PRESS RELEASE
January 4, 2012
For Immediate Release:
ALL Towns
Contact:
Ruth Provost (508) 477-8845
Volunteer Opportunities
at the Boys & Girls Club of Cape Cod
Did your New Year’s Resolution include getting out more or making a difference in the local
community? Then the Boys & Girls Club of Cape Cod has a volunteer position for you! No
matter what your interests or available time, there is something for you do to do at the Boys
& Girls Club that helps 999 Cape Cod children and teens succeed and leaves you feeling great
about having made a difference in their lives!
The Boys & Girls Club of Cape Cod provides after school and summer programs for 999
children and teens, ages 6-18, from 2-8 pm on Monday to Friday during the school year, and
all day in the summer, and is open to any child who lives in Barnstable County. Membership
for the school year is only $50 and summer camp is on a weekly fee-basis with scholarships
available. All military kids have the $50 membership fee waived and they automatically take
$100 off of their summer camp tuition.
There’s a place for volunteers in every program area of the Club, short or long term. The
Club runs an Education Program that includes homework help, free individual tutoring and
extra credit projects, sports and fitness activities, sports leagues, art programs, journalism
programs, drama, and music programs. They also run a full teen program that includes most
of the same programs and volunteer needs, but also need referees and coaches for their high
school basketball league, and folks from different career fields to come in and talk to the
teens about their work to try to show teens the concrete financial benefits of staying in
school.
The Club’s Volunteer & Mentoring Opportunities are listed below by program area. If you
have an interest or skill outside of these areas, call the Club at 508-477-8845 to them know
and they will try to tailor a volunteer opportunity to fit. Information and volunteer forms are
available at the Club’s website: www.BoysGirlsClubCapeCod.org
Education Program:
 Homework Helpers 2:30-4:30pm on Monday to Thursday to help kids with
homework assignments, check work, help explain assignments, and help kids access
resource materials
 Tutors in Math, English, and Social Studies for grades 1-3, 4-7 and 9-12. 2-4:30 M-F
 Computer Helper: Assist kids in accessing computer programs, help kids find
interesting computer activities, and help with basic keyboarding skills.
 Reader/Story time Helper: Read to kids, let the kids read to you, or read a story with
a group of children.
 People to come in and talk with the kids about their jobs, and the education and
skills needed to hold them.
 People who can demonstrate scientific principals in chemistry or physics for small
groups.
 People who can teach a skill or run a program for one hour a week for 8 consecutive
weeks.
 People to teach 8-10 kids how to make a healthy snack or meal.
Recreation Programs:

Games Room Helper: Play pool, ping pong, board games, bumper pool, chess,
checkers, Monopoly, etc. Volunteers are especially helpful in playing games with
children who need one-on-one attention. Our kids like any board game that you
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Gym:
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want to play with them!! Any day, M-F, 2:30 to 5:30 pm whenever you have a free hour.
Gym Helper: Assist staff in running indoor or outdoor sports and group games.
Coaches for sports leagues: Grades 3-6 Floor Hockey, Flag Football, Handball & Dodgeball.
High School Boys Basketball Coaches – Tuesdays and Thursday evenings 6:30- 8 pm. January- March.
High School Boys Basketball Referees (Winter only)
Arts & Music
 Someone to teach guitar lessons (they have 10 guitars, but need a teacher!)
 Someone to play a keyboard and run a choral group so the kids can sing & learn songs!
 Drama coaches for small groups of 8-12 children.
 Artists to demonstrate and teach small groups about using different media.
 Crafts people to teach scrap-booking, knitting, crochet, knot tying, or other skills.
 Someone to teach a dance class.
Other:
 Front Desk Helper: Help sign children in and out of the Club, answer phones, help parents waiting to
pick-up their children, keep the coat closet organized, hand out membership forms and parent
information.
 Beauticians who can show the teens how to do manicures or how to choose the right colors or
makeup for their skin type and coloring.
 Someone who can teach the teens the basics of car maintenance – changing a tire, replacing a
windshield wiper, or even how to change the oil, although they would need to go somewhere that
can be done safely.
 Someone who can run a bird watching program on our property.
In the Summer:
 Police, MPs, or anyone in law enforcement to spend ½ day a week playing Quickball with the kids for
9 weeks the end of June to August.
 Read, do a craft project with the kids, or play board games by arrangement with the Head
Counselors.
Help in maintaining the property:
 Landscape and weeding (there is always weeding needed!)
 They really need someone to plow their parking lot after it snows!
 Computer repair
 Plumbing (License required).
 Carpentry
 Painting
 Someone with a lift or bucket truck to replace burnt out light bulbs outside and in the parking lot and
to replace the lights in our sign.
 Electrical work (License required).
Office Help:
 Data input on a computer. They always need information entered into their databases!
 Assist with mailings, correspondence, etc. (office jack-of-all-trades); Help us keep the place running!
They need information folders stuffed, they need notices to the schools copied, they can use a hand
laminating membership cards, and whatever else needs doing during a given week!
Help With Fundraising
This is how they keep the doors open and the lights on for those 999 kids! The Club is funded privately and
always need help raising money!
You can help with their special events – they really need folks willing to either go out and ask for donations
for the auctions or who can sit and sell raffle or event tickets outside the supermarkets! Needless to say,
they want you to come to their events and bring your friends!
 Annual Dinner Meeting & Silent Auction at the Coonamessett Inn in May.
 Party at the Poppy, in June at the Popponesset Inn, New Seabury. They need help in getting sponsors
for the event and donations for the auction!
 Golf Tournament & Auction with Susan Wornick, in August at the New Seabury Country Club – help is
needed in getting sponsors and donations for the auctions.
 They would like to add another event in October, but need a volunteer, or group of volunteers, to
organize and run it! Pancake Breakfast? Casino Night? Mini-Golf Tournament? Ideas?
High School Community Service: The Club is the ideal place to complete a community service or senior
project. Call the Club to discuss your idea. As an example, students could help organize, run, track and
evaluate a weekly program, host a talent show, or run a spaghetti dinner for the kids and their parents.
The Club provides volunteers with an orientation, training, and a volunteer manual, so they get lots of
support in helping the kids and the Club! Volunteers can assist at the Boys & Girls Club of Cape Cod in 3
ways:
1. Short Term: Volunteers participate only briefly for a special event or in a limited role under the direct
supervision of professional staff. This group includes the people involved in special events and community
service projects in the Club. Short Term Boys & Girls Club of Cape Cod volunteers who are not working
directly with children must: Complete an interview with Club Program Director; Submit an application –
available on line at the Club’s web site; Attend an orientation on the organization; and sign an agreement
form verifying that they understand procedures and what is expected of them.
2. Sustaining Program Support or Long Term: Volunteers make a commitment during the school year,
donating time and energy on a regular scheduled basis in the program areas that most appeal to them,
working with the children. Long Term Boys & Girls Club of Cape Cod volunteer staff or any volunteer working
directly with children must: meet the same requirements as short term volunteers; have a criminal
background check completed with no issues (the forms are available on the Club’s web site); have observed
the Club’s programs for at least one hour on 2 days prior to being given a permanent volunteer position to
ensure that it is a good fit for both the volunteer and the club; be at least 16 years old.
3. Unregistered Volunteers: This group of volunteers includes large groups of people involved in providing a
service at the Club when children are not present. Examples would be school youth groups that perform
one-time activities for the Club or corporate employees doing community service, like that organized by the
United Way. No orientation or background check is needed.
“Our budget has been severely curtailed these past few years and we depend on volunteers to help us
provide our kids with tutoring, coaching, and enrichment that they wouldn’t otherwise get,” said Ruth
Provost, the Club’s Executive Director “ We have volunteer opportunities that are suitable for almost
everyone,” she added, “but potential volunteers need to know that we put our children’s safety first and that
every volunteer who works with children must authorize a criminal history check with the appropriate law
enforcement agencies. We assume all expenses related doing the background checks, and the results of are
reviewed and must be clear of any and all problems before a volunteer is assigned a job working with the
kids. Needless to say, all criminal background checks are kept strictly confidential.”
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