Volunteer

Thurston County Inclusion General Volunteer Information

 

Program Goals

Thurston County Inclusion’s mission is to provide opportunities for youth of all abilities to create, form and strengthen relationships that will last a lifetime. It is our hope that through our camp and year-round activities, participants will form relationships with their peers, meet others with different abilities, be active and outside, and experience new opportunities. We use volunteers to make this mission possible. Without your help, we would not be able to accomplish this mission. 

 

Application Process

Interested volunteers need to complete the volunteer application on our website. Send the PDF application to register@thurstoncountyinclusion.org or complete digitally. Once this has been completed, interested volunteers will need to pass a background check. The background check needs to be completed once every three years. After you submit your application, you will receive an email from a Thurston County Inclusion staff member letting you know your application has been accepted and next steps for volunteer training. If you do not receive an email from a TCI staff member after 1 week of submitting please contact Samantha@thurstoncountyinclusion.org

 

Volunteer Time Commitment

We offer flexible volunteering. Select an event or camp day that fits your schedule.

 

How to Sign-Up to Volunteer

Once you have completed the application process, you will be added to the volunteer mailing list. You will be emailed when opportunities to volunteer are available and/or you can check our website as we post our events and volunteer opportunities there Under our “Volunteer” Tab. It will usually give you a more specific breakdown of volunteer needs and the week before you will receive an email about what to expect for volunteering for that upcoming event. 

 

Volunteer Roles

We have many volunteer roles available and encourage volunteers to try out different roles. Roles include group leader for activities and events in which we split our participants up into groups, station leader such as art or music etc, one-on-one support (helping some of our higher need participants navigate through our activities and events) and photographer. There will also be opportunities throughout the year to volunteer behind the scenes for those who may be interested. 

 

Volunteer Orientation

We ask volunteers to attend a volunteer orientation during their first year of volunteering. Summer 2025 volunteer training will be held on Friday May 30th at 4:00pm.  Video training will also be provided.  

 

Year Round Volunteers

 We offer a variety of events throughout the year for youth including our Harvest festival, Holiday parties, museum days, beach walks and more. Our volunteers sign up for all or partial shifts for these events using our website registration (under “Volunteers” tab). We usually try to discuss what areas of interest you have beforehand and place you in a station or position that works best for you for the specific event or outing.

 

Summer Camp Volunteers

Summer camp volunteering works the same as year round volunteering however our summer camp programing is our largest programing that TCI offers. It is usually longer shifts, more frequent and provides more opportunities for fun! A more detailed camp scheduling can be found here. 

 

What Can I Expect?

Being a volunteer we hope you build friendships and have fun during your shifts with us. On a typical shift you're asked to arrive up to an hour before the activities or event begins and we usually will prep you on what our day will look like at time of arrival. We deal with a variety of youth with a variety of abilities and needs. Sometimes we have youth who can be “runners” and you might be asked to help keep eyes on them, we might assign you to help with a youth who has high needs or we might assign you to a station to help demonstrate how a craft or activity can be completed. We will always inform you of what a specific youth would need if you are placed in a “one on one” situation. Again we hope to find a specific job that you feel comfortable in. 

 

What should I wear?

Wearing comfortable clothing is usually a must. All volunteers will be given a TCI shirt upon first volunteer event or received at their first event. Any clothing you are not afraid to get dirty in is also crucial. Often our activities such as painting etc can tend to get a little messy. If a location has a specific attire required such as closed toed shoes etc, we will always inform you days before of such attire needs.  
 

Value of Volunteering

There are many intrinsic values of volunteering, including improved self-confidence, organization, demonstrating kindness, and giving you a sense of purpose. We can also provide letters of recommendations or documentation of community service.