteer must receive FFC training for the program they will be overseeing. Each volunteer has specific requirements and tasks to fulfill, these are defined during the time of training. In addition, a volunteer must live and/or work in our current service area.
 

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How can I become a Volunteer?

To become a volunteer you must live and/or work in our current service area. Please contact Futures for Children for more information about becoming a volunteer.
 

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What type of volunteer opportunities does Futures for Children offer?

Currently, FFC only offers volunteer opportunities for people who live and/or work in our service area, which includes various tribal communities throughout New Mexico and Arizona. Volunteers implement and lead FFC programming within their community. The three types of volunteers are: Friendship Volunteers, Youth Leadership Project Coaches, and Families in Action Facilitators. Friendship Volunteers work with our Friendship/Mentorship Program within the community they serve overseeing the students who participate in the program. Project Coaches work with our Youth Leadership Program where they implement FFC Youth Leadership curriculum with their students to help guide their group in understanding their role as leaders in their community. Facilitators work with our Families in Action Program, they work with adults in their communities, including parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and many more extended family members to support their children’s education.
 

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