Keiki Outreach Initiative
Operating Manual
Atherton YMCA
1810 University Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii, 96822
Volunteer Coordinator:
Nhi Quach
Email: koi@ymcahonolulu.org
DATE SINCE LAST REVISION: 11 JANUARY 2016
Contents
I.
Keiki Outreach Initiative: Operating Manual ........................................................ 3
Summary .......................................................................................................................................... 3
Population Served ............................................................................................................................ 3
Collaborators.................................................................................................................................... 3
Mission ............................................................................................................................................. 3
Vision................................................................................................................................................ 4
Specific Objectives ........................................................................................................................... 4
Core Values: ..................................................................................................................................... 4
Saturday Activities ........................................................................................................................... 5
Description of Activities ................................................................................................................... 6
Planning Sessions ............................................................................................................................. 6
Breakfasts......................................................................................................................................... 6
Safe Food Handling .......................................................................................................................... 8
Food Allergies................................................................................................................................... 8
Excursions ........................................................................................................................................ 9
Health supplies................................................................................................................................. 9
Fundraising..................................................................................................................................... 10
Student Roles and Leadership ....................................................................................................... 11
Recruitment ................................................................................................................................... 11
Informational/Training Sessions for Volunteers ............................................................................ 12
Other Trainings: ............................................................................................................................. 12
Training for New Leaders ............................................................................................................... 13
Community Surveys ....................................................................................................................... 13
Methods for communication ......................................................................................................... 13
Appendix A: Activity Sheet Template ............................................................................................ 14
Appendix B: Breakfast Sheet.......................................................................................................... 15
Appendix C: Recruitment E-mail .................................................................................................... 16
Appendix D: Sign-up Sheet............................................................................................................. 17
Appendix E: Informational E-mail / Training Session Followup Email ......................................................................................................................................... 18
Appendix F: Community Survey ..................................................................................................... 19
Keiki Outreach Initiative: Operating Manual
Summary
The Keiki Outreach Initiative (KOI) is a community service program founded and
operated by students and provides educational outreach and health supplies to the homeless
children living in the Next Step Shelter. Under the supervision and mentorship of the Atherton
and Nu`uanu YMCA management team, college students plan and facilitate educational
activities for the Next Step keiki and donate health supplies to promote their wellbeing.
Educational outreach are in the form of fun and interactive activities focused on health,
academics, and personal growth. The activities uses games and props designed by the KOI
student leaders. KOI volunteers fundraise through grant writing and the YMCA Annual Support
Campaign to purchase health supplies (e.g., floss and toothbrushes) that promote our health
objectives (e.g., proper nutrition and sanitation).
Population Served
We provide outreach to homeless keiki from the Next Step Shelter, who are generally
elementary and middle schoolers between the ages of 5 and 12. For the most part, the children
we serve are from underrepresented and disadvantaged ethic groups, which may be more likely
to be experiencing social, financial, and health issues at home.
Collaborators
KOI is sponsored by the Atherton YMCA and is currently working together with the
Nu`uanu YMCA and the Next Step Shelter. The Next Step Shelter operates in the Kaka`ako area
and is managed by the Waikiki Health Center. The following website link provides more
information on the Next Step Shelter: http://waikikihc.org/locations/nextstep/. Every Saturday
morning, YMCA staff transport children from the Next Step shelter to the Nu`uanu YMCA for
free swim lessons. KOI volunteers facilitate activities with the children on the 1st Saturday of
every month, after children receive their swim lessons. (We expect to increase the frequency
of our service as our program grows.)
Mission
To make a notable contribution to the personal wellbeing and success of Hawaii’s
homeless keiki.
Vision
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To build a team of 20 or more dedicated young leaders that facilitate activities with the
Next Step Keiki at least once a week.
To develop the KOI into a completely self-sufficient and self-perpetuating program. To
eventually develop KOI into a not-for-profit organization.
Specific Objectives
The objectives of KOI are listed below. This is a tentative list and objectives are
constantly revised to reflect the needs of the community:
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Promote health and wellbeing for Hawaii’s homeless keiki. For example,
o Hygiene and Sanitation, while not going overboard with sanitation as per the
hygiene hypothesis
 Help homeless keiki develop and understand good hygiene and sanitation
habits
 Provide homeless keiki with tools to maintain their personal hygiene and
sanitation
o Proper nutrition
 Help the homeless keiki develop and understand good nutritional habits
 Provide homeless keiki with foods and drinks for well-nourished bodies
and proper development
o Mental Health
 Help children maintain good mental health through personally enriching
experiences and social support
Promote academic achievement for Hawaii’s homeless keiki
o Provide academic enrichment activities that are appropriate for the children’s
grade level. Subjects include: English, Math, and Science.
Provide opportunities for personal growth. For example,
o Teach essential interpersonal skills
o Convey the YMCA core values of Caring, Honesty, Respect, and Responsibility
o Inspire children to think about their futures
Build mentorship relationships between homeless children and our volunteers
Core Values:
As a YMCA sponsored program, we share its ideals and strive to incorporate its core
values into all of our service endeavors:
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Caring: To demonstrate a sincere concern for others, for their needs and well-being
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Honesty: To tell the truth, to demonstrate reliability and trustworthiness through
actions that are in keeping with my stated positions and beliefs
Respect: To treat others as I would want them to treat me, to value the worth of every
person, including myself
Responsibility: to do what is right—what I ought to do, to be accountable for my choices
of behavior and actions and my promises
A core value not included as a YMCA core value, but will be absolutely essential for our
program is patience! The children living at the Next Step Shelter are often not familiar with our
social norms, and may be a bit rambunctious. Be very, very patient under all circumstances. Be
prepared to be firm when enforcing rules and good behavior, without losing your temper.
Saturday Activities
Currently, KOI volunteers will meet the first Saturday morning of every month to have
breakfast with the children and facilitate activities. (In the future, we hope to meet every
Saturday.) About 5-8 students will be present for every volunteer session. At least one student
leader familiar with the day’s activities should be present. Below is the general timeline for
each session:
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Further in advance: reminder e-mails are sent to the volunteers
Previous day: activities coordinator makes sure that materials for breakfast and
activities are prepared and is located at the Atherton YMCA. All purchased materials are
reimbursed by the Atherton YMCA by giving the receipt to the Atherton YMCA front
desk staff.
8:00 AM: Volunteers who needs rides from UH Manoa meets at the Atherton YMCA.
The materials for this day are placed into our mode of transport (bus or car pool).
8:30 AM: All volunteers arrive at the Nu`uanu YMCA.
8:30 – 8:40 AM (10 minutes): The team leader for this day goes through each of the
activities for that day and discusses all other important points for that day
8:40 – 9:15 AM (35 minutes): One team sets up the room for activities and another team
goes to pick up children
9:15 - 9:35 AM (20 minutes): Each volunteer picks one or two children to spend time
with the entire day. This is really important! They can be really tough to manage
without proper supervision. The team makes and eat breakfast with the kids. One
person does an interactive educational session where they ask children what they know
about the ingredients and explain its special qualities. This person should be prepared
with a good spiel.
9:35 - 9:50 AM (15 minutes): health activity and pass out health supplies
9:50 - 10:05 AM (15 minutes): academic activity
10:05 – 10:20 AM (15 minutes): personal growth activity
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10:20-11:00 AM (40 minutes): fun games, free-time, bonding
11:00 AM – 11:30 AM: Some volunteers go on bus to take children back to Next Step.
Participation is recorded in the excel document, Service Log, which can be found in
Google Drive >> Keiki Outreach Initiative.
Description of Activities
All learning objectives are conveyed through games and interactive activities, to ensure
that we can keep the attention of the children. Each volunteer uses simple language to make
sure that children can understand the lesson. To keep children excited for our activities, we will
often try to incorporate something that the child can make and take home with them. Each
activity we have planned are described in our “Activity Sheets,” which explain the learning
objectives of the activity, materials needed, and methods on running the activity (see folder
titled “Activity Sheets” for previously planned activity; see Appendix A for a template)
Planning Sessions
Volunteers meet on the third Saturday of every month to plan activities for the coming
month. The leadership team should attend each planning session while other volunteers are
encouraged to attend. The planning sessions are facilitated by the Activities Coordinator. The
general structure of the planning session is:
1. 20 minutes: brainstorm specific learning objectives educational, health, and personal
growth activities.
2. 20 minutes: brainstorm potential activities that best fulfill the learning objectives and
pick the best ideas for each learning objective. Also think about breakfast and fun
activities.
3. 20 minutes: complete the activity sheet for each selected activity and put it into the our
Google Drive folder (see Appendix A for the template; all completed activity sheets go
into the “Google Drive >> Keiki Outreach Initiative >> Activity Sheets” folder
Breakfasts
At the beginning of every Saturday activity, we work with the homeless keiki to prepare
a healthy breakfast. Every breakfast that we have prepared is described with a “Breakfast Info
Sheet,” which can be found in Google Drive >> Keiki Outreach Initiative >> Breakfast Info
Sheets. See Appendix B for a copy of the Breakfast Info Sheets. Our definition of healthy
breakfasts are based on the Healthy Eating and Physical Activity (HEPA) standards. Please refer
to the document “Health Eating and Physical Activities (HEPA) Standards” in the folder “Google
Drive >> Keiki Outreach Initiative” for the complete details. Below are the main guidelines from
the HEPA standards:
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Ensure that water and unflavored low-fat or nonfat milk is available family style at every
meal
Children serve themselves all food and beverages from common bowls and pitchers
with limited help
Staff and volunteers sits with children during snacks and meals
Provide fruits and vegetables at every meal
No fried foods
No foods with trans fat
Offer only whole grains
Provide foods that don’t list sugar as one of the first three ingredients or contain less
than 8 grams of added sugar per serving
YMCA staff and volunteers are to model healthy eating behaviors at all times, including
eating the same foods and beverages as children during meals. Staff and volunteers
should not consume food inconsistent with HEPA standards
Meals should contain items from each of the four groups below:
Safe Food Handling
Please refer to pages 5 through 13 of the “Health Eating and Physical Activities (HEPA)
Standards” document in the folder “Google Drive >> Keiki Outreach Initiative.” We follow these
standards to the best of our abilities.
Food Allergies
Please refer to the following website for information on event planning and allergy
awareness: http://www.aaaai.org/conditions-and-treatments/library/allergy-library/eventplanning-food-allergy.aspx. Our protocols for handling food allergies is as follows …
Excursions
The structure of these are to be decided. These excursions are designed to promote
mental wellbeing for the homeless children, provide opportunities for personal development,
and to build bonds between the homeless children and our volunteers. An example of a
possible excursions is to take the children to the local lo`i to volunteer. It would be ideal to
facilitate excursions about once or twice a year. Excursions are organized by our Activities
Coordinator and interested volunteers. Below is a general outline of the process for planning
excursions:
1. The Activities Coordinator recruits KOI volunteers that are interested in facilitating an
excursion
2. Have team meeting to brainstorm ideas and critically discuss objectives and purpose
3. Contact the location for the excursion, request their help, and discuss the details of the
excursion (introduce KOI if necessary and talk about time, date, number of people, etc)
4. Go visit Next Step to recruit children and their family along with get appropriate forms
completed
5. Prepare anything necessary for the excursion
6. Pick up the children from the Next Step shelter
7. Have the excursion
8. Return the children to the Next Step shelter
Health supplies
Health supplies will be purchased as needed (approximately once every few months).
All money used to purchase health supplies will be reimbursed by the Atherton YMCA. The
inventory and purchases of our health supplies should be managed by the Activities
Coordinator. Our inventory will be kept in the Program Director’s office. The health supplies
that we will purchase and provide are listed below. Note that this is also a tentative list and will
change according to the needs of the community.
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Tooth brush
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Tooth paste
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Dental floss
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Hand sanitizer
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Anti-bacterial hand soap
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Shampoo and body wash
Fundraising
To gather funds for our health supplies, activities props, and healthy breakfasts, we
fundraise using two main tools: (1) the YMCA Annual Support Campaign and (2) grant writing.
Staff and volunteers are encouraged to help gather donations from members in the community
during the YMCA Annual Support campaign. Usually, one of the Atherton YMCA volunteers
coordinates the Annual Support Campaign. Below, is our general process for supporting the
Annual Support Campaign:
1. The KOI Fundraising Coordinator meets with the Annual Support Campaign coordinator
along with key leaders to discuss novel ways that KOI volunteers can help maximize the
ASC fundraising efforts (for example, 2x10 cold calling marathon [2 days of 10 hour cold
calling])
2. The KOI Fundraising Coordinator recruits KOI volunteers to:
o Fundraise the normal way by creating an account and requesting for donations
o Take part in our contrived novel method that can possibly generate large funds
3. The KOI Fundraising Coordinator follows up with our volunteers on regular intervals
Moreover, we plan to apply for grants during the winter and/or summer breaks
(depending on the need for funding). For each grant, we will put together a team of 3-4
volunteers. Our ongoing list of target organizations are:
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Hawai`i Dental Service
…
The general process for organizing our grant writing is described below. Our grant writing
efforts will be led by our Fund Raising Coordinator.
1. Meet with the Atherton YMCA Executive Director and Program Director to learn about
grant writing, get some examples of grant proposals, do some Q&A, discuss our
strategy, and choose some grants to apply to.
2. Research the grant proposal requirements for the specific organizations
3. Meet with all KOI student leaders and the Atherton YMCA Student Board and present
the strategy and grant proposal requirements. We will recruit all of the Atherton YMCA
Student Board to help with proposal writing.
4. Recruit some of our own volunteers through an e-mail and/or text
5. Split people up into teams and update everyone on their roles. Might have to call
around or meet in person.
6. Set certain deadlines for the grant proposals and make sure everyone is on track. Might
have to call around, e-mail, or meet in person
7. Proof read and revise everyone's writing.
8. Submit and wait
Student Roles and Leadership
Volunteers (Mentors): We refer to all of our volunteers as mentors, because of the special
mentor-mentee relationship that we try to build with the homeless keiki in Hawai`i. Our
mentors serve homeless children in Hawai`i by: (1) engaging them in interactive activities that
promote good health, academic success, and personal growth, (2) helping to brainstorm
learning outcomes and activities that most efficaciously fulfills our objectives, and (3)
fundraising to ensure access to healthy breakfasts and health supplies to our participants.
Volunteer Coordinator: This volunteer is responsible for communicating with and organizing
our volunteers. Their duties include, but are not limited to: (1) scheduling service events, (2)
communicating with volunteers regarding service events and general updates, (3) reporting to
the Atherton YMCA student board, (4) recruiting volunteers and student leaders, (5) facilitating
the informational and training sessions, (6) collecting required volunteer paperwork, and (7)
ensuring that volunteers complete required child abuse prevention training.
Activities Coordinator: This volunteer is responsible for organizing our outreach activities. Their
duties include, but are not limited to: (1) facilitating planning sessions for the activities, (2)
creating the activity sheets that outlines the details of each activity, (3) preparing all of the
materials needed for activity days (all purchases will be reimbursed), and (4) facilitating our
Saturday service sessions and potentially our excursions.
Fundraising Coordinator: This volunteer is responsible for communicating and overseeing our
fundraising activities. This includes conveying important updates on the YMCA Annual Support
Campaign and leading the grant writing teams.
Recruitment
We take applications from volunteers year round. We also send informational e-mails
about our program to student organizations throughout colleges in Hawai`i. Recruitment emails are sent out at the beginning of every academic semester. Student leaders are recruited
as positions become available. See Appendix C for recruitment e-mail templates. Our
Recruitment Flyer can be found in the folder Google Drive >> Keiki Outreach Initiative. Our
main strategy for recruitment is to mass e-mail (1) the chairs of specific academic departments
and (2) university clubs and organizations. We aim for students that are most likely to be
interested in health, teaching, and outreach. Below are some of the links that we have used to
access contact information on student organizations:
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http://www.manoa.hawaii.edu/studentlife/studentorg/rio.php
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http://manoa.hawaii.edu/academics/departments.html
Informational/Training Sessions for Volunteers
We schedule two informational sessions approximately two weeks after our initial
recruitment e-mail. Our informational session also serves as a training session to orient new
volunteers to our organization. (We also do informational sessions or meetings with volunteers
that come in in mid-semester.) Below is a list of items we cover in the information sessions:
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Overview of the YMCA
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A presentation on homelessness in Hawaii and KOI
o Statistics that describe the homeless population in Hawai`i
o Inspirational moments from KOI
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Overview of KKP
o Briefly summarize this document
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Discussion of volunteer paper work and training
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Discussion of time commitment expectations
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Provide a sign-up sheet, to recruit interested volunteers and leaders
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Discuss upcoming dates
To receive an application and sign-up for continued information, the interested student can
sign our sign-up sheet (see Appendix D). Our volunteer coordinator maintains our volunteer list
(see Google Drive >> Keiki Outreach Initiative >> Volunteer Listing). After the
informational/training session, volunteers receive a follow-up email (Appendix E).
Other Trainings:
Volunteers generally learn their roles while in the field. To supplement our volunteer’s
learning, we suggest volunteers to attend the trainings listed below. We will inform our
volunteers as these trainings become available. Leaders of KKP can inquire with the current
Chair of Hawai`i Public Health Training Hui to be added to the list serve for community training
events.
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SafeTalk (suicide intervention training)
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Homeless Veteran’s Services in Hawai`i (an annual presentation by Veterans’ Affairs)
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Motivational interviewing
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Etc
Training for New Leaders
New KOI leaders should have attended an information session and participated in both
the Planning Sessions and Saturday Activities. First, to familiarize the new leader with their
duties and responsibilities, they have a short informal meeting with a current KOI leader, who
goes over the details of each duty (as listed above) and answers any questions. Then, current
KOI leaders provide guidance for new leaders as they adjust to their roles by sending reminders,
whenever necessary, and participating in and providing feedback to activities that they are
organizing.
Community Surveys
In order to gauge our impact to the community along with assessing the needs of the
community, we will survey the families at Kaka`ako regularly. See Appendix F for our
community survey.
Methods for communication
We communicate with our volunteers using two methods. First, we always e-mail our volunteers about
events, reminders, and updates using our email: koi@ymcahonolulu.edu. Second, volunteers can learn about our
program and keep track of current events using our website: [website link]. At minimum, our website should
always have the following information
1.
A brief summary of our program and a reference to our flyer and operating manual
2.
A small number of pictures from KOI activities
3.
A brief inspirational nugget
4.
A section for announcements
5.
A calendar
6.
Instructions on how to apply
1.
State that we take applications year round
2.
State other recruitment policies
3.
State that applicants should read the flyer and operating manual first to see if this program is
right for them (have links to the flyer and operating manual on the website)
4.
Prospective volunteers should fill in the application forms (have links to all of the forms on the
website)
5.
Prospective volunteers should scan the application forms and send it to our Volunteer
Coordinator (provide contact information, including name and email (koi@ymcahonolulu.org))
with a brief statement of interest
6.
Other important information, if any
Appendix A: Activity Sheet Template
Keiki Outreach Initiative
Activity Name:
Learning Objective:
Materials Needed:
Methods:
Appendix B: Breakfast Sheet
Keiki Outreach Initiative
Breakfast Name:
Kitchenware:
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Appendix C: Recruitment E-mail
Aloha [Organization/contact name],
My name is [Volunteer Coordinator’s name] and I am the Volunteer Coordinator of the Keiki
Outreach Initiative, a student-run organization supported by the Atherton YMCA. At the
beginning of every academic semester, we look for enthusiastic college students to be
volunteers and leaders for our program. We would be grateful if you can forward this e-mail,
which contains information about the Keiki Outreach Initiative, to members of [organization
name]. Attached to this e-mail is flyer with a brief summary of our program. Please feel free to
also visit our website for more information: [website link].
In addition to providing the opportunity to serve the homeless population as volunteers, we
also offer the opportunity for students to take rewarding leadership positions. We have three
student leaders that entirely organize the outreach activities of KOI. Our Activities Coordinator
plans and coordinates the activities with the Next Step children. The Volunteer Coordinator
organizes our team of volunteers. Our Fundraising Coordinator helps with the Atherton YMCA
Annual Support Campaign and organizes our grant writing teams.
Our next informational session is on [time/date] at [location]. Please feel free to contact me at
koi@ymcahonolulu.org for more information. We look forward to seeing you at the
informational session!
[Include some pictures]
Mahalo,
[Volunteer’ Coordinators Name]
Volunteer Coordinator
Keiki Outreach Initiative
Atherton YMCA
Name
E-mail address
Kaka`ako Keiki Project
Phone number
What aspect of the program are you
most interested in helping with?
Appendix D: Sign-up Sheet
Appendix E: Informational E-mail / Training Session Follow-up Email
Hi KOI Volunteers,
Thank you very much for taking the time to attend our informational/training session! As we
mentioned during the session, in order to be volunteer with KOI, you need to complete some
application forms. Attached to this e-mail are the application forms that you must complete
before volunteering with KOI. Please complete these forms and e-mail me the scanned, signed
applications. Also, you will soon be receiving an email from [Person’s name] regarding the
YMCA child abuse prevention training. Please complete this online training as soon as possible.
You will need to have this training completed before you interact with any of the children. We
also attached to this e-mail a copy of the operations manual so that you may become better
acquainted with how our program works. As a reminder, our next events will be [Event name
and time].
Looking forward to seeing you soon,
[Volunteer coordinator’s name]
Volunteer Coordinator
Keiki Outreach Initiative
Atherton YMCA
Appendix F: Community Survey
To be developed