Volunteer Requirements Guide
How Do I Complete My Volunteer Requirements?
Please note, Sport and Local Team Volunteers will be asked to complete two separate clearances:
1. The PA State Police and National Background Check
2. The PA Child Neglect/Abuse Registry Check
For a printable version of these steps, please click here.
1.
Fill out a volunteer application on the Special Olympics Pennsylvania website. You will be asked to verify your email and answer a few questions about yourself. Once completed, you will be taken to the Volunteer Zone of our Online Portal.
2.
By default, everyone who completes the volunteer application starts as a General Volunteer (able to volunteer at an event). Click on the “Sign up for an Event” button on the Volunteer Zone home page to view and register for an event.
3.
Looking to get involved beyond our events? To volunteer as an Assistant Coach, Coach, Mentor and more, click on the “Do More with Special Olympics” icon to see a list of volunteer opportunities and register for the role of your choice. Once you click on “apply” the requirements for that role will be added to your checklist.
4.
If you are applying to a role that requires a background check, you will see the Background Check item added to your checklist. After answering the background check questions, you will automatically receive an email with a link to complete your background check.
When completing the Background Check checklist item, you will be asked: "Have you received a PA Child Neglect/Abuse Clearance within the last 5 years?"
If you answer "no" to this question, Sterling Volunteers will add the PA Child
Neglect/Abuse Clearance to your background check package. Upon completion of the PA State Police and National Background Check, you will be directed to the PA Compass website and provided with instruction on how to complete the PA Child Neglect/Abuse Clearance. You will be provided with a pre-paid authorization code that you will enter on the last page of the clearance application. The code allows us to directly receive the results of your clearance.
Click here for a step- by-step user guide to completing this clearance.
If you answer "yes" to this question, a space for you to upload your existing PA Child Abuse Clearance will be added to your checklist. You may also email a copy of the clearance to classAsupport@specialolympicspa.org
5.
Click on the remaining checklist items to view and complete your volunteer requirements. The status column will show you which items still need to be completed or need to be reviewed by staff.
6.
Once your checklist items are complete, you are ready to volunteer! If you are not sure how to get started as a volunteer, please reach out to your Regional Office or you can email us at volunteer@specialolympicspa.org.
Once you complete the background checks and are cleared to start as a Class A volunteer, someone from your local program should be reaching out to you to get you started! You can also contact your local program if you have any questions or when you want to get started.
Do you have any other questions about volunteering? Please reach out to your local program manager or contact us at volunteer@specialolympicspa.org!