Volunteer Opportunities

How Can I Get Involved with OAR?

Many opportunities exist to help OAR further its mission to rebuild lives and break the cycle of crime to create a safer community. OAR volunteers sustain vital services and programs that help families and individuals cope with the crisis of arrest and incarceration and that help them become self-sufficient. The following are some of the ways OAR volunteers serve our community.

• Service Coordinators gather relevant and pertinent client information, render initial services, answer phone inquiries, and make client appointments. This front line, fast-paced position provides a window to all OAR services and programs and is vital OAR’s ability to render professional and efficient assistance. Time commitment: flexible.
• Volunteer Interviewers screen inmates for OAR’s mentoring program. These Volunteer Interviewers are experienced OAR one-to-one mentors who are interested in assisting OAR to determine if an inmate is appropriate for the mentoring program. Time commitment: on call as needed – usually two hours per month.
• One-to-One Mentors meet weekly with inmates to set goals and explore solutions to problems. In weekly sessions, they help inmates set realistic goals, foster exploration of possible solutions to problems, and encourage inmates’ efforts to become productive, contributing members of the community. Minimum age: 21.  Time Commitment: one hour per week.
• Lobby Outreach Volunteers staff an information desk during visiting hours in the Fairfax County jail lobby to answer questions about jail rules and procedures, provide information about OAR and other resources, and act as an empathetic listener for family members and friends of the incarcerated person. Minimum age: 18.  Time Commitment: minimum 2 hours per month.
• Teachers/Facilitators provide leadership for inmate support groups and classes sponsored by OAR. OAR classes include Life Skills, Employability Skills, Grief & Loss, Parenting, Keyboarding, Computer Skills, Work Place Skills, Conflict Resolution, Fatherhood, and Financial Planning. These volunteers provide crucial training to help clients develop coping mechanisms to improve their life skills. Instructors also teach classes in the Loudoun County Work Release Center. Classes run on Monday evenings only in Loudoun County. Minimum age: 21. Time commitment: 1½ hours per week. Teachers have the option to team teach or co-facilitate.
• Board Members provide fiscal and administrative oversight, set policy, develop long-range plans, represent OAR to the community, and help secure resources necessary to carry out OAR’s mission. Board members meet on a bi-monthly basis. Time commitment: minimum two hours every other month.
• Administrative Volunteers assist staff members in such areas as organizing files, typing and data entry, photocopying and collating, as well as special projects such as mailings, calling other volunteers and public relations. Time commitment: on call as needed.

Is Training provided?

Yes. An initial training program is designed to educate volunteers to become fully functioning members of the OAR team. After a personal interview with the Volunteer Department, volunteers must attend 16 hours of intensive orientation that includes detailed information about:

• Court Procedures
• Probation & Parole
• Communication Skills
• Conflict Management
• Substance Abuse
• Dealing with Offenders

What are the benefits of volunteering?

• Personal satisfaction in helping to break the cycle of crime
• Opportunities for training and skill development
• Community involvement
• References and experience for a resume
• Annual recognition events and certificates
• A rewarding life experience

 For a Volunteer Application form, click here