| CITY OF Dodgeville |
| Parks and Recreation
Department |
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| Volunteer Policies |
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| INTRODUCTION |
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| Welcome to the Dodgeville
Parks and Recreation Department. Your
decision to donate time and effort as a volunteer is deeply appreciated. It is becoming increasingly difficult to
attain volunteer help. That is what
makes each volunteer special. The fact
that you care enough and are willing to teach kids skills, sportsmanship, and
fair play, tells us that you are a quality individual. We're confident that you will be a great
asset in our program's operations. |
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| The Parks and Recreation
Department in Dodgeville strives to provide a well-rounded recreation program
throughout the year to meet the needs of all Dodgeville residents. Our program can only be as successful as
the program leaders, coaches, and instructors we have in charge of them. |
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| The following information is
an explanation of the policies and procedures for volunteers established by
the Parks and Recreation Department.
You are expected to be familiar with these policies. If you have any questions, feel free to
contact your immediate supervisor. |
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| APPEARANCE AND DRESS |
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| Volunteers should be aware
that participants will often imitate what they see. Therefore, volunteers should always present
an image that is positive. Appearance
and clothing should be neat, clean, and appropriate. |
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| CONDUCT |
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| As a volunteer, you are in the
position of working with children who are very impressionable. What you say or how you act can have a very
big impact on a child who idolizes you.
Because of this, your conduct with the participants should always be
in a manner that reflects well upon yourself and the Department of Parks and
Recreation. |
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| * The Department does not allow or condone
the use of profane language. This rule
applies to both volunteers and participants.
Volunteers will be expected to enforce this rule. |
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| * The drinking of alcoholic beverages or the
use of harmful drugs by participants or volunteers before or while your
activity is in progress is strictly forbidden. The Department expects you to arrive on the
job in a proper and physically sound working condition. Any volunteer (or participant) violating
this rule will be disciplined by the Parks and Recreation Department. |
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| * Smoking and/or the chewing of tobacco is
not allowed by either volunteers or participants during practices or games. |
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| * Any participant or volunteer caught in
connection with the theft of city articles will be prosecuted to the full
extent of the law. |
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| * Items such as eyeglasses, watches, clothes,
etc, if damaged, are not covered under city insurance and reimbursement will
not be made. |
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| * It is expected of all volunteers to abide
by and adhere to all rules, regulations, policies, and philosophies of the
game as expressed by the Parks and Recreation Department. If you have any questions concerning the
Department's interpretation of rules, do not hesitate to contact your
immediate supervisor. |
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| * Volunteers are expected to abide by all
rules and regulations of the facility they are using whether it be a school
gym or a local park/field. Volunteers
are responsible for their team's conduct at any facility. |
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| * Our Department will not tolerate sexual
harassment. If you feel you are a
victim of sexual harassment by either another volunteer, program, or a
Department supervisor, complaints may be registered with the City of
Dodgeville. All complaints registered
by either employees or by program participants will be fully investigated. |
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| GAMES AND PRACTICES |
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| * All games and practices will start on time
according to the schedule developed by the Parks and Recreation Department. |
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| * Volunteers are expected to be at their
designated activity site early enough so that all preparations may be made to
start the activity on time. Likewise,
all volunteers are to remain at the activity site upon conclusion of the
practice, game, or program for a short period of time (10-15 minutes) to make
sure the area is left in order. |
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| * Transportation to and from programs, games,
and practices is the responsibility of the parents. It is advisable that the volunteers talk to
the parents about setting up some kind of car pool system. |
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| * The Dodgeville Parks and Recreation
Department intends to comply with the intent and spirit of the Americans with
Disabilities Act. In most instances
special accommodations will be made to allow disabled youngsters to enroll in
programs. We will notify you in
advance of any special circumstances.
Please contact your supervisor immediately if arrangements have not
been made for accommodations requested by disabled participants. |
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| ATHLETIC PROGRAMS |
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| * Pre-registration is required for all
athletic programs. You will be given a
program roster, which lists the participants.
Any participant whose name does not appear on your list should have a receipt from our
office. You are not at liberty to
accept registrations or to authorize changes from one team to another. Please direct all registration questions to
the Parks and Recreation office.
T-shirts (if applicable) will not be issued to any players not
officially registered, and unregistered players will not be allowed to
participate in any games. |
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| * Adverse weather conditions do not
necessarily justify the cancellation of any activity. Please call the Recreation Department at
930-5358 for any messages relating to this or listen to D99.3 for any
cancellations. All employees should
be aware of the weather policies for their specific activity. |
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| HEALTH, SAFETY, AND ACCIDENTS |
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| * Volunteers are responsible to check the
program site for any potential hazards.
This should be done before each practice or game. Any debris, broken glass, etc., that could
cause injury should be cleaned up.
Anything that you cannot personally correct should be immediately
reported to your supervisor. |
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| * Volunteers should know where the nearest
telephone is. Find out exactly where
it is and how to use it so you can access it quickly in the event of an
emergency. |
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| * Volunteers should also know where the
nearest first aid box is. We will
supply all first aid boxes to start the season. In some instances it will be the volunteers
responsibility to get replacement supplies as needed during the course of the
program. Please contact the Recreation
Department if supplies are needed. |
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| ATHLETIC COACHES |
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| * Coaches are responsible for all
participants registered for their team.
Check your roster daily.
Participants joining your team late should present you with a
receipt. Get a parent's name and phone
number from all late registrants. |
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| * Volunteers should know how to reach their
supervisor in an emergency. Keep Parks
and Recreation office number and home phone numbers of professional staff
handy: In life threatening situations
employees should: |
| 1) Call 911 immediately (9-911
at some sites) |
| 2) Notify parents |
| 3) Call their immediate
supervisor/recreation director |
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| * For serious emergencies that will require
additional medical treatment, such as broken limb, sprain, animal bite, cut
that will need stitches, call the parents first. If it is not a life-threatening situation
do not call an ambulance without first attempting to get a parents' O.K. Parents may prefer to transport a child to
the hospital themselves. |
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| DO NOT
transport an injured player to a hospital yourself. An emergency vehicle, parent, or other
relative should do this. |
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| * An accident report must be completed any
time you give first aid. No matter how
serious or slight the accident may seem we need to have a record of it for
insurance purposes. |
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| * The City of Dodgeville does not provide hospital or accident
insurance for people participating in department-sponsored activities. Please, do not tell a participant that the
Parks and Recreation Department will pay the bill for their injury. |
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| * The city does carry liability
insurance. If a parent does feel that
the city is liable for an injury because of negligence, they must file a
claim within 30 days. They may contact
either the Parks and Recreation office or City Hall at 110 E Fountain Street,
Dodgeville. |
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| NEGLIGENCE |
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| * The city does have liability insurance that
covers both city employees and our volunteer coaches. Negligence may include an act of commission
or omission. Some examples may
include: |
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| 1) Failing to check equipment
before using it or knowingly using faulty equipment. |
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| 2) Letting kids participate
without safety equipment. |
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| 3) Arriving late, leaving
early or totally missing a scheduled practice or game. |
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| 4) Conducting the activity or
drill in an unsafe manner or environment. |
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| Please put safety first and
use common sense to help us avoid unnecessary injury to our players. |
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| PROGRAM WRAP-UP |
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| * Each volunteer will be asked to complete an
evaluation of the program at the season end.
Any comments, suggestions, criticisms, are welcome and will be used in
planning for the next season. Please
be sure to give us your input. |
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| * Any equipment checked out to volunteers
should be promptly returned at the conclusion of the season. In many instances we will be taking
inventory shortly after the end of the season to determine necessary
purchases for next year. Your
assistance in promptly returning equipment will be a major factor in keeping
the cost of our programs at a reasonable level. Your assistance in reminding players to
return equipment as well is necessary to monitor our inventory. |
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| Any lost/found articles should
be kept until the conclusion of the program.
Please make every attempt to find the owner. Any articles unclaimed at season end should
be brought to the Parks and Recreation Office located at 110 E Fountain
Street. |
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| Again, thank you for taking
the time to volunteer. Your assistance
is greatly appreciated. This policy
may seem “over-the-top,” however, I take your willingness to volunteer very
seriously and want to ensure the safety of all participants involved. Thank you for your cooperation. |
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| Sincerely, |
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| Kathryn Heimerl |
| Recreation Director |
| 930.5358 |
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