volunteer


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volunteer

essentials

WELCOME TO KIDSWORLD! Jesus gave his church a mission - to go and make disciples. There is no minimum age for that mission to begin. Here at Christ Community and in KidsWorld, our mission statement is “to make passionate disciples of Jesus Christ who are Belonging, Growing, Serving and Reaching.” By teaching the love of Jesus with our actions and words, we want children to understand how to passionately follow Jesus with all their heart, soul and mind.

Thousands of children across all Christ Community campuses call KidsWorld home. This requires over a thousand people ranging from students, parents, grandparents, and single adults coming together in faithful obedience to the call of God on their own lives. You are answering that call and for that we thank you.

This book will help equip you to have the best experience possible while serving. Serving allows us to meet the real needs of others. Serving also contributes to each of us most fully being who God created us to be doing something for which we are both gifted and passionate. We trust that in the right role with the right training that will be true for you. Thanks again for partnering with us as we partner with families to love and serve the kids God has entrusted to us.

- The KidsWorld Team

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OUR VALUES: When we consider any program we do with our kids, we want to make sure we are “hitting the mark” in regards to these values:

Bible Based - Firmly rooted in God’s Word Safe - Physically, spiritually, and emotionally Parent Connected - Serving and equipping families Kid Appropriate - Built around their style, needs, and developmental stage Relational - Helping kids discover community life Creative - Using imaginative ways to reach and teach kids Fun - A highlight of every week

OUR MISSION: Making passionate disciples of Jesus Christ who are belonging, growing, serving and reaching.

belonging - I am following Jesus & I love His church growing - I am becoming more like Jesus serving - I am meeting the needs of others reaching - I am helping people meet Jesus

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Observation:

We want you to see first-hand how great serving in KidsWorld

is, and, most importantly, we want you to find the right place to serve. God has gifted us each uniquely and we want your passions and talents to be used effectively. You will fill out a Visitor Agreement and be issued a Visitor Tag. You may observe (two) times as a visitor. When you are observing, you are not serving as a volunteer.

Conversation:

We want to get to know you better, and we’d love to answer

your questions about KidsWorld, serving opportunities or Christ Community. A staff member will be in touch with you after you fill out your application, or you can give any one of us a call to start the conversation!

Application:

Submit an Adult or Student Application. Please make sure

you have answered all the questions, included contact information for your references and signed all appropriate forms. It can take a couple of weeks to process your application.

• We will run a background check if you are over 18 years old.



• We will check your references. Please let your references know that



we will be contacting them.

Training:

A staff member will lead you through this handbook and answer

any questions you might have. You will also be trained for the team you will be serving on, such as Nursery, Early Childhood, Elementary, Operations or Creative Arts. Once you’ve completed training, you will be asked to sign the covenant on the last page of this book. It’s a promise we make to you and you make to us.

Approval:

Once we have reviewed your application and received positive

feedback on your background check and references, the staff member you will be serving with will contact you to schedule your first time to serve. Now you can have your picture taken for your name tag.

Welcome: You will be given your name tag and volunteer t-shirt. Training:

A staff member or other leader will provide one-on-one training for

your role and offer on-going coaching. 6

These policies are designed to protect both children and volunteers by not giving opportunities for volunteers to have sustained time alone with a child or student. Every KidsWorld volunteer needs to review and return the questionnaire from the Child Protection Policy in the application.

Two-Person Rule: There must always be at least two volunteers present when children are in a classroom, being escorted to another location, or using the bathroom. If there are only two volunteers present, they must not be related and one volunteer must be an adult. (For example, an adult volunteer and their son who is a student volunteer may NOT be the only volunteers in a classroom or handling a bathroom break; two student volunteers may not manage a bathroom break or a classroom without an adult.)

NEVER allow yourself or another volunteer to be alone with a child, even if it is your own child.

Bathroom Breaks: When taking children to the bathroom, two unrelated volunteers must accompany a child at all times. One volunteer must be an adult. Check to see if the bathroom is empty before letting children go in. Say “Is anyone in there?” and walk in to verify before allowing children to enter. If the bathroom is not empty, one volunteer must step inside the bathroom and make sure they can see that the children stay safe. One volunteer must be able to see the other volunteer at all times as well as any children that may be waiting to return to the classroom. If a child needs assistance, you may help them. Just make sure the other volunteer can see you.

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Please remember that even if you are taking your own child/sibling to the bathroom during KidsWorld hours, you need to take another volunteer with you. Consider a parent who may be new to the church and doesn’t know this is your child. They could assume you are taking a child into the bathroom alone — that new parent may see a security breach and never return.

Children May Not Sit on Your Lap: Seriously. Please have children sit next to you, even if you are serving with your own child. Touching should be non-demanding. Gentle touch of shoulders, hands, arms, head or back is OK.

Photos & Social Media: Do not take pictures of any children. Names of children are not to be posted or “tagged” in any public or social networking website. As a representative of KidsWorld, please be especially aware of what you personally post or what may be posted to your social media sites.

Reporting Suspected Child Abuse: If you suspect that a child has suffered some form of abuse (physical, mental, sexual or neglect), immediately report suspected child abuse to your KidsWorld Staff Leader. Please be prepared to provide: Names, birthdates, ages, genders, races. Any other family information that you may know. Specific information about the suspected abusive incident or circumstances contributing to the risk or harm. (For example: When the incident occurred, extent of injuries, how the child says it happened, and any other pertinent information.)

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Never prompt a child for a response or ask leading questions. Let the child tell you what happened. Don’t discuss the information with anyone other than a staff member. Do not promise the child that you won’t tell anyone else.

WHAT ARE CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT? Child abuse is the mistreatment of a child under the age of 18 by a parent, caretaker, someone living in their home or someone who works with or around children. The mistreatment must cause injury or must put the child at risk of physical injury. Child abuse can be physical (such as burns or broken bones), sexual (such as fondling or incest) or emotional. Neglect happens when a parent or responsible caretaker fails to provide adequate supervision, food, clothing, shelter or other basics for a child.

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General Emergency Procedures: Stay calm. You are responsible for the children in your classroom. Remain with those children! Do not attempt to go to another room to get your own children. They will be taken care of by the staff and volunteers assigned to their rooms. Evacuation maps are located by the exit door in each classroom and in the Attendance & Emergency book located in every classroom. Please become familiar with both the Primary and Alternate Evacuation routes for your classroom. Each classroom is equipped with an emergency backpack. Please be sure you know where the backpack is located in your room. If you need to evacuate, take the backpack with you. There should be an adult volunteer leading and a volunteer following the class. Each class is to stay together and move away from the building, being careful to stay out of harm’s way of emergency vehicles. All classes need to evacuate to the designated area on the Evacuation Map posted in their classroom.

Fire Alarm: Confirm your evacuation route and meeting area before leaving room. Count your kids before you leave your room. Take your room radio, emergency book, and backpack with you. Proceed to the meeting area marked on your room Evacuation Map located in your room. Count your kids when you arrive. If your count does not match, notify staff or Zone Leader on your radio. Wait for notification from KidsWorld staff to return to building/classroom.

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Extreme Weather: The tornado shelter closest to your room is indicated on the Evacuation Map in your room. Please proceed to that area. If you cannot make it to the tornado shelter, find a small interior room of the facility. Count your kids before you leave your room. Take your room radio, emergency book, and backpack with you. Proceed to the meeting area marked on your room Evacuation Map located in your room and in the Emergency book. Count your kids when you arrive. If your count does not match, notify staff or Zone Leader on your radio. Wait for notification from KidsWorld staff to return to the building.

Missing Child (Code Adam): If you suspect a child is missing, notify KidsWorld staff on the radio on the KidsWorld channel immediately. State: “I need a staff person to come to Room _________. IT IS IMPORTANT.” Do not say that a child is missing; we do not want to panic anyone overhearing the radio. Remain calm; it is important to not upset the children in the classroom. Search the entire room for the child while waiting. The child may be hiding under a table or play equipment, in the closet or behind I-beams (pods). Send an extra volunteer to double-check other classrooms if the class recently moved locations (the child may have been left behind or exited the room with the grade level above or below). When staff or a Zone Leader arrives, they will ask questions to help find the child and to determine if we need to call a Code Adam and lockdown the building. Be prepared to give the following: Name, age and gender of child Hair and eye color What they were wearing Where you last saw them Staff will contact security and alert other staff members, who will proceed to their designated search areas. Security will assist in locating the child and determine if/when law enforcement needs to be called. Follow the Zone Leader or staff’s instructions.

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Handling Injuries: If a child is ill or injured, ask your Room Leader or Zone Leader for assistance. Band-Aids for minor scrapes are located in your classroom cabinet or closet. You may be asked to fill out an “ouch” report for a follow-up by KidsWorld staff. If the incident is more serious, a staff member will call for additional medical help or call 911. Ouch reports are used to inform the parent/guardian about a nose bleed, cut, bruise, bump, bite, etc.

Child Check-In & Check-Out: At check-in, children will be given two identical nametags with an ID number on them. Parents will be issued a pick-up tag with a matching ID number. One nametag goes on the child; the second tag is used for attendance in the classroom. A child may not be picked up from the room without confirming that the adult has the appropriate matching ID tag. A photo of the tag is acceptable. If a parent has lost or forgotten the tag, send them to the designated location at your campus to have a replacement tag printed. Keep the child in the classroom with you. NO TAG, NO KID, NO EXCEPTIONS! Even if it is a staff member’s child or if you know the family personally. If a child has lost their tag, the check-out person or another volunteer will call on the radio and state, “I have a child with a missing tag.” Please do not say “We have a missing child tag.” Do not send the parent to get a replacement tag; they should remain with the child in the room. The check-out person will be asked for the child’s name and last 4 digits of their phone number. They will then be asked for the pick-up tag number on the parent’s tag. If they match, the child can be released. Do not release the child unless you are told “That is a match.”

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KidsWorld cannot accept children into a classroom who display any of the following symptoms:

Fever (in the last 24 hours) Diarrhea and/or vomiting (in the last 24 hours) Pink eye or other eye infections (red, crusty, or watery discharge)

Sore throat Sneezing or cough, if persistent and/or productive Colored nasal discharge: white viral infection; yellow or green bacterial infection Jaundice (yellowing of the eyes or skin) Any skin infections; sores and/or crusts on the scalp, face or body particularly if red, swollen, draining, or spreading Skin eruptions or rash (other than diaper rash) Any communicable diseases (chicken pox, lice, hand foot mouth disease, etc.)

KidsWorld staff and volunteers will not dispense medication to children.

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From time to time, you may have someone visiting your classroom who is not an approved volunteer. Typically, they are observing to see where they want to serve or they are attending church with a friend who is serving; you may also have a parent who wants to see what their child is experiencing in KidsWorld or who isn’t comfortable leaving their child quite yet.

All visitors must go to KidsWorld Central and fill out a Visitor Agreement and receive an ORANGE name tag before coming into a classroom. They must wear this orange name tag at all times.

Please note that vistors are not volunteers, so they may not serve in this capacity. That means they cannot:

Serve as a second person Assist with bathroom breaks Lead or follow-up a line of children that is moving locations Count kids Lead a small group Change diapers

If the visitor is a parent, please remind them that they may not take their own child on a bathroom break. This was explained in the paperwork they signed, but may need to be reinforced by the classroom leader.

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Name Tags - Wear your current name tag and lanyard at all times when you are serving.

KidsWorld T-shirts - Once your KidsWorld application has been approved, you will receive a volunteer t-shirt. You can choose when you would like to wear your t-shirt. We will let you know when we want the entire KidsWorld team to wear their shirts for special occasions, such as a Wow Weekend.

Dress appropriately -

Please wear appropriate length dresses/shorts/ skirts and appropriate tops; make sure your waistband does not fall too low. Please keep in mind that you are bending over and sitting on the floor with kids during class time.

Professionalism -

All KidsWorld staff and volunteers are expected to carry themselves in a professional manner. This includes showing respect to all children, parents, families, and fellow volunteers. Use of abusive or profane language is prohibited. All volunteers are reminded that children look to them as role models. KidsWorld may be the only opportunity a child or a parent has to see Jesus. Let them see Him through you.

Cell Phones - Refrain from using your cell phone while serving in KidsWorld. The place for your phone is in a purse or pocket.

Scheduled Serving Times -

Please honor the covenant that you signed and be on-time for your scheduled service. Do your best to find another volunteer to fill in for you if you cannot make your scheduled time. If an emergency arises, you can contact us by: ________________________________________________

Team Prayer -

Every week we meet for prayer a half hour before the service start time. Team prayer is part of your serving commitment. Please make it a priority.

NEW KID STICKERS - Keep a lookout for blue KW stickers on kids’ name tags, which indicate that the child is new. Please give extra attention to these families: introduce the new child to the volunteers; explain what to expect for the day; connect with them throughout the day to answer questions; thank them for coming!

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Volunteer Covenant I understand that as a volunteer in KidsWorld at Christ Community Church, I am a part of a team of people entrusted with making passionate disciples of Jesus Christ who are Belonging, Growing, Serving and Reaching. Because of the eternal significance of this mission, it is important that we commit to serving each other as we work together to serve the kids and families of Christ Community Church. I understand that the KidsWorld Staff will: Make every effort to help me feel fully equipped to serve effectively. This will include training opportunities, providing needed supplies and curriculum, and being available for help and questions. Thoughtfully and genuinely show their appreciation for me. Pray for me. Encourage me toward continued spiritual growth. Facilitate the call God has for me, in whatever ministry that may be. As a volunteer in KidsWorld, I will be committed to: Regular church attendance. Pursuing Spiritual Growth. Being respectful of church leadership and teaching. Being on time for pre-service prayer. Providing reasonable notice (one week unless it is an emergency) if I need to miss my service time. Attending KidsWorld training events. Being prepared for my serving role each time I serve. Fulfilling the expectations of my serving role as laid out by the staff. Praying regularly for KidsWorld during the week. Serving through July. Together, we will make passionate disciples of Jesus Christ.

Signature_____________________________________________________________

Print Name: __________________________________ Date ___________________

kidsworldccc.org