VOLUNTEERS
GETTING STARTED!
Students are excited to be able to work with people from the industry and feel honored that an adult from their community will contribute time to help. There are multiple ways for you to be involved and all avenues of participation are highly valued by our community.
The main avenues for participation are working directly with a local team or volunteering at a local FIRST® LEGO® League event. Click on each volunteer opportunities to find out more!
VOLUNTEERING AT AN EVENT
While FIRST events happen throughout the year, FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge tournament are occur from November through December. Event volunteers put on a great show for the students. We have several roles for you.
- Judges – Help evaluate and give feedback to teams
- Referees – Help the students play their game safely and fairly
- Field crews – Help with setup and tear down of fields, A/V
- Event Organizers – Help plan, organize, and execute events
Event volunteers are mostly an entire day, some run two days, plus a small amount of pre-event training. No experience required, we will train you!
For more information about hosting an event, please reach out to Karen Berger, the regional tournament coordinator.
Start your volunteer experience TODAY!
COACHING A TEAM
The success of each team starts with the coach. Each team needs two adults to help organize and mentor the team. While each team and coach work differently, the responsibilities of a coach could best be described as…
■ Helping the team set realistic goals
■ Facilitating meetings and help the team to coordinate the work
■ Completing administrative responsibilities such as tournament registration
and communication
■ Relaying all aspects of FIRST LEGO League guidelines and rules to
the team, other Coaches, Volunteers and parents
■ Possessing a desire to work with children, grades 4-8
Find out more in the Team/Coach FAQ and start your team TODAY!
MENTORING A TEAM
Teams rely on mentors to assist the team with a range of different tasks. Skills needed by teams include:
- Marketing and fundraising
- Graphic design and communications
- Team organization and project management
- Software and hardware engineering
Each of our programs has varying time commitments, but each is extremely rewarding. No previous experience required. Most of our team activities run from August through February. Mentors can discuss with their team the availability and resources they are able to contribute. Working directly with a group of students could likely be the most rewarding experience.
The FIRST Mentor Network allows mentors to easily find one or multiple teams to work with virtually or face to face, locally or across the country, for a few hours or a season. Create your profile and get started today!
IMPORTANT LINKS
TOP RESOURCES
- Volunteer Roles
- Current Challenge
- Judging Rubrics
- Volunteer Registration User Guide
- Volunteer Matching Quiz *Coming Soon*
- Volunteer Screening Guide
KEY CONTACTS
General Questions
questions@va-dcfll.org
Kaitlin Ilnitzki –
Program Director
ilnitzks@jmu.edu
Karen Berger – Regional Tournament Coordinator
karen@va-dcfll.org