ACT-SO community members may volunteer as chairpersons, mentors, sponsors, organizers, or educational partners. Schools, local businesses, community organizations, churches, foundations, and major corporations provide critical support to the program.

Help our children develop the confidence and skills needed to excel in school and in life.

Volunteer Opportunities within the Pine Bluff ACT-SO Committee

The Pine Bluff ACT-SO Program is seeking volunteers as committee members who can help plan and implement the activities associated with building a successful ACT-SO program.  Here are some leadership responsibilities available to volunteers on the committee:

Recruitment:  Volunteer to help recruit students with academic achievement as participants.  Be willing to speak to students at school functions, community gatherings, and churches.   Be familiar with the ACT-SO  application process, parental consent and other forms, and make frequent contacts with applicants and parents when needed. 

Requirements:  ACT-SO Handbook and forms. 

Fundraising:  Raising funds will include managing online auctions, managing the popcorn sales, hosting fundraising events, and promoting ACT-SO at community events.

Requirements: A highly organized person who is creative and familiarity with fundraising strategies. 

Public Relations/Communications:  Volunteers work in coordination the direction of the NAACP Public Relations & Communications Committee Chair to prepare media releases, manage photo shoots and maintain files and records of photos, help prepare and oversee the collection of ads for the awards souvenir journal, and other related media relations tasks as assigned.

Requirements:  A person who has organizational and record keeping skills, knowledgeable in marketing and media relations, creative and knowledgeable of Adobe, photo shop, or similar publishing tools for creating journals, flyers, or brochures.

Social Media Strategist:  This volunteer works with the chair to develop marketing strategies using social media for recruiting and fundraising for ACT-SO. 

Requirements:  Volunteer must have demonstrated skills using social media marketing platforms.

Website Content Facilitator:  This volunteer maintains the website by adding and removing outdated content. 

Requirements:  Must have fundamental knowledge of web design and website management.

Coach/Training Facilitator:  This volunteer prepares the contestant for his/her competition and is responsible for matching students with mentors who have the experience in the field of the competition that can help the student  with their presentation and give them feedback on their projects before the competition and continue to work with them should they advance to the national level.

Requirements:  Must have skills in public speaking and social etiquette.  Must be knowledgeable about discussing proper attitudes when speaking before a judge, conduct among peers, and dressing for success based on ACT-SO criteria.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:  ACT-SO JUDGES

ACT-SO judges are the volunteers who select the winners of the ACT-SO contests.  ACT-SO uses the point system in its selection process which ensures fairness in determining ACT-SO winners.  Each contest has its own set of criteria, and a certain number of points are attributed to each criterion. The maximum number of points a contestant can receive is 100 points.  The highest average score determines first, second, and third place winners.  The desired number of judges for a competition is three.

Volunteer Requirements:

Must commit to perform the duties of a judge, including but not limited to asking contestants pertinent questions about their projects, using score sheets to assigned points based on the judging criteria for that competition, and signing off on the affidavit verifying the accuracy of your score for each contestant who participated.

Basic Requirements:

• Must be degreed and professional employed (or retired) in the field they are judging. (Graduate degree preferred.) 
• Must complete a Judge Consent Form attesting that you are qualified to judge contestants based on your credentials.
• Must not be employed as a teacher in the Pine Bluff School District or recently worked in the district (in any capacity) to avoid any appearance of bias.
• Must be willing to judge each contestant fairly and objectively based on the judging criteria established by the NAACP National ACT-SO Office.
• Must prepare an evaluation form for each contestant by recording any suggestions or recommendations that will is helpful feedback for them. (The evaluations are distributed to the students.)
• Must not disclose publicly any information about the student, his/her performance, or the judging procedures. Nor should the judge have further contact with the student about the contest. All written and verbal information is considered confidential and the property of the NAACP.

(Upon receipt of your consent form, the chair or co-chair will contact you with date, time, location as well as the judging guidelines for your assigned competition.)

Click here to download Judge Consent Form