Speaker Collection:
Volunteer Classroom Speakers
Our Impact
xxx
classrooms connected with a guest speaker
xxx
of guest speaker volunteers registered
Speaker Collection: Volunteer Classroom Speakers
Whether you’re an educator looking for a guest speaker or a community member ready to inspire students, the Speaker Collection makes it easy to connect and highlight real-world stories in Santa Barbara County classrooms.
Bring careers, life experiences, and inspiring stories into your classroom by connecting with vetted volunteer speakers throughout Santa Barbara County.
How it works
Through the Speaker Collection platform, educators can connect with volunteer speakers from a wide range of careers and backgrounds – all for free! We ask participating teachers to commit to prompt communication with volunteers, and to keeping their requests up-to-date!
Sign Up
Create your teacher account.
Request
Submit a speaker request with details about your class and goals.
Browse
Explore volunteer speaker profiles.
Connect
Coordinate a visit. You can wait for volunteers to express interest or message volunteers directly to see if they are a potential fit.
FAQs
Imagine what you might need to know speaking to students in this age range for the first time–how can you set your volunteers up for success? We have provided some prompts to help with this.
Nothing! Partners is currently able to offer this resource free to schools and volunteers, thanks to generous funders. However, our platform is costly to run and we welcome donations.
Educators and volunteers are responsible for canceling or rescheduling directly with one another. The event must also be updated within the portal for it to be correctly recorded in our system (we track volunteer activity for district or schools reports).
Both teachers and volunteers will receive links to a feedback survey following a volunteer visit. Your feedback is important in helping us continually improve our procedures.
Share your story and help students discover new careers, perspectives, and possibilities. Become part of our Speaker Collection today.
How it works
Through the Speaker Collection platform, volunteers can share about their career journeys, experiences, and expertise with students helping inspire the next generation. We ask our speakers to commit to giving prompt responses to teachers, and to keeping their profiles current.
Sign Up
Create your speaker profile.
Get Onboarded
Complete the required onboarding, including, in most cases, a Live Scan background check.
Respond
Receive and respond to classroom invitations from teachers interested in your experience.
Inspire
Coordinate your classroom visit and share your story with students.
FAQs
In a nutshell: Who you are, what you do, and what experiences shaped you to be the person you are today. Stories inspire! The greater the variety of stories we can share with young people, the better! For those feeling stuck, our staff can coach volunteers on what to present and how to make it engaging.
For the Live Scan process, your fingerprints will be taken to determine whether you have any criminal convictions. In order to maintain the safety of students, the California Education Code prohibits individuals with certain criminal convictions from working or volunteering in public schools.Volunteer requirements currently differ district to district, which can be cumbersome for volunteers to navigate. By completing a Live Scan with us, you avoid the need to complete separate Live Scans for individual districts where you may volunteer.
Nothing! Partners is currently able to offer this resource free to schools and volunteers, thanks to generous funders. However, our platform is costly to run and we welcome donations.
Educators and volunteers are responsible for canceling or rescheduling directly with one another. The event must also be updated within the portal for it to be correctly recorded in our system (we track volunteer activity for district or schools reports).
Both teachers and volunteers will receive links to a feedback survey following a volunteer visit. Your feedback is important in helping us continually improve our procedures.