There are many ways volunteers can help Hay muchas maneras en ue los voluntarios pueden participar
There are many ways volunteers can get involved in Santa Fe’s schools
Todd Lopez, like many of the community organization and nonprofit directors working with Santa Fe Public Schools, has no trouble finding kids to support. As the director of Inspire Santa Fe, Lopez helps match up high schools students with professional mentors. Last school year, around 100 local aspiring chefs, architects, authors, doctors and more spent around two hours a week shadowing an adult working in the field of their dreams.
“We could have thousands of kids in our program,” Lopez said. “Interest from kids is never the problem.” Finding adult volunteers is the problem. Lopez said that Inspire Santa Fe begins its mentorship program with a nonbinding, introductory conversation between a student and potential mentor. After that
face-to-face meeting, he estimated 95 percent of volunteers are committed for the entire school year. Across Santa Fe, the public schools are trying to recruit more volunteers into the schools to fill gaps in reading, math or role modeling.
“We ask potential mentors to just give it a shot and meet the kid, and usually that is enough,” Lopez said. “A lot of people say they’re too busy. A lot of people haven’t worked with young people before, but for a couple hours a week you can change a kid’s life forever in a positive way. That’s a pretty big deal, so just meet the kid, and see what you think.”
Inspire Santa Fe, which is operated by nonprofit Source for Educational Empowerment and Community Development, is one of dozens of organizations from both inside and outside the school district that offers volunteer opportunities. According to the district’s electronic visitor management system, Santa Fe Public Schools had 590 volunteers work approximately 27,425 hours last school year, which is more than 150 hours of volunteer work per school day.
During the 2019-20 school year, volunteer coordinator Sabra Romero said the district will make a special push to recruit math tutors, but there also is a need for administrative volunteers, who have limited interaction with students, and student activity volunteers, who interact with students in less personal settings than tutoring or mentorship.
Santa Fe Public Schools will host a volunteer fair where community organizations and nonprofits will showcase their volunteer opportunities from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 24, at Mandela International Magnet School, 1604 Agua Fría St. For more information about volunteering with the Santa Fe school district, contact Romero at saromero@sfps.k12.nm.us or 505-467-2024.