Volunteer Steps
Volunteers help Dojos run all over the world and are vital to the CoderDojo movement. We realise recruitment can be a daunting task, which is why we’ve created these resources to assist you on your journey to find more volunteers. Below you’ll find information and resources to guide you through the steps of recruiting volunteers for your Dojo.
Reflect
Think about what’s currently working well at your Dojo and where you may benefit from additional support. Consider skills, capacity, challenges, and successes. Explore whether any existing volunteers would like to upskill, change their roles, or take on different tasks. Assess the needs of your Dojo to best identify the type of support you’d benefit from having. Think about when you’d need the support to start and how long for.
Role descriptions
Adapt these role descriptions to advertise the opportunity. Outline the main tasks and aims of the role, including key skills and experience(s) that would be relevant. Make sure volunteering sounds fun and enjoyable too!
Promote
There are three key elements to consider when you promote volunteering opportunities:
Who may have the skills and experience that you’re looking for? Consider those that you are already connected with and also reach out to new contacts.
Where will you need to advertise your volunteering opportunity to reach your target audience?
Once you know where you’ll promote your role, decide how you will do it. For example, by word of mouth, online platforms, posters, or flyers across community spaces.
Sometimes a direct approach may be appropriate. Consider sending a friendly email to those you’re already familiar with, such as the parents or carers of young people who participate in the Dojo. You could also send introduction emails to engage new contacts with a personalised invitation to get involved.
Respond
Be ready to respond to any interest or enquiries from potential volunteers. It’s important to respond quickly and give a warm welcome to ensure that people have a positive first interaction with your Dojo.
Not every response leads to a new volunteer and that’s OK! If this happens, thank people for their interest and take any useful feedback on board.
Useful Resources
Social Media Cards
Here you will find our social media cards and templates. Using social media is a great way to reach new volunteers.
Parent Letter Template
Here you'll find our template letter for recruiting parents and guardians as volunteers.
Posters and printable cards
Here you will find our recruitment poster template. You can edit and print these out to promote and recruit volunteers.
Webinar
For more support, we’ve conducted a webinar to answer all of the questions you might have. Watch this video to see the webinar.
Training
Our free training module goes through what you can do to effectively recruit new volunteers for your Dojo. Mark off tasks as you complete them to track your progress. Participants will also find useful resources that have been adapted to suit different volunteer recruitment approaches.