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| Position Descriptions | Steps to Volunteer | FAQ | How Volunteering Helps | Orientation |
| Frequently Asked Questions |
Here are some answers to frequently asked questions regarding volunteering at Winona Volunteer Services. Q. What are your volunteer hours? A. The majority of our volunteer opportunities occur Monday thru Friday between 9:00am and 5:00pm. Q. Do you offer evening volunteer sessions? A. No. However we do recruit volunteers to help with the Christmas Toy Store sponsored by the Hiawatha Valley Marines in December. Q. What are your age requirements? A. For safety purposes, the minimum age for an unaccompanied individual volunteer is 16 years old. Q. Do I need to make an appointment to volunteer or can I walk- in? A. Individuals interested in volunteering must complete our online Individuals Prescreening Volunteer Interest Form. If the individual does not have access to a computer, WVS staff will mail a copy of the form upon request. Please call 507.452.5591 to request a prescreening interest form for individuals. Q. What should I wear? A. For working in the food shelf, volunteers should wear closed-toed shoes. Individuals wearing open toed shoes will not be allowed to work in the food shelf or clothes shop. Flip flops, extremely short skirts/shorts or low cut shirts are not permissible. More specific clothing attire will be discussed when you are assigned to a particular position. Q. What will I be doing? A. That depends on your availability, talents and area of interest which will be determined during the interview process with the Volunteer Coordinator. Once assigned to a position, instructions, training and follow-up will be provided. Q. Where do I park? A. Park in any available spots in front of the 402 East Second Street building or on Second or Chestnut streets. We ask that you do not park in the main parking lot between the office/food shelf building and The Clothes Shop building. These spaces are reserved for our customers. Q. When I get there where do I report? A. All volunteers are asked to report to the Volunteer Coordinator. Use the Office entrance which is located in the 402 East Second Street building. Q. Do I need to sign in? A. Yes, each volunteer needs to sign in when they volunteer at Winona Volunteer Services. Sign-in sheets and pens are available in the office area or in your assigned work area. Q. Does Winona Volunteer Services provide proof of volunteer service? A. Yes. Upon request the Volunteer Coordinator will provide volunteers with a dated letter indicating the dates and number of hours volunteered. The Volunteer Coordinator or available staff will sign any school/church/community service forms when needed. Q. Does Winona Volunteer Services keep track of volunteer hours? A. Yes. The Volunteer Coordinator keeps accurate records of all volunteer hours. We are not responsible if volunteers do not sign in and out or do not provide accurate or complete information.
We ask that the group coordinator/team leader be responsible for communicating the pertinent information to your volunteers.
Q. What are your volunteer hours? A. For activities performed at WVS, it's weekdays from 9:00am - 5:00pm. Q. What types of volunteer opportunities are available for groups or families at WVS? A.
Q. What types of volunteer opportunities are available for groups or families away from WVS? A.
Q. What are your age requirements? A. It depends on the type of task the group is assigned but for safety purposes the minimum age for volunteering is 8 years of age and anyone under 16 years of age must be accompanied by an adult when volunteering. Q. When bringing groups of youth, do you have requirements for chaperones? A. Yes,youth groups must provide adult supervision. Due to safety concerns, children 8 -15 may volunteer only with adult supervision. For youth groups (12 - 15 years old) one adult is required for every six youths. For youth groups (8 - 11 years old) one adult for for every four youths is required. Please be sure accompanying adults understand they will be helping to supervise the group. Q. If I need to cancel or if the number of volunteers in my group changes, do I need to call WVS? A. Yes, it is important that you let the Volunteer Coordinator know if you need to cancel, if your number of volunteers increase or if your number of volunteers decreases. WVS uses a daily volunteer work force and schedules according to its needs. An increase or decrease in the number of your volunteers can affect the volunteer session. Q. Do I need to make an appointment for my group or can we walk-in? A. All volunteering is by appointment based upon completion and acceptance of the prescreening interest form. If the group does not have access to a computer, WVS staff will mail a copy of the form to the group upon request. Please call 507.452.5591 to request a copy of the prescreening interest form for Families & Groups Q. What should my group wear? A. You should communicate to all volunteers that for safety reasons all volunteers are required to wear close-toed shoes and clothing appropriate to work in a warehouse if assigned to the food shelf or clothes shop. No sandals/flip-flops, extremely short skirts/shorts or low-cut tops. Additional information about what to wear will be provided once your group is assigned to a particular task. Q. What will we be doing? A. That depends on your availability and area of interest which will be determined once you submit your prescreening interest application to the Volunteer Coordinator. Q. Where do we park? A. Park in any available spots in front of the 402 East Second Street building or on Second or Chestnut streets. We ask that you do not park in the main parking lot between the office/food shelf building and The Clothes Shop building. These spaces are reserved for our customers. Q. When we get there where do we report? A. All volunteers are asked to report to the Volunteer Coordinator. Use the Office entrance which is located in the 402 East Second Street building. Q. Do we need to sign in? A. Yes, each volunteer group needs to sign in each time they volunteer at Winona Volunteer Services. Sign-in sheets and pens are available in the office area or in your assigned work area. Q. Does Winona Volunteer Services provide proof of volunteer service for volunteers? A. Yes. Upon request the Volunteer Coordinator will provide volunteers with a dated letter indicating the dates and number of hours volunteered. The Volunteer Coordinator or available staff will sign any school/church/community service forms after each session. Q. Does Winona Volunteer Services keep track of volunteer hours? A. Yes. The Volunteer Coordinator keeps accurate records of all volunteer hours. WVS is not responsible if volunteers do not sign in and out or do not provide accurate or complete information.
Q.What is Winona Volunteer Services policy on volunteers who are assigned court ordered community service hours? A. Individuals who receive a court order or a school mandate to perform community service are accepted on a case by case basis. Individuals convicted of certain serious charges will not be accepted to volunteer due to potential safety risks for other volunteers and staff. Q. When can a court ordered individual volunteer? A. Weekdays from 9:00am - 5:00pm except during holidays. Q. Are walk-in volunteers accepted? A. No, all volunteering is by appointment based upon completion and acceptance of the prescreening interest form. If an individual does not have access to a computer, WVS staff will mail a copy of the form to the individual upon request. Please call 507.452.5591 to request a copy of the prescreening interest form for Court Ordered/Mandated Community Service. Q. Can I donate food or money in lieu of community service hours? A. That is fine with WVS but requires the pre-approval of the court or probation services.
Q. With a name like Winona Volunteer Services, are you a Volunteer Resource Center? A. No, we do not place volunteers with other organizations in the community. We recruit and train volunteers to assist us in our mission and to support our food shelf and used clothing store. Q. What are your volunteer hours? A. The majority of our volunteer opportunities occur Monday thru Friday between 9:00am and 5:00pm. Q. Do you offer evening volunteer sessions? A. No. However we do recruit volunteers to help with the Christmas Toy Store sponsored by the Hiawatha Valley Marines in December. Q. What are your age requirements? A. For safety purposes, the minimum age for an unaccompanied individual volunteer is 16 years old. Q. Do I need to make an appointment to volunteer or can I walk- in? A. Students interested in volunteering must complete our online Student Prescreening Volunteer Interest Form. If the student does not have access to a computer, WVS staff will mail a copy of the form upon request. Please call 507.452.5591 to request the prescreening interest form for Students . Q.Am I guaranteed a volunteer slot at WVS once I submit my prescreening application? A. No. Due to the large volume of requests for volunteer hours from students and the limited amount daily tasks, only those students who have the time when the jobs are open will be asked to come in for an interview. Q. What should I wear? A. Students assigned to work in the food shelf or clothes shop should wear closed-toed shoes. Sandals, flip flops, extremely short skirts/shorts or low cut shirts are not permissible. More specific clothing attire will be discussed when assigned to a particular position. Q. What will I be doing? A. That depends on your availability, talents and area of interest which will be determined during the interview process with the Volunteer Coordinator. Once assigned to a position, instructions and follow-up will be provided. Q. Where do I park? A. Park in any available spots in front of the 402 East Second Street building or on Second or Chestnut streets. We ask that you do not park in the main parking lot between the office/food shelf building and The Clothes Shop building. These spaces are reserved for our customers. Q. When I get there where do I report? A. All volunteers are asked to report to the Volunteer Coordinator. Use the Office entrance which is located in the 402 East Second Street building. Q. Do I need to sign in? A. Yes, each volunteer needs to sign in when they volunteer at Winona Volunteer Services. Sign-in sheets and pens are available in the office area or in your assigned work area. Q. Does Winona Volunteer Services provide proof of volunteer service? A. Yes. Upon request the Volunteer Coordinator will provide students with a dated letter indicating the dates and number of hours volunteered. The Volunteer Coordinator or available staff will sign any school/church/community service forms when needed. Q. Does Winona Volunteer Services keep track of student volunteer hours? A. Yes. The Volunteer Coordinator keeps accurate records of all volunteer hours. We are not responsible if volunteers do not sign in and out or do not provide accurate or complete information. Q.If my schedule does not fit the needs of WVS, are there other places in the community for me to volunteer at? A. Yes. There are many non profits and business that could benefit from the help of student volunteers. A few suggestions include: Q.What is Winona Volunteer Services policy on volunteers who are "required" to volunteer because they receive certain types of government benefits? A. Individuals who are required to volunteer in order to receive certain types of government benefits like welfare, public housing, unemployment benefit, etc. can apply to volunteer. Q. Are walk-in volunteers accepted? A. No, all volunteering is by appointment based upon completion and acceptance of the prescreening interest form. If an individual does not have access to a computer, WVS staff will mail a copy of the form upon request. Please call 507.452.5591 to request a copy of the prescreening interest form for Government Benefits. Q. When can government benefit individuals volunteer? A. Weekdays from 9:00am - 5:00pm except during holidays.
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