Volunteers Count: Big Change!
Big change starts with a little help- we're here because of our volunteers!
Are you or someone you know:
- Passionate about early education?
- Into reading out loud, chatting and playing fun games?
- Good with little kids, 3 to 7 years old?
- Willing to be part of a positive team?
Then, keep reading!
Volunteer Description
Position Title: Early Childhood Education Financial Literacy Volunteer
Application, Onboarding and Training Timeline: begins July 2025-August 2025 (will be ongoing)
Volunteer Work Timeline: begins August 2025 (will be ongoing)
Location: Local community centers and libraries in Arizona
Position Summary
Volunteers introduce financial literacy building blocks to pre-school, kindergarten and first grade aged children in the community (ages three to seven).
Volunteers will deliver a series of five lessons. These lessons involve reading out loud, chatting and guiding children through prepared activities. Each lesson is about an hour at the participating community center.
Key Responsibilities
- Get to know the children in the program, the community center’s staff, and when possible, participants and their communities
- Deliver series of five books and accompanying lessons, about an hour each
- Assess the children’s skills prior to initial reading- short play sheet survey
- Interactive class reading
- Recap reading and discuss with children as a group- in their own words
- Follow up with prepared activities- games, songs, etc.
- Provide resources and advice for take-home learning
- Assess the individual children’s skills after the lessons- short play sheet survey
- Collect feedback and program documentation
- Assist in developing the program as needed- materials, one hour lessons, documentation- volunteer input helps the program
- Ensure compliance with all safety protocols and maintain an orderly, clean, and welcoming environment
Time Commitment
- About 3 hours per individual session- we’ll work through scheduling together
- During the community center’s hours of operation- traditionally 9am to 4pm. Open to change based on community need.
- Overall commitment to the program is one year
- Delivery and timing based on schedules- we’ll work through this together
Qualifications
- Required:
- Organizational, communication, and people skills
- Ability to actively participate and engage small children, ages 3 to 7:
- Goal: keeping up with the energy and enthusiasm of the children in the program, actively engaging in play- being able to have fun learning together!
- Preferred:
- Infant/Child CPR and First Aid certification
- Background check and fingerprint clearance
- Multilingual skills are a bonus
Training and Support We Provide
- “Littles Count: Big Change!” program training
- University of Arizona Designated Campus Colleague onboarding and continued support
- University of Arizona Cooperative Extension volunteer processes and resources
- Ongoing individual support from Volunteer Program Coordinator
Benefits
- Early childhood education skill development and gained experience
- Networking opportunities at the University of Arizona as well as city and county level organizations
- Community impact
