Become a Volunteer

Why Should I Register?

Baltimore First volunteers will:

• gain hands-on, real life experience supporting community organizations and non-profit agencies in Baltimore City, thereby launching into a career of service at Hopkins;
• unpack the complex historical, political, and socio-cultural elements that make Baltimore City;
• explore their own intersecting identities and how they inextricably connect to larger systems and structures of power, privilege, and oppression; and
• synthesize their experiences by engaging in dynamic educational workshops and peer-led critical reflection.

Registration Process and Procedures

Baltimore First General Volunteer Registration for the Spring 2022 semester will be available from the start of Spring semester classes on Monday, January 24th until the application window closes on Friday, February 4th.

Overview

Founded in 2017, Baltimore First is a direct service organization focused on affecting transformative social change. It strives to achieve this goal by establishing volunteer commitments with community partners, where students can actively engage with social justice issues prevalent in the city of Baltimore. By providing a platform for volunteers and local activists to collaboratively address social inequalities, Baltimore First helps students better understand the city and view themselves as active citizens and community members.

Below are a set of guidelines and policies to help you understand how our organization works:

Site Attendance Policy

All members of Baltimore First select a community partner, known as a site, to volunteer with throughout the semester. A group of General Volunteers and Site Coordinators will conduct site visits on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis depending on the site in question. The attendance policy for all sites is as follows:

• Each volunteer is permitted 2 absences from a weekly site, 1 absence from a bi-weekly site, and 0 absences from a monthly site for the semester.
• Volunteers MUST notify their Site Coordinator at least 24 hours in advance by email if they are going to be absent, except in case of emergency. Site Coordinators MUST notify the Director of Volunteer Management.
• Volunteers with more than the permitted number of workshop absences must meet with the Director of Volunteer Management and/or the CSC staff advisor. After this meeting, volunteers will be assigned a make-up task to complete.
• Volunteers with more than the permitted number of absences will be at risk of probation for the remainder of the academic semester and/or year.

Co-Directors of Volunteer Management: Tirtho Banjeree & Anjali Patel

Educational Workshop Policy

To foster an understanding of active citizenship, Baltimore First incorporates a series of educational workshops into its volunteer program. These workshops cover various social justice issues in Baltimore and the role Hopkins students play in the community. Many workshops will feature community activists as guest speakers to present topics and lead group discussions. There will be four workshops throughout the semester; attendance for each workshop is required. The attendance policy for workshops is as follows:

• Each volunteer is permitted 1 absence from educational workshops for the semester. Review the “Important Dates” tab to see all education workshop dates/times.
• Volunteers MUST notify the Director of Education at least 24 hours in advance by email if they are going to be absent from a workshop, except in case of emergency.

Director of Education: Sai Chandan Reddy

• Volunteers with more than the permitted number of absences must meet with the Director of Volunteer Management and/or the CSC staff advisor, and will be at risk of probation for the remainder of the academic semester and/or year.

Co-Directors of Volunteer Management: Tirtho Banerjee & Anjali Patel

• As with the site attendance policy, volunteers with more than the permitted number of workshop absences must meet with the Director of Volunteer Management and/or the CSC staff advisor. After this meeting, volunteers will be assigned a make-up task to complete.
• Volunteers with more than the permitted number of absences will be at risk of probation for the remainder of the academic semester and/or year.

CSC Staff Advisor: Kate Lynch

Training

Members of Baltimore First are required to complete the following trainings in order to volunteer:

• All volunteers must complete any required CSC Student Trainings through Hopkins Groups before volunteering. Required trainings must be completed at the beginning of each school year, prior to engaging in any form of volunteerism.
• Volunteers must complete any additional application(s), training, background check, or fingerprinting required of their specific volunteer site.

Hopkins Engage

Volunteers must log their hours through the the university’s community engagement platform, Hopkins Engage.

General Policies

In addition to Baltimore First’s policies and expectations, volunteers are expected to adhere to the following policies:

• All Johns Hopkins University Policies and Procedures as stipulated in the Student Conduct Code and other policies as outlined by the CSC.

In line with our value of intentionality, Baltimore First volunteers should practice full engagement–living in line with community and program values–during service. While at service sites, volunteers should be fully present (e.g. not texting, having side conversations, etc.) respectful to community partners and other volunteers. Baltimore First also has a zero tolerance policy and should a violation occur, JHU Policy and immediate termination of membership will occur. Students who are alleged to have violated the Student Conduct Code will be reported to the Associate Dean of Student Conduct in the Dean of Student Life Office for resolution

Important Spring 2022 Dates

Event	Date
Site Coordinator Application Opens	Friday, January 7
Site Coordinator Application Closes	Monday, January 24
General Volunteer Registration Opens	Monday, January 24
First Day of Volunteering	Monday, February 7
Educational Workshop 1	Week of March 14
Spring Break (No Programming)	Saturday, March 19th - Sunday, March 27
Executive Board Application Opens	Monday, March 25
Educational Workshop 2	Week of April 18
Executive Board Application Closes	Monday, April 8
Last Day of Volunteering	Friday, April 22
End of Semester Celebration	Friday, April 29