Volunteering to Help a Student Takes Many Forms

As more communities offer our Imagining Your Future (IYF) program, we’re excited about the many and varied opportunities to engage community volunteers to make a difference in students’ lives. Volunteers can:

• Work with students in small groups using our workshop materials – try it once, or come back multiple times so students can get to know you

• Mentor students 1-on-1 over an extended period, using our curriculum to guide conversations

• Join us as students go on field trips, and other “community experiences” such as volunteering with nonprofits and community organizations

• Host students at your workplace for a few hours, or a few days or weeks, through shadowing, internships and short-term jobs

• Help us improve our program and the support we offer communities interested in being Imagining Your Future sites

Four volunteers and four students working on an IYF team-building exercise

Capital One is a shining example of how individuals and organizations can support our Imagining Your Future program in creative ways. Capital One employees for the last few years have acted as mentors and workshop volunteers. As a result, we were invited to participate in Capital One’s pro bono program, with twelve Capital One employees working closely with the Harraseeket team to develop a “Scalable Community Partner Toolkit,” a “Process Workflow Map,” and an “Impact Assessment Dashboard.”

Capital One's work will turbocharge our ability to offer Imagining Your Future to many more communities. We're looking to support public and private schools, faith communities, community groups, employers, sports teams, clubs, affinity groups -- really, anywhere caring adults want to help a group of young people imagine their future.

Let the Capital One Employees Tell You Why YOU Should Volunteer!

Volunteering for programs like Imagining Your Future offers employees at least as much benefit as it provides the students. According to this recent study of employee participation: “[B]eing a mentor was associated with several positive outcomes, including greater perceived career success, job performance and satisfaction, as well as more perceived connectedness to one’s organization.”

Here’s what the Capital One employees told us about working with us:

"It was an honor to apply my skills to a mission that helps others find their path. Working with this team on such purposeful work has been a highlight for me."

"As a [Northern Virginia high school] alumni and someone who had great teachers in high school who helped get me to where I am today, being able to support Harraseeket and my community was incredibly rewarding. Such a full circle moment!"

"The most rewarding part was creating a structure that empowers our hosts and strengthens Harraseeket!"

"Helping others is important to me, so the mission to empower students was most resonant with me! I’m happy I could contribute."

"It feels good to be able to apply my skills to such a deserving group. I really appreciate the opportunity to get to work with an awesome team while being a part of this project!"

"We loved putting back on our teacher hats for a mission we believe in! (“felt like a hug to our hearts”)."

Join Us, and Make a Difference in Students’ Lives -- and Your Life!

If you or your community organization (faith community, school, employer, nonprofit, club, affinity group, or something else!) are interested in volunteering, or supporting students in other ways as they imagine their future, we invite you to get involved and support our work!