Volunteering at
Minds Matter Portland

Thank you for your desire to support our students and mission! Please email us at volunteer@mindsmatterportland.org with any questions.

Minds Matter Portland is made up of professionals who represent many companies and organizations in the Portland area. Our mentors and tutors are the key to our organization and give a significant amount of time every week to help their mentees achieve their dreams.

How you can help!

Tutors

Tutors come in on Saturday mornings from 10am to 12pm and focus on writing, mathematics, study skills, and homework help.

Mentors

Mentors come in on Saturday afternoons from 12:30pm to 2:30pm. Mentors help students select summer programs and prepare applications. Additionally, student-mentor teams work together to refine critical thinking skills, dive deeper into career interests, listen to career panels from a range of different fields (medical, engineering, education, law and government, etc.), work on building resumes, and practice interview skills.

Other Volunteer Positions

Minds Matter invites anyone interested in participating in the leadership team, recruiting team, volunteer coordination, college counseling, administrative team, or fundraising to apply!

In particular, we are looking for enthusiastic volunteers to lead the following efforts:

  • Student Recruiting Director – Help us recruit our amazing students by coordinating with partner high schools to schedule info sessions about Minds Matter, field questions from counselors and prospective students, review new student applications, and conduct student interviews. Main activities take place February-June.
  • Lunch Lead – Make sure students are fed and happy on Saturday sessions by planning and placing food orders and coordinating the lunch set-up and clean-up teams. Main activities take place Sept-May.
  • Volunteer Recruiting Lead – Manage the volunteer recruiting efforts and team by planning and enacting a targeted recruitment strategy and interviewing potential volunteers. Year-round, main activities take place Aug-Oct.​

Volunteering Matters!

Volunteering at Minds Matter Portland is a worthwhile and inspiring way to give back to young people in your community. Minds Matter provides several volunteer-only events throughout the year including happy hours and fundraisers – a great way to meet new people, network, and build lasting friendships. In addition, you have the opportunity to join the leadership team and directly contribute to the strategic vision and direction of Minds Matter. Our volunteers come from diverse career backgrounds from tech to legal to education to medical. In addition, several mentors are currently pursuing graduate degrees from local universities. Mentors should be college graduates, attend at least 75% of Saturday sessions, and be able to communicate with their mentees periodically outside of sessions. Tutors should be comfortable working with students on high-school level academic subjects like writing or math and should also commit to attending 75% of sessions. All volunteers undergo a background check and complete training on youth protection and diversity, equity, inclusion and justice.