I am a teacher in San Francisco who has benefited from the great work of the Ed Fund. The dedicated staff has worked hard to place volunteers, provide resources and even done staff wellness give-aways. We even found an amazing teacher through this organization. The Ed Fund is a vital partner to the school district and I really appreciate all they have done for me and my school
I started volunteering with the San Francisco Education Fund back in 2008. Since I left the non-profit and education world in Latin America, and moved in the private sector in the Bay Area, I was looking for a way to stay connected to this type of community and use my Spanish. Not only did they provide a meaningful, consistent and long-term way I could give back, they offered a high quality training course to prepare us for this type of unique and challenging volunteering. Not only did I get to make a meaningful and consistent contribution to Bay Area spanish-speaking families, teachers and the children that are caught in between, I got more out of the experience. I also got the benefit of a professional development course that helped me in my daily job, and prepared/inspired me for my move to graduate school. They also connected me with a great group of professionals as well. The staff is incredible professional and helpful as well. As a global marketing professional, I'm also continually impressed by the way they consistently engage with us supporters online through succinct and unique storytelling that keeps me connected to their impact even when I can't be in the schools or participate in the programs myself.
Helping students in the classroom has a reward in itself..... Volunteering for the SF School District has been a pleasure for me. I have assisted in a classroom as an assistant and it helps to know that the students get the extra help they need. This is the perfect way for an individual to decide if they would like to go into teaching. I've also worked at a school where I used to live as a Supervisor monitoring the kids during their outside daily activities. Between this county and the other one I have about three years experience.
Great Organization!!! SFSV has great opportunities for everyone. Volunteers can be placed accordingly to their desired interests to make great contributions. You can make a difference in a child's life by teaching them knowledge, listening, and being their friend. I am so glad to have made contact with SFSV over 2 years ago. I was interested in cultivating school gardens. They linked me up with several schools that allowed me to work with small groups of elementary school children. I enjoyed teaching the children the key fundamentals for nurturing their gardens. We created vegetable gardens, we made them grow, and we ate them. Yummy, veggies are fantastic! Let's help make our communities great places for the enjoyment of future generations.
My experience with SFSV was terrific. From the outset, my volunteer coordinator overcame my first fear (that I would wind up with “busywork,” spending time doing tasks that weren’t as interesting to me or as useful as possible to students): she paid careful attention to the information I provided and then found a placement that was exactly what, where and with the kind of students I had hoped. Throughout the semester, my SFSV coordinator was a politic advisor, a supportive back-up, and a wonderfully wise and good-humored guide to the intricacies of the public school system. She consistently made me feel as if my questions were sensible, my concerns reasonable and my efforts genuinely valued. Thanks to her, working hard for no cash was worth a million dollars to me!
SFSV has been a partner for many years with the law firm for which I work (Heller Ehrman LLP) in our volunteer activites at John Muir Elementary School in the Western Addition. They have coordinated for us such activities as Black History read alouds, Dictionary Day for third graders, work days preparing the school library, and our Pen Pal Club. We have also been invited to share ideas with SFSV in both formal and informal feedback sessions. All the fifty or more volunteers we have at Heller have said it is a rewarding experience to be involved in encouraging literacy in these youngsters, and I appreciate SFSV's role enabling us to work with the students at John Muir Elementary.