As a cooperative, the young people at Atlas are just as important and influential as our staff and board members. They make Atlas the amazing place that it is, and they help ensure that our day-to-day operations run as smoothly as possible. Because all of our legal services, programming and events are free to our members, we expect them to help Atlas grow in a variety of ways. Our volunteering system gives our young people the opportunity to give back to Atlas, as well as learn valuable life skills and feel better connected to Atlas and to each other. We expect all members to volunteer at least two hours a month, and prizes are awarded to members who go beyond that. Last year, we had over 2,000 hours volunteered by our members — that’s nearly 170 hours of volunteering a month!
Here are some of the ways members can volunteer:
– Outreach assistance
– Helping with specific projects
– Helping to translate for a member who may not speak English
– Babysitting the children of a member while at the office
– Tutoring (both for school and SAT/ACT prep)
– Resume help
– General office tasks
– Cleaning
– Organizing clothing/book donations