My tutoring position includes more non-clinical volunteering then actual tutoring, what do I do?

[Round786]

Hello all, I am a tutor at an affordable housing complex run by the state government and managed by a homeless shelter. Turns out that the kids are not very interested in the tutoring and in the case that kids do come, they just want the snacks and/or wanna play with the computers. So, to better spend my time, me and the other tutor will do miscellaneous tasks at the mini food bank (with permission by the coordinator) right next to the tutoring center (organize, check stock, supply, interact with the occupants, etc.)

How would I record this? The ratio between tutoring and food bank will sometimes be 20/80, 30/70, 50/50. Could I even record my work at the food bank? Officially I am only a tutor, if med schools were to call there would be no records of me working at the food bank.

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[TelemarketingEnigma]

Categorize it as non clinical volunteering, label it with whatever your official title is, then describe your official duties as well as additional activities. Pretty much what you just did here: “my official duties are A, B, and C. When I have extra time, I also help with X, Y, Z at the food bank.”

 

[LizzyM]

Don't tag it as tutoring (that is a better tag if you are tutoring your peers). Call it non-clinical volunteering as the hours can all be lumped in that category. Agree with @TelemarketingEnigma to describe it as tutoring, supervising children in an afterschool program in a public housing development and assisting as time permits with the adjacent food pantry.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I completely agree with the above advice. "Tutor" seems to be in title of position only, so your description of what you are doing (supervising computers and giving snacks) will make that very clear. You can be safer and say you were a "volunteer" or "employee" as appropriate. It sounds like if you are doing food distribution, it is for the children at the shelter to be sure they are not given junk food and sweets, right?

Just wondering, did you receive prior training to work with children at the shelter?

 

[Round786]

I completely agree with the above advice. "Tutor" seems to be in title of position only, so your description of what you are doing (supervising computers and giving snacks) will make that very clear. You can be safer and say you were a "volunteer" or "employee" as appropriate. It sounds like if you are doing food distribution, it is for the children at the shelter to be sure they are not given junk food and sweets, right?

Just wondering, did you receive prior training to work with children at the shelter?

I did not receive explicit training for the role, but I have extensive experience with children prior to joining the housing complex.

I am a Big Brother, a volunteer at a pediatric clinic, a scribe to a pediatric neurosurgeon, head counselor for age group 6-10 at a camp focusing on children whose parents were diagnosed with cancer, and was previously employed by my school county to serve as an after-school caretaker for K-5 kids at a elementary school.

Also no, when I am distributing food, it is usually to parents or adults. The kids that come to the tutoring program are very young and typically are just looking for a safe space.