Volunteer

Become a Volunteer

Beaverton Literacy Council is an all-volunteer organization helping over 400 adult learners improve their English skills. We hope you will join this meaningful work!

Volunteer registration is now open for 2022-2023 classes! Classes run from September to the end of May. Please click here to tell us about yourself and about how you would like to volunteer this fall.  Thank you!

On-line / In-person

For 2022-2023, we will offer online classes and, covid-permitting, will also offer in-person classes in Beaverton. Please register as a volunteer with us (above) to make sure you hear about BLC fall plans as they are finalized. 

In-person volunteers and students MAY need to wear masks and MAY need to show proof of vaccination, depending on our hosts' and community rules. 

• Evening classes are at 5150 SW Watson Ave, Beaverton, OR, 97005. 

• Morning classes are at 13600 SW Allen Blvd, Beaverton, OR 97005.

What's required for volunteers? 

Volunteers work as class lead teachers or assistant teachers, and there are projects now and then for volunteers to help in non-teaching roles. 

To volunteer in a class, we ask that you are a fluent, open-minded English speaker and that you want to teach students from many cultures and countries. You don't have to be a grammar expert or have extensive teaching experience, but you do have to love learning and helping others learn! 

• For teaching online, you will need a laptop or desktop computer with a stable wifi connection. (Sorry, tablets and phones are not optimal for teaching with Zoom.)

There's training too! We hold live/Zoom-based training in the summer and fall. Throughout the year, we encourage volunteers to observe other BLC teachers, attend our volunteer Roundtable discussions, attend the Portland Literacy Council spring conference, and more. 

A few more details

• BLC Online classes meet for 75 minutes twice per week. BLC students are also invited to attend online conversation or grammar enrichment classes that meet weekly. 

• You may choose to volunteer just once per week, working with a partner who will teach/assist the other day. 

• Classes run from mid-September through early June.

• If you are unable to commit to the full year, we ask for a commitment of at least September through December holidays or January through June.

• Classes take the usual school holidays according to the Beaverton Public School calendar. If you need to miss class periodically, you can use our sub list to get coverage for your class. If you will be away for more than one week at a time, please let us know when you register or as far in advance as possible.