Opportunities From: City of Bloomington Volunteer Network

Job Title: Head Start Intern 

Department: Head Start/Early Head Start at South Central Community Action Program 
Reports To: Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Coordinator 
Internship Type: 8-20 hours/week 
Location: First United Methodist Church (219 E. 4th St), Lindbergh (1500 W. 15th St), or Smith Pike (2431 N. Smith Pike) 
Duration: Fall, Spring, or Summer Semester 

Position Summary: 

The Head Start Intern will assist in the delivery of high-quality early childhood education and comprehensive services for children and families enrolled in the Head Start program. Under the supervision of experienced staff, the intern will support classroom instruction, family engagement activities, program operations, or administrative tasks based on their area of interest or study. This internship provides valuable, hands-on experience in a federally funded early childhood program that promotes school readiness and family well-being. 

Key Responsibilities (may vary by focus area): 

Classroom Support: 

Assist teachers in daily classroom routines, activities, and supervision of children

Help prepare learning materials and maintain a safe, engaging environment

Support individual and group learning through play and structured activities

Observe and document children’s behavior and developmental milestones

Encourage positive social interaction and model appropriate behavior 

Family Engagement Support: 

Assist in planning and implementing family engagement events and parent meetingsHelp prepare family communication materials (newsletters, flyers, reminders) Support Family Advocates with outreach and resource coordination 

Administrative Support: 

Assist with data entry, filing, and organizing program records Help prepare reports, tracking logs, and other documentation Support coordination of program events or community outreach 

Qualifications: 

Currently enrolled in or recently completed a program in Early Childhood Education, Child Development, Social Work, Human Services, or related fieldInterest in working with children and families from diverse backgrounds Good communication and interpersonal skillsAbility to follow directions and work as part of a teamMust maintain confidentiality and adhere to Head Start performance standards 

Preferred Qualifications: 

Bilingual (English/Spanish or other languages) Experience volunteering or working with children 

Benefits: 

Hands-on experience in a nationally recognized early childhood program Mentorship from experienced professionalsOpportunity to explore careers in education, social work, or public healthMay qualify for academic credit (dependent on school program)Letter of recommendation or reference upon successful completion

To apply, please complete this form. 
For questions, reach out to Alissa at aweiss@insccap.org or call 812-335-3650.

Interested in building leadership skills, learning about governance, and supporting early education? Head Start is looking for community members to join our Policy Council!

What is Head Start?

Head Start is a free, early education program for low-income households with the goal of supporting children in reaching their full potential. To achieve this, Head Start programs deliver services to children and families in core areas of early learning, health, and family well-being while engaging parents as partners every step of the way. The Policy Council is a key piece of our operations, and we would value more community insight and input!

What is Policy Council?

Policy Council is a group of Head Start parents and community members who help lead and make decisions about our program. Members receive, review, and approve/disapprove information regarding:

program planningpolicies and proceduresHead Start operations

Policy Council members are ambassadors for Head Start. Your role is not only to attend meetings but also to advocate and tell the story of how our program makes a difference in the lives of children, families, and our community.

Policy Council meets once a month on the 3rd Monday of every month from 6-8pm. Dinner and childcare are provided.

If interested, please reach out to Alissa at aweiss@insccap.org.

To volunteer at Head Start you must attend a volunteer orientation and get a criminal background check. We will help you obtain these when you sign up. 
Complete the Volunteer Interest Form.

We require volunteers to commit 2 hours per week but less than 8 hours per month. The children who attend Head Start are 3-5 years of age and the school days and hours vary between 7 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. For more information, call us at (812) 335-3650 or email our Parent, Family and Community Engagement Coordinator at aweiss@insccap.org.

Volunteering is critical to the successful operation of our Head Start programs. Below are examples of ways you can help our families and the program be successful by volunteering inside or outside of the classroom setting. 

Classroom Activities

Engage in play-based learning activitiesHelp facilitate small and large group activitiesGreet children and families, help with arrival routinesSupport classrooms in transitions and with daily schedules

Non-Classroom Activities 

Help with cleaning, playground maintenance or toy repair Assist with classroom bulletin boards Translate newsletter or written materials into other languages Support after school parent engagement events Gather or make materials for classroom projectsPrepare classroom materials and activities

Interested in eradicating poverty? Is PR your thing? Are you a talented planner?  Do you like researching grants?

Thriving Connections, sponsored by South Central Community Action program, is an intentional way for people to build relationships across class and race lines to end poverty in their communities. The Guiding Coalition acts as an advisory board for the local initiative. It is a representative group that includes people from all ages, economic classes, faiths, political viewpoints, and races who are committed to building their community and ending poverty. The Guiding Coalition member has three primary goals: Use their role within the community and relevant stakeholder groups to gain the community's support of the Thriving Connections initiative; Provide their energy and resources to contribute to the Guiding Coalition collaborating with the lead organization to implement the Thriving Connections initiative; Increase their own awareness and urgency regarding poverty by actively building relationships across race and class lines, and modeling the way.

 

Funding, Recruitment, & Outreach Advisory Group- Works with the SCCAP Director of Communications and Development and be responsible for increasing our visibility and name recognition in the community through events, PR documents, and media outreach and will recruit Captains, Allies, Meal, and other volunteers. Leads the Thriving Connections community in identifying, discussing, and problem-solving barriers to getting out of poverty; Research and apply to grants to promote goals of the Thriving Connections Initiative; research, plan, and facilitate fundraisers for to promote goals of the Thriving Connections Initiative.

SCCAP Thriving Connections Youth Community Volunteer!

The Thriving Connections initiative is a strategy to build relationships across race and class lines and aid vulnerable families in achieving self-sufficiency - and to ultimately end poverty in Monroe County. Volunteers are needed to support youth programming. Your volunteer experience will contain lots of interaction with fun, friendly children and adults, taking part in fun activities that help the children grow and develop important life skills. A free orientation and training is included.  Limited criminal history checks are required. Internship and service learning opportunities are ongoing. 

Thriving Connections is an intentional way for people to build relationships across class and race lines to end poverty in their communities. The Guiding Coalition acts as an advisory board for the local initiative. It is a representative group that includes people from all ages, economic classes, faiths, political viewpoints and races who are committed to building their community and ending poverty. The Guiding Coalition member has three primary goals: Use their role within the community and relevant stakeholder groups to gain the community's support of the Thriving Connections initiative; Provide their energy and resources to contribute to the Guiding Coalition collaborating with the lead organization to implement the Thriving Connections initiative; Increase their own awareness and urgency regarding poverty by actively building relationships across race and class lines, and modeling the way.

Join an advisory group of the Guiding Coalition that focuses on a specific part of the Thriving Connections initiative and attend monthly planning meetings for that group.

Captain/Ally Advisory Group - Plans programming for the Weekly Community Meetings, Captain training, Ally training, and resource groups

Economic Stability Advisory Group - Connects Captains with employers, educational institutions, and financial institutions to increase Leader's resources and strengthen overall economic stability.

Funding, Recruitment, & Outreach Advisory Group- Works with the SCCAP Director of Communications and Development and be responsible for increasing our visibility and name recognition in the community through events, PR documents, and media outreach and will recruit Captains, Allies, Meal, and other volunteers. Leads the Thriving Connections community in identifying, discussing, and problem-solving barriers to getting out of poverty; Research and apply to grants to promote goals of the Thriving Connections Initiative; research, plan, and facilitate fundraisers for to promote goals of the Thriving Connections Initiative.

Talking about Change Advisory Group- The focus of this group will be planning programming on issues that our community feel is important and create additional hurdles in our fight against poverty. Some subjects to be addressed will be, but are not limited to, racism, the LGBTQ community, mental health, and both visible and invisible disabilities.

Tech Advisory Group - This advisory group works with all things tech to help TC stay connected and informed.  This advisory group will help TC collect and manage its data electronically as well as come up with new ways to help connect TC members to each other and to resources in the community.  Possible projects include: making sure all TC members are connected to email, providing technology (tablets) pre-loaded with links to information and TC notes/star charts, digitizing ROMA data collection and storage, and creating a way to digitally store and share ship notes and star charts.  This advisory group will also manage/oversee an electronic TC newsletter and/or website.  

Youth Advisory Group-Identifies age-appropriate activities and information to address resource areas. Recruits, trains and supports volunteers that work without youth and builds reciprocal relationships with other youth-serving agencies in the community.

Potential Commitments/Opportunities: Attend monthly Guiding Coalition meetings. At least one member of each of the six advisory groups will be present at the monthly Guiding Coalition meeting in order to report the goals and progress of that advisory group. Work in between meetings to accomplish tasks determined at monthly meetings (approximately 2-5 hours per month) Receive training in a model of understanding the environment of poverty and its challenges and strengths. Become involved in some practical manner with the implementation of the Thriving Connections initiative.  Guiding Coalition Chair or Co-Chair commitment: Create an agenda for the monthly Guiding Coalition meeting, including topics that will be discussed. E-mail this agenda to the Volunteer Coordinator, Thriving Connections Coordinator, and members of the Guiding Coalition Responsible for coordinating with staff and teams to ensure Guiding Coalition is working effectively.

SCCAP welcomes you to contact us to discuss ways to engage you, your group, your organization, or your business in skilled or pro bono service. We invite you to use your skills to further our mission and programming. With your talents as a part of our team, we can build our capacity to serve our clients and our community in meaningful and effective ways.

What skills or talents would you gladly give to our programs if we could make it possible for you to do so? Professional skills - marketing, financial, strategic planning, event production, human resources, IT, etc. Physical skills - construction, handy-person skills, trades, etc. Interests or talents - art, dance, music, hobbies, whatever your interests!

Let's start the conversation and build our capacity together to impact our community!