Guidance for Volunteering for 2021-2022 Academic Year

This year, students are allowed to leave campus to socialize or work in surrounding communities, including volunteering. Different community sites may have different pandemic protocols that volunteers must adhere to, including being fully vaccinated, and we encourage members of the St. Olaf community to avoid volunteering activities that will put them at greater risk of contracting and transmitting COVID-19 to protect both them AND others in the greater Northfield community. Additionally, we continue to encourage Volunteer Network organizations, ACE courses, athletic teams, other college-sponsored groups, and individuals who wish to volunteer to pursue virtual volunteering opportunities whenever possible and beneficial to community partners. As always, this guidance may change at any time as the pandemic continues to evolve.

Volunteering Considerations

If you are a program director for a Volunteer Network organization or are interested in volunteering in general, here are some considerations to get you started:

• Have you talked with your community partner about what volunteering opportunities they might have–both in-person and virtual? If you need assistance with contacting your community partner, please contact Alyssa Melby in Academic Civic Engagement (ACE) at melby1@stolaf.edu. 
• Have you talked to your community partner about their safety and sanitation protocols during the pandemic?
• Have you considered and weighed the ethical implications of pursuing in-person volunteering opportunities at this time, particularly if you are engaging with medically vulnerable populations?
• Have you talked to the Office of Student Activities for your plans for volunteering, both in-person and/or virtual?
• Have you talked with your organization’s members about how comfortable they would feel volunteering in-person and/or virtual? Each individual should consider the level of risk they are willing to take, as well as the risk to the community at large that they will be working alongside.

If you are a VN program director or leader of a student organization, please also consult the “Guidelines for Student Organizations” document provided by OSA for additional information. You will also be asked to register any off-campus volunteer activities with OSA at least a week in advance of the volunteer activity.

There are many public transportation options for off-campus volunteering opportunities.