Become a Volunteer
PEP is staffed by trained volunteers who are the best experts of parenting: they are parents themselves! If your PEP experience was positive and you want to continue growing with the organization, or if your workload has shifted since having a baby, or if you are passionate about helping local families, we encourage you to become a volunteer. Our 12-hour training session is conveniently split between four sessions, and covers all of the services that PEP provides. If your passion is public speaking, or if you’re better behind the scenes, we’d love to utilize your talents.
Please take a moment to review the volunteer responsibilities.
PEP Volunteer Responsibilities:
1) Taking Warmline shifts
Each Volunteer takes one shift per month answering Warmline calls. A shift lasts 24 hours and typically sees 2-4 calls during that time, depending on the day, so it is reasonable to go about your normal business during your shift. Our answering service fields the call and takes the necessary information for the Volunteer to call back. These calls cover a range of topics, from Baby Basics and Groups information, to asking for advice, to referrals about parenting. A lot of times the caller just needs someone to listen to them, but more serious PPD calls are deferred to specially-trained volunteers.
2) Speaking or taking part in a Baby Basics Class
Baby Basics classes are held once per month, on the first Saturday during the morning. We have 3-4 teachers per class, covering Diapering, Behavior, Feeding, Safety, and Bathing, as well as support with Food and Registration. Practice your public speaking skills with our carefully-crafted script on a topic you already know about! We expect each Volunteer to participate 1-2 times per year in Baby Basics classes, and to stay for the entire class, including set-up and clean-up.
3) Facilitating a Weekly New Parent Discussion Group
Two volunteers will facilitate the Group that meets every Wednesday morning for two months (8 weeks) before the Group breaks off and meets on their own. Facilitating involves arranging a short list of speakers, keeping an updated roster, and starting the discussion each morning with ground rules and other relevant business. Once the group gets going on the discussions, we try as facilitators to refrain from talking too much and let the group bond with each other. Because it is one of our larger commitments, we ask that each Volunteer facilitate one group per year, but we understand that might not realistically fit into everyone’s schedule. Childcare reimbursement is available for your child(ren), as we ask that you do not bring them with you while facilitating.
4) Helping with the Annual Fundraiser, Recurring Events, and/or others Special Events
Because we offer most of PEP’s services at no charge to our participants, it is our responsibility to raise the funds necessary to keep the organization running. We offer many smaller-scale events on a regular basis that are fun and make money, as well as one large fundraiser that requires 100% participation from all Volunteers. We have subcommittees that organize the Volunteers to be efficient and respectful of everyone’s time.
5) Doing Childbirth Class Presentations
Volunteers give a 10-15 minute presentation to every Childbirth Class in Santa Barbara and Goleta to educate expecting parents on PEP’s services. They are usually held in the evenings or weekends, and each Volunteer does 1-2 presentations per year. Young children are welcome to come along.
6) Making Postpartum Calls
If the parent filled out a card at the childbirth class or the Baby Basics class with their info and due date, a Volunteer calls them 1-2 weeks after their due date to check on the new family’s health and well-being, and to invite them to New Parent Groups. Each Volunteer makes calls about two times per year (about 10 calls in two batches), and can be done at the Volunteer’s most convenient time of day.
7) Attending Monthly Board Meetings
The PEP Board meets on the first Wednesday of every month and all Volunteers are required to attend and participate. Meetings cover topics such as budgeting, the status of each service, ongoing training, marketing, growth & development, and community presence. Board positions run on our fiscal calendar (April 1 – March 31), and utilize talents of all sorts.
If you accept these responsibilities, and are interested in joining us as a PEP Volunteer, please email trainer@sbpep.org for more information on our next training session.
