Harborlight Youth ArtsVolunteer / roles, shows, and how students stay safe
Volunteer.
Most of what happens here needs an extra pair of hands: a show to hang, a kiln to unload, a Saturday of visitors to greet. Every role says how much time it takes, and whether it means working with young people.
A call, two references, a background check with your consent, a safeguarding evening, and a first shift alongside staff.
Studio assistant
Help a teaching artist run a weekly session: set out materials, keep the room moving, and clean up at the end.
Works with young people · five steps firstNo art skills needed
2 of 6 places open I’m interested →
Van co-driver
Ride along on the program-day bus from the high school, so the driver is never the only adult on board.
Works with young people · five steps firstA clean driving record
Full · we keep a list I’m interested →
Open studio host
Greet visitors at shows and open studios, point people to the rooms, and hand out the zine.
No regular contact with studentsOngoing · always welcome I’m interested →
Show installer
Hang student work before an exhibition: measuring, levelling and labels, then taking it all down afterwards.
No regular contact with studentsA steady hand with a level
3 of 4 places open I’m interested →
Kiln helper
Load and unload the two kilns on Saturday afternoons, after the students have gone home.
No regular contact with studentsAble to lift 20 pounds
1 of 2 places open I’m interested →
Office and mailing
Fold the newsletter, keep the supply shelves counted, and answer the phone on show days.
No regular contact with studentsOngoing · always welcome I’m interested →
Help at a show
One-off shifts · staff run every showA single shift at a public show does not need the five steps: staff are in charge of every room, and a volunteer is never responsible for a young person.
Second Story, issue 11
How students stay safe
A short call
Twenty minutes with our programs manager about the role and why you want it. Nothing is decided on the call.
Two references
People who have seen you at work or with young people, not relatives. We ask each of them the same four questions.
A background check, with your consent
Run by an outside screening service, through its own secure form. We keep only whether it cleared, and the date.
A safeguarding evening
Two hours on boundaries, supervision, and what to do if a young person tells you something worrying.
A first shift alongside staff
And a rule that holds after it: two adults in the room, never one adult alone with a young person.
What this form never asks for
Your Social Security number, your date of birth, or anything for the background check. Those go through the screening service’s own secure form, later, and only for roles with young people.
Who sets these rules
This is how Harborlight screens volunteers on this demonstration site. Real requirements differ by state and by role; an organization’s own policy, insurer and lawyer set them.
Tell us you’re interested
This is a demonstration form. Nothing you type leaves this page. Try it with a made-up volunteer.
Check these first
Checked. Nothing was sent.
What you typed stayed on this page. On a real site, pressing the button would do this:
418 Wharf Street, Astoria, OR 97103
501(c)(3) public charity · EIN 00-0000000