FAQs for High School Clubs and Teen Groups
The mission of Brooklyn Book Bodega is to increase the number of 100+ book homes for kids 0-18 in NYC. We provide access to and ownership of children’s books, build community, and create a passion for learning through free events and literacy-based community programming.
Volunteers are an integral part of our organization. They help us process books, pack books to distribute to community partners, and help at book giveaway events across the city.
What opportunities are available to volunteer with Brooklyn Book Bodega?
Public Book Hub sessions for 3 hours and/or Community Events for 3 to 5 hours
Public sessions and events are open to anyone and are available on a first-signed-up-first-confirmed basis until the session is at capacity. Individuals signing up for public sessions are expected to take part in the entire length of the session.
Private sessions at the Book Hub for 2 hours
If you are interested in arranging a private session at the Book Hub for your club or group, please complete our group volunteer interest form. These sessions require a financial commitment (donation) based on the number of volunteers expected to join. After that, we schedule for a date and time that works for both your group and Brooklyn Book Bodega.
Is there an age minimum to volunteer with the Brooklyn Book Bodega?
Anyone aged 13+ is welcome to volunteer. Guardian consent is required for volunteers ages 13-17. No exceptions.
How does someone sign up to volunteer for public sessions?
Each person who wants to volunteer should navigate to our volunteer page and select the type of volunteer opportunity.
Interested volunteers should complete the sign up forms linked in either Book Hub Volunteering or Event Volunteering, selecting the opportunity that works best for their schedule.
Complete the sign up form and media release.
In the sign up form question “How did you hear about us?”, please share the name of your club and school or organization.
Public sessions are offered on a first-signed-up-first-confirmed basis until the session is at capacity.
Where is the Brooklyn Book Bodega Book Hub?
141 Flushing Avenue, Suite 606, Brooklyn, NY 11205.
What will we do as volunteers for Brooklyn Book Bodega?
At the Book Hub, volunteers sort, stamp, and pack books for community partners.
At Community Events, volunteers assist attendees in selecting books and share information about Brooklyn Book Bodega.
We found a session/event that we wanted our members to join. By the time we went to sign up, some of us were able to sign up and others were not. What should we do?
Sessions can fill up quickly and we are not able to re-open sessions. Send your members our volunteer opportunities page to sign up directly ASAP.
We want to have the opportunity for all of our members to volunteer together. How do we arrange that?
We offer group volunteer opportunities at our Book Hub for groups of 5 to 40 people for a fee based on the number of expected volunteers and chaperones. These 2-hour sessions are scheduled at a date and time that works for your club and Brooklyn Book Bodega. For more information about this, please complete our group volunteer interest form.
We arranged to hold a private volunteer opportunity and our schedule has changed, can we cancel or volunteer on another date?
We organize our book pickup and drop-off timings, as well as the number of books processed through our inventory, in part according to our volunteer programming. Therefore, if you must cancel your session entirely, we are unable to offer a refund for cancellations made less than three weeks before your scheduled session. However, if you must cancel more than three weeks in advance, we are happy to work with you to find an alternative date within the same calendar year of your original session.
Our club members are joining public sessions and they are no longer able to attend. What should they do?
If volunteers need to cancel, they must contact the Brooklyn Book Bodega Volunteer Coordinator and cancel themselves in the volunteer system in advance of the session. Failure to properly cancel session attendance more than three times in six months may result in no longer being able to volunteer with Brooklyn Book Bodega.
Do you have a volunteer code of conduct?
Yes, you can read it here.
One or more of our club members is volunteering and wants to bring a friend who was not able to sign up in advance. Can they come?
No. Every volunteer needs to sign up in advance. Anyone who shows up that did not sign up via the appropriate Brooklyn Book Bodega volunteer form will not be able to volunteer.
Do you provide confirmation of volunteer hours?
Yes, we can either sign a form that the volunteer provides at the end of the session or provide a letter on Brooklyn Book Bodega letterhead. There is a 5 business day turnaround for letters once the request is submitted to Brooklyn Book Bodega staff.
To create the letter, we need the:
Volunteer’s full name
Organization or school name
Date(s) volunteered
Time(s) volunteered
Do we need to bring an adult chaperone at our volunteer sessions?
No, it is not required for our public volunteer opportunities, though they are welcome to sign up and volunteer as well!
If you are arranging a private volunteer opportunity, an adult chaperone will need to be included in the number of expected volunteers and will need to be in attendance for the entire session. For a group of 5-10, we require one adult chaperone. Each additional 5 youth will need 1 additional adult chaperone.
None of the scheduled sessions and event opportunities work for us. How else can we engage with Brooklyn Book Bodega?
Still have questions?
Contact: Cecilia Golombek, Brooklyn Book Bodega Book Hub Manager at cecilia@brooklynbookbodega.org
