School Support Volunteers

What do School Support Volunteers do?

School Support Volunteers (SSV) support a wide variety of projects and initiatives that are driven by the needs of our school community:

  • Art, Garden, and Library Support (clean-up days, organization)
  • Community Health (COVID vaccine clinic and testing support)
  • School Events (e.g. fairs, concerts, walk-a-thons)
  • Spanish Language Support—for more information, click HERE
  • Grant Writing Assistance for BUSD Educators
  • This team of SSV volunteers is available for quick-turnaround delivery of essential supplies to families, students, and school sites
  • For more information, click HERE
  • Grocery Delivery to Schools Sites: Bi-monthly transport of bagged groceries from Berkeley Food Network (BFN) to BUSD school sites for distribution to families
  • Grocery Delivery to Homes: Weekly or bi-weekly home delivery of BFN groceries to families in need
  • For more information, click HERE

How Do We Keep Volunteers Safe?

BSV works in close partnership with BUSD on matters of student, staff, and volunteer safety. Learn more about BSV’s Safety Protocols

How Do I Sign Up to be a School Support Volunteer?

Click on the red button below for the School Support Volunteer application.

What impact do School Support Volunteers Make?

In the 2021-22 school year, School Support Volunteers contributed over 5,000 hours of project time related to community health, education, and food support in BUSD. These hours translated into an economic value of over $180,000 to Berkeley’s public schools. (Economic value based on figures determined annually by Independent Sector, a nationwide coalition group.)

How do School Support Volunteers sign-up for volunteer opportunities?

  • School Support Volunteers receive regular email alerts about open volunteer opportunities, with links to sign-up.
  • In addition, volunteers can check the frequently updated SSV Volunteer Opportunities doc at any time to sign up.
  • Opportunities may include both one-time events and ongoing commitments, allowing volunteers to find what best suits their available time and interests.

School Support Volunteers serve at the discretion of the school site. Please only go to a school site to volunteer when a teacher, staff member or event leader is expecting you and/or you have signed up ahead of time. 

For more information, email SSV Program Manager Sally McLaughlin, sallymclaughlin@berkeley.net

BSV Resources

BSV Resources for School Support Volunteers Click Here