Volunteer with GIRLS FIRST Afterschool Program

Girls First is currently seeking volunteers to help with our 2025-2026 Program Year.

The mission of Girls First is to build character, instill a positive sense of self, and provide tangible life skills through a creative curriculum of arts exploration, academic reinforcement, and emotional learning.

Girls First provides a safe, stable, and supportive environment where students practice respect for themselves and others, exercise appropriate interactions with peers and adults, discover new skills and talents, and develop tools that will allow them to achieve greater success in school and beyond. We serve up to 30 girls in grades 1 through 4.

Girls First meets Monday through Thursday from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Each programming day consists of snack/meal time, followed by conversation (Chew and Chat), high-energy/gentle stretching and breathing exercises, 45-minute small-group arts-based activities, and homework/academic enrichment time.

Volunteer responsibilities include sitting with a group during snack/meal time and facilitating conversations, encouraging engagement during movement & stretching, providing support to teaching artists during activities, helping with homework, or leading learning games, and above all, providing positive mentorship, building nurturing relationships with students, and possessing the ability to be youthful and have fun.

Volunteers may choose one or more days of the week to volunteer, but we ask that all volunteers commit to the chosen day(s).

We offer 3 tiers of involvement:

Tier 1-

Weekly participation for the program year

Tier 2- As Frequent as Possible participation

for the program year,

Tier 3- Acting as a substitute for the program year.

The goal is to allow you to choose the volunteer method or commitment that works best for you (and provides our girls with consistency).

Our 2025-2026 program year began on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, and concludes on Friday, May 22, 2026.

Girls First follows the Norristown Area School District, so no programming is held when school is out of session for professional development or holidays.

All volunteers must provide Three (3) recent PA Criminal Background Clearances:

1. PA Child Abuse Clearance
2. PA Criminal Record Check
3. FBI Fingerprinting (only those who have not lived in PA for 10 consecutive years or longer) and attend Mandatory volunteer training before starting as a volunteer.
4. If you are interested in volunteering, please complete a volunteer interest form at: https://forms.gle/6GroTgP6rp66q5AV6
5. You may also contact the Program Director, Raeanna Ellis (raeanna@girlsfirst.org), for more information.

Watch our video to learn more: Day in the Life at Girls First

1 shift available:

• Volunteer one or more days Monday-Thursday from 3pm-6pm): 15:00 to 18:00 EST