Woodland Hills Expands
VOLUNTEER PROGRAM
BY THE HUGS LEADERSHIP TEAM
The H.U.G.S. (Helping Unconditionally by Giving Support) Volunteer Program was launched in the spring
of 2017 and was the creation of Dr. Deborah Vereen, the Assistant to the Superintendent (Family and
Community Engagement).
H.U.G.S mission statement:
The Woodland Hills School District will embrace the strengths of enthusiastic family members,
community leaders, and neighborhood partners who are committed to teaming with us to
develop and maintain volunteer initiatives throughout the district.
Dr. Vereen recruited and trained
16 volunteers to give the program a
great start in the district. Upon the
retirement of Dr. Vereen this summer,
a group of H.U.G.S. Volunteers
concerned about the life of the
program offered to continue to
develop and implement H.U.G.S. for
the 2017-2018 school year. These
volunteers have attended Woodland
Hills Community Day, as well as the
Back-to-School Night events at each
building and have now recruited over
40 new people for the program! There
will be several H.U.G.S. training events
in the upcoming weeks to go over the
program guidelines and to discuss
scheduling. After they are trained,
the new volunteers will be ready to
actively volunteer in all Woodland Hills
buildings in various capacities.
Possible volunteer opportunities will include interacting with students (reading with them,
going over flash cards, etc.), clerical tasks (copying, cutting, laminating, etc.), building support
(greeters, hall monitors, lunch room support, etc.), and special events support (field trips,
classroom parties, community events, etc.), as well as district sporting events. More volunteer
opportunities will be added as the program grows and evolves.
The volunteers will set their own schedules and are under no obligation to volunteer for any
minimum amount of time. Some volunteers will be in the buildings weekly/monthly and will
coordinate their activities more closely with classroom teachers and building administrators,
while others will fill more of an “on-call” role and will be contacted periodically by the H.U.G.S.
Leadership Team when one-time/special events arise.
Enrollment for the program will be ongoing and training will be offered regularly while new
people continue to sign up. You are not required to be a H.U.G.S. Volunteer to be an active
parent in your child’s classroom or PTO/PIE group. H.U.G.S. merely offers a different/additional
level of volunteerism and support to our district. The district is dedicated to becoming a more
open and welcoming place to families and community members. For more information and to
sign up for yourself, please visit our website: http://www.whsd.net/Content2/hugs
28 Woodland Hills