Have questions about how to use the 1-800-Volunteer system? We've included some step-by-step tutorials for common operations. Please choose a topic on the left.

Creating a Volunteer Account

Step 1.) From our home page, http://www.vcstory.org, click Find Volunteer Opportunities at the bottom of the page.

Step 2.) Click on in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

Step 3.) Click the button under Volunteers.

Step 4.) Provide your basic information and communications preferences on this page. Make sure to check the box at the bottom that says “I accept the Privacy Policy, and I am over the age of 13.”

At this point, you can click and you’re ready to go!

OPTIONAL: You may instead choose to click to input more detailed information regarding your skills that organizations may find desirable. If you do not fill this section out now, you will have the option of filling it out later.

In the My Skills section, click the icon next to a category to see more specific skills in that category. You may then rate yourself according to the following scale:

Interest - I have no experience, but I am willing to perform tasks with supervision.

Low - I understand this basic skill set and can perform tasks with supervision.

Medium - I have successfully applied this skill on a regular basis.

High - I have successfully applied this skill often, and can teach others to utilize this skill.

Expert/Certified - I have considerable expertise in this skill and/or I am certified in this skill.

If you change your mind and decide not to rate yourself on a skill, click the icon next to the series of check marks.

The next sections allow you to provide information about your availability. The grid allows you to specify which days of the week you’re available in the mornings, afternoons, and evenings.

Don’t forget to fill out your preferences regarding who can see your skills and availability information, and how often they can contact you! You may also leave notes for the volunteer center and the organizations to see.

When you’re ready, click .

Back to Top

Searching for a Volunteer Opportunity

Step 1.) From our home page, http://www.vcstory.org, click the Volunteers link at the top.

Step 2.) Click All Opportunities on the left side of the screen.

Step 3.) All current opportunities will be displayed. To narrow your search, enter a keyword in the bar near the top of the screen and click .

Step 4.) Your search results will be displayed. Click on the name of one that looks interesting, or search again.

Back to Top

Signing up for a Volunteer Opportunity

Step 1.) Click on the opportunity you'd like to sign up for. The details of the opportunity are listed in the middle of the screen.

Step 2.) To sign up, input your user name and password on the right and click . If you don’t have an account yet, click Create a Free Account. For help creating your account, see Creating a Volunteer Account above.

Step 3.) On the right, put in the dates and days of the week that you’ll be able to participate. Then click Add Times and Hours. Enter information about the time of day and number of hours you’d like to volunteer. Any additional comments can be entered into the box below.

Step 4.) Click . That’s all there is to it!

You will be contacted by the organization soon via e-mail!

Back to Top

Creating an Organization

Step 1.) From our homepage, http://www.vcstory.org, click Post Volunteer Opportunities at the bottom of the page.

Step 2.) Click in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

Step 3.) Click the button under the Organizations heading.

Step 4.) In the first section, fill in your organization’s name and mission statement. Also required are your street address, city, state, zip, and phone number. You have the option to list a fax number as well.

Step 5.) You may choose to include a logo. To do so, click the button next to the field. In the box that opens, locate the picture file you wish to use for your logo, and click .

Step 6.) In the next section, fill in the contact information for your organization’s Primary Contact. You will also need to choose a user name and password that you will use to log in to http://1-800-Volunteer.org and manage your organization. Don’t forget to check the box that says “On behalf of my organization, I accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.”

Step 7.) In the next section, please take some time to review the list of Populations Served and Social Issues Addressed and check those that are appropriate for your organization.

Step 8.) You’re nearly done! Click at the bottom when you’re ready.

Step 9.) You’ll see a confirmation page notifying you that we’re reviewing your information and will send an e-mail to you when we’ve approved your organization.

Back to Top

Posting a Volunteer Opportunity

Step 1.) From our website, http://www.vcstory.org, click Post Volunteer Opportunities at the bottom of the screen.

Step 2.) You’ll be asked to login. Enter your user name and password, then click .

Step 3.) Click on the bar below your organization’s name.

Step 4.) First you’ll be asked for a Volunteer Job Title and a Description. Take some time to make sure that these provide adequate information about your volunteer opportunity. You may also list any special requirements in the field below.

Step 5.) List the opportunity location and contact. Clicking the button automatically fills in the information about your organization’s address or primary contact. If there is a second contact for the opportunity, you may click [Add an Alternate Contact for this Opportunity] and enter that information.

Step 6.) Click .

Step 7.) In the first section of this page, Volunteer Options, look over the list and check all that apply. These become search criteria that a volunteer can use to find your opportunity.

Step 8.) The next section, Selected Volunteer Skills, allows you to be more specific regarding the kinds of skills you would like volunteers for your opportunity to have. Spend as much or as little time on this section as you like.

Step 9.) In the section titled Populations Served and Social Issues, check any that apply to your opportunity. By default, the populations and issues you listed when you registered your organization are filled in.

Step 10.) Click at the bottom.

Step 11.) The first thing you’re asked for on this page is whether your opportunity is One-time or Long-term. One-time opportunities can span multiple days, up to a month. Long-term opportunities do not need to have an end date. Choose which seems most appropriate for your opportunity.

Step 12.) Click the button next to the Start and End Date fields to choose a date from the calendar that will open. One-time opportunities must list an end date; long-term opportunities do not.

Below that, check the days of the week and times of day that apply. List any details in the field given, and list the number of hours needed per instance. If the amount of time needed varies widely, you may instead just check “Flexible.”

Step 13.)The boxes below have some options for handling your opportunity.

• If your opportunity is one-time, choose if your opportunity will use a signup sheet for each day of the opportunity, one for the entire opportunity, or none at all.
• You can choose to have the system automatically confirm any volunteer that expresses interest.
• You can choose to have your opportunity shown in the volunteer center’s upcoming events calendar.
• You can choose to have the system automatically notify volunteers that have expressed interest in your opportunity when you make changes to it.
• You can use referral limit rules to limit the number of volunteers you receive. Once the limit for the day or the entire opportunity is reached, the opportunity will be hidden or a message of your choice will be shown.

You’re finished! Continue on to the preview using the button at the bottom of the page, and then save it if you’re satisfied. This will post the opportunity. If you’d like to make changes, use the navigation buttons at the bottom to do so.

Back to Top

Confirming Volunteers Who've Expressed Interest in Your Opportunity

If your opportunity doesn’t use 1-800-Volunteer.org’s sign-up sheets, then simply contact the volunteer via e-mail to make arrangements.

If your opportunity does use 1-800-Volunteer.org’s sign-up sheets, then follow the simple steps below to confirm your volunteers:

Step 1.) From our homepage, http://www.vcstory.org, click Post Volunteer Opportunities at the bottom.

Step 2.) You’ll be asked to log in. Enter your user name and password and click .

Step 3.) In the right column under Recent Activity, click Opportunity referrals.

Step 4.) The list on this page will show any opportunities you’ve posted that volunteers have expressed interest in volunteering for. Choose one and click the Manage Referrals icon -- .

Step 5.) The sign up sheets for this opportunity will be listed. Any sign-up sheets with volunteers waiting to be confirmed will have a yellow box with a number in it under the (Pending) column, ex: . Click on the date of the sign-up sheet.

Step 6.) There will be a list of volunteers under Pending Referrals. To confirm or refuse a volunteer, choose an option from the drop down list to the left of the volunteer’s name.

Step 7.) When you’re finished, click Return to Manage Referrals.

Step 8.) From here you may manage other sign-up sheets for this opportunity, or click Return to List to manage other opportunities.

Back to Top

Recording Volunteer Service Hours

Step 1.) From our homepage, http://www.vcstory.org, click Post Volunteer Opportunities at the bottom.

Step 2.) You’ll be asked to log in. Enter your user name and password and click .

Step 3.) In the right column under Recent Activity, click Opportunity referrals.

Step 4.) The list on this page will show any opportunities you’ve posted that volunteers have expressed interest in volunteering for, or have already volunteered for. Choose one and click the Manage Referrals icon -- .

Step 5.) If your opportunity used sign-up sheets, you’ll see a list of them here. Click the “Past” tab to see the sign-up sheets that occurred in the past and are waiting for service hours to be recorded. If your opportunity did not use sign-up sheets, see step #8 below.

Step 6.) If any of these sign-up sheets have a green box with a number in it, ex: , under the (Confirmed) column, then there are volunteers waiting for you to add their service hours. Click on the date of one of these sign-up sheets.

Step 7.) You’ll see a list of volunteer names. Check the box to the left of their names if the volunteers attended. In the box to the right of their names, list the number of hours that each volunteered. If you wish to leave feedback on any volunteer, click Feedback next to their name. Click to save any changes. Click when you’ve finished listing all the hours. This will post the hours to those volunteers’ service records, so this action is final. In the confirmation box that opens, click OK.

Step 8.) If your opportunity did not use sign-up sheets, instead of seeing a list of sign-up sheets you would simply see a list of referrals. Select all of the ones that you wish to add service hours to by checking the box next to their name, then click .

Step 9.) Enter the range of dates that their service covered. Check “Send e-mail notification to these Volunteers” if they would like to know that you’ve entered their hours.

Step 10.) You may enter different hours for each volunteer or the same for all volunteers by selecting an option with the radio buttons and entering the hours in the appropriate fields.

Step 11.) When you’re finished, click .

Back to Top