From cheerfully checking in fellow members at an in-person class to serving as engaged advisors on key committees, our volunteers wow us, day in and day out. Over the years, hundreds (upon hundreds) of members have volunteered in numerous ways, creating deep friendships and connections to one another and to us. And, of course, us to them! We wouldn't be the learning community we are today without them!
A New Volunteer Program
Launched in the fall of 2023, our revamped volunteer program makes it a breeze to get involved and to experience all of the fun and fulfillment that comes with joining in.
Now members can:
- View and sign up for an ever-expanding list of volunteer opportunities in their Member Dashboards
- Accumulate volunteer hours to receive a complementary course!
Check out our volunteer how-to guide for details and instructions.
Volunteering FAQs
It's easy! Log into the OLLI website and click on "My Dashboard" in the menu. Once you're in your the Member Dashboard, you'll find a section called "My Volunteering." Inside you'll find a wealth of opportunities to pitch in with more being added all the time. Here is a guide to help navigate your way around.
Yes. You must be a current member to gain access to the volunteer posts and to report your volunteer hours.
Yes! Any hours you accumulate will be there when you return (which we hope will be soon!).
First, thank you! Please email us and tell us how you’d like to help. We'll get back to you right away with possibilities.
On occasion, there may be volunteer opportunities that require specific skills, such as data analysis. After you submit your interest in a role, an OLLI staff person will reach out to you to discuss the position in greater detail. If it doesn't seem like a match, we'll work to find another opportunity that fits better.
Yes. We appreciate your offer to help but to be fair to paying members, you must be a registrant for that particular course in order to volunteer for it. This info will be outlined in the volunteer posting.
When the accrued number of volunteer “credit” hours reaches 100, volunteers have the option to redeem them for a complimentary Type A-Lecture or Type B-small discussion course, depending on your member type. Please contact pcarvalho@berkeley.edu when you have reached 100 credit hours.
Tracking volunteer hours is beneficial to any organization. This data is instrumental when used for applying for grants, they help the organization in determining staff needs and give volunteers a snapshot of the time they spent supporting organizations they love.
Once the date/time has passed, the system will automatically change the status to REPORT THESE HOURS which allows you to confirm and report the amount of time you spent on this task and to share your comments about your experience.
Good question! You will be able to report those hours using the REPORT OTHER VOLUNTEER HOURS option. For more info, please see page 11 in the Volunteer navigation guide.
Not to worry! Once an opportunity date/time has passed, it requires that you manually confirm and report the amount of time you spent on this task. Once you have done so, you will see them added to your totals.
My Volunteer Hours Credit:
If you redeem any of your hours, the system will subtract them and indicate any remaining credit hours to be redeemed in the future.
My Total Volunteer Hours:
These are your total hours accumulated, including the hours you have redeemed.
OLLI is not able to reimburse for parking or transportation expenses. Other expenses or reimbursement requests must be approved in advance by the responsible staff person. Here are some options for parking.