| Volunteering Opportunities |
There are several ways for you to volunteer at CRCMC. Check out the list below and feel free to give us a call if you have any questions. (Volunteer Mediator information is at the bottom of the page.)
If you are already a CRCMC volunteer and are looking for a specific event to volunteer for please visit our Volunteer Calendar.
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Join a CRCMC Committee
- Outreach Committee - The Outreach Committee spreads the word about CRCMC throughout the County. They meet once a month in the evenings.
- Development Committee - The Development Committee looks for sources of funding for CRCMC. They meet once a month in the mornings.
If you have experience with grant writing or fundraising, especially for non-profits, this may be of interest to you.
Office Work
- General - Answering
the phone, filing, organizing, and all the other day to day tasks that
keep an organization running. It's a great way to get to know who we
are and what we do even if you don't have former mediation experience.
- Data Entry - We occasionally have need for a few hours of data entry or cross-checking database entries.
Translating
- At home - If
you would like to donate an hour here or there and you are fluent in
another language, consider translating a few documents for us. It's a
volunteer opportunity that you can do from home!
- At a mediation - Fluent
speakers of Spanish, Portuguese, French, Chinese (Mandarin or
Cantonese), Vietnamese, Korean or American Sign Language are needed
occasionally to interpret mediation sessions into English. The time commitment is usually about 2 hours. No mediation experience needed, however an appreciation and understanding of
confidentiality is a must.
Scribe
- Sit in on a dialogue circle as an observer and keep a record of what is
said and what happens. Appreciation and understanding of
confidentiality is a must.
Volunteer Opportunities that Require Training
Dialogue Circles
- Facilitators lead the Dialogue Circles and
facilitate discussions within the group. Requirements: Basic mediation training and an additional 3 hr training.
- Commitment: Contact us for further information.
Intake
- This is a great way to practice your reflective listening skills! Handle telephone requests for mediations. Requirements: Basic mediation training and a 10hr intake training.
- Commitment: Minimum of 4 hrs a month (approximately one morning or afternoon a month)
Community Conferencing
- Requirements: Two and a half day training and a $250 cost, reimbursable with completion of commitment.
- Commitment: Observe two cases and facilitate 4 cases or donate 20 hours in services over the course of one year.
Facilitation
- Requirements: Basic mediation training and a 20hr facilitation training.
- Commitment: Contact us for further details.
Training Others in Conflict Management
- Requirements: Basic mediation training and a 2 day "Train the Trainer" training.
- Commitment: Sign up for a minimum of 6 trainings a year.
Basic Mediation Training
- Requirements: 40 hour training over the course of 2 - 3 weeks. A minimum of 2 observations of real mediations and an apprenticeship with experienced mediators.
- Commitment: Volunteer 100 hours over the course of one year. (Volunteer hours can be used on mediations or any of the other volunteer opportunities listed above.)
- See "Volunteer as a Mediator" section below for further details on the Basic Mediation Training.
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If you are interested in volunteering for any of the above opportunities or if you have any questions contact us at 301-942-2181ORfill out our form online.
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| Volunteers receiving the Conflict Resolution Day Award |
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Volunteer as a Mediator
♦ The next training is in March 2010. We are currently accepting applications. ♦
♦ Deadline for Applications is Jan. 22, 2010. ♦
♦ Space is limited, interviews will be held in January and February 2010. ♦ ♦ Contact carolyn@crcmc.org or 301-942-2181 if you are interested. ♦
If you would like to be added to our list or have already received the 40-50 hour training and are interested in volunteering with us, please send an email to: carolyn@crcmc.org. If you have already submitted an applicaton and were on our list you will be receiving an e-mail by the end of November 2009. Please respond so we know if you are still interested.
CRCMC offers free mediation training to Montgomery County residents, who commit to volunteering as mediators with CRCMC. The frequency of our trainings and the screening process for mediator trainees is guided by community needs in Montgomery County.
The timeline for our office:
- Dec. '09 - Jan'10: Reviewing applications (Due by Jan 22, 2010)
- Jan '10 - Feb '10: Interviews for potential volunteer mediators.
- End of Feb '10: Twenty people will be selected to participate in the free mediation training (unfortunately this means that not everyone will have a chance to participate in this training).
- March '10: Mediation Training begins
You must be able to attend all dates and times. Missing 3 or more hours of training will automatically exclude you from completing the training. The exact dates and times for the training are as follows:
- Saturday, March 6: 9am-5:30pm
- Sunday, March 7: 9am-5:30pm
- Tuesday, March 9: 6pm-9pm
- Wednesday, March 10: 6pm-9pm
- Saturday, March 13: 9am-5pm
- Sunday, March 14: 9am-5pm
- Tuesday, March 16: 6pm-9pm
- Saturday, March 20: 9am-5pm
We are always looking for people with multiple language skills, varied backgrounds, educations, and socio-economic statuses. If you or someone you know could be a mediator, contact us!
Deadline for applications is January 22, 2010. All applications received after Jan 22, will be saved on file for the next mediation training, but will not be considered for the March 2010 training.
The Basic Mediation Training through CRCMC includes the following:
- 45 hours of mediation training
- apprenticeship program, which consists of:
- observing two mediations
- co-mediating at least two mediations with an experienced mediator
- 5 hours of follow-up training
The basic mediation training is based on experiential learning. Experiential learning builds skills sequentially by incorporating past experiences with conflict, as well as, new experiences that will be created in the training through games and activities. Because this type of training relies heavily on group participation, individuals who miss 1 hour of training will not receive a mediator certificate and those who miss 3 hours of training will be asked not to return to the group. Trainees, who cannot complete the training due to unexpected emergencies, may have the opportunity to restart their training with a new group.
Upon completion of all 50 hours of training and the apprenticeship, mediators receive their certificate and are required to:
- volunteer 100 hours over the course of one year (volunteer hours can be applied towards mediations, outreach, intake, or other volunteer opportunities).
- volunteer for outreach, fundraising activities, or on a CRCMC committee
- participate in the Maryland Program for Mediator Excellence (MPME). This is a statewide quality assurance program that requires mediators to commit to continuous learning and skill building and is free to join. For more information on MPME please visit www.marylandmacro.org.
Mediators trained in models that are different from the community co-mediation model, may be required to participate in additional trainings before volunteering their services with CRCMC.
To volunteer with CRCMC, applicants with mediation training are required to participate in a 2 hour New Volunteer Orientation. The orientation informs participants of CRCMC’s mission, services, expectations regarding volunteer commitments, and office procedures.
New Volunteer Orientations are scheduled once or twice throughout the year. To inquire about the date and time of the next orientation, please email your request to carolyn@crcmc.org.
To apply to be a volunteer contact Carolyn Stilwell at carolyn@crcmc.org or at 301-942-2181. Applicants will be asked to submit an application. The CRCMC staff will review the applications and then schedule personal interviews with each applicant. Then, CRCMC will notify applicants by email about the outcome of the interviews. Applications are accepted throughout the year.
CRCMC is dedicated to its volunteers’ growth and offers free trainings, opportunities to build new skills (i.e. facilitation and training skills), mentoring programs, and an open supportive community. We thank you for your support in promoting free mediation services to the Montgomery County community.
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