Volunteering at Our Lady of Victory
“Faith in Action is love. And love in action is service.” - Saint Mother Teresa
Welcome to our Volunteering Homepage! We hope that you will find everything you need to know here about volunteering at Our Lady of Victory.
Creating a vibrant Catholic educational community is a joint effort. We are so grateful for the investment families have made and continue to make to contribute to the growth of Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Victory.
Practically speaking, a robust volunteer program helps OLV keep tuition costs low since the cost of education at OLV is not fully covered by tuition. However, our volunteer program is about more than just keeping costs low. Our volunteer program is a fundamental part of our Cultura Vitae.
A rich culture of life is about more than fine arts and spiritual formation. It also includes an element of service to one another, as we seek to grow in the life of Christ, who “came to serve and not to be served.” It is in serving one another that we grow in love and become a family of families.
How Do I Get Started?
Snapshot of Volunteer Requirements
Each family is required to volunteer 5 hours per quarter for a total of 20 hours per year. This commitment may be achieved in combination with any person in your family–even your students and grandparents.
At the beginning of each quarter, an invitation to Sign Up for Volunteer Opportunities will be sent to all families by the school. This is your chance to select those opportunities that work best for you! Families that have not signed up by the deadline will be automatically assigned to the tasks that are remaining.
Families are assigned by default to a Volunteer Committee, but may also volunteer outside of their assigned committee. See below for a list of Volunteer Committees, Committee Chairs, and Contacts.
Volunteer Hours are tracked through SignUp Genius. The “hours” assigned to a task, say 5pm-7pm identify the hours allotted for the task. For example, 5pm-7pm is 2 hours.
A Brief Snapshot of the Volunteer Program
Please see the Volunteer Handbook for more details. But in a nutshell…
THE PROGRAM Structure
The volunteer program is structured around committees, operated by chairs and vice-chairs.
A committee is a group of volunteers responsible for supporting one of the school’s functions. For example, the Prospective Parent Hospitality Committee supports our admissions program by assisting faculty and staff with prospective family events. Every school family belongs to a committee but is not limited to volunteering on that committee. Families may also volunteer in other areas as needs arise. Although families are asked to share their top three committee preferences, committee assignments are determined by the school based on the program's needs.
The committee chair is responsible for planning and coordinating the committee's needs. Working with the staff, faculty, and other committee chairs to understand the school’s volunteer needs, the chair ensures that the volunteer roles and responsibilities for their committee are assigned and completed. Depending on the committee, this requires a commitment of 10 hours per quarter (4 quarters per year). The primary responsibilities of chairs and vice-chairs are planning, communication, and direction.
The vice-chair of a committee is responsible for supporting the chair. Typically, a committee vice-chair will become the chair in a subsequent year. Depending on the committee, this requires a commitment of 5 hours per quarter (4 quarters per year).
The volunteer program is owned by the headmaster. All chairs and vice-chairs are assigned by the headmaster in consultation with faculty & staff liaisons.
THE PROGRAM Process
The volunteer program runs on quarters: Q1 is June/July/August; Q2 Sep/Oct/Nov; Q3 Dec/Jan/Feb; and Q4 Mar/Apr/May.
During Q4 of each school year, working with the faculty and staff, the headmaster defines the committees and with the help of the volunteer coordinator, recruits chairs/vice-chairs for the upcoming school year.
During Q1, families are asked to share their preferences for volunteering on a given committee. Committee assignments are published prior to the start of the academic year.
In the second month of each quarter, the headmaster, faculty and staff liaisons, committee chairs, and vice-chairs come together to identify and define the volunteer requirements for the next quarter. Taking this time to plan ahead as a team is critical to program success.
In the first week of the final month of each quarter, working with the volunteer program coordinator, committee chairs publish a list of volunteer tasks for their committees. The goals, events, and requirements for the quarter are published to families.
In the second and third weeks of the final month of each quarter, families sign up to volunteer for these tasks.
In the last week of each quarter's final month, the volunteer program coordinator and committee chairs review the assigned tasks, identify gaps, and work to fill them.
Steps 4-7 are repeated for each quarter during the school year.
Volunteer Committees, Chairs, and Contacts
What Committee Am I Assigned To?
If you’re unsure which committee you are currently assigned to, please contact the Volunteer Coordinator at volunteer.coord@ourladyofvictorydenver.com
Cultura Vitae Event Committee
Cultura Vitae events bring our families together to build community through 4 events:
Back to School Potluck (Aug) - typically held in a park setting, a celebration of renewal to ring in the new school year and welcome new families into our community.
The Lepanto Festival (Oct) - a fall-festival-style celebration held on or about the Feast Day of Our Lady of Victory to thank our Lord for a successful conclusion to “Giving Day,” our annual fundraising campaign as we joyfully celebrate Our Lady’s victory to ensure affordable, authentically Catholic classical high school education remains accessible to many.
The Advent Concert - Lessons and Carols (Dec) - to help prepare our hearts for the Lord’s coming at Christmas, we gather to listen to God’s word and the Our Lady of Victory all-school choir, followed typically by sweets and mingling.
The Evening of Fine Arts Spring Benefit (Mar) - families and benefactors gather to view student’s artistic creations and enjoy performances by the all-school choir and dance troupes. Additional financial support is sought through an increase in monthly givers, for the long-term stability of our mission.
Duties include decorating for events, arranging set up and clean up, arranging photography and videography, coordinating or preparing food and drinks, and arranging activities during the event. The time commitment varies for each event and is most time-intensive on the day of the event. Those who love event planning, have a creative vision and have a knack for finding the beauty in the details are ideal candidates for this committee. Note: school leadership own the vision, planning and programming of the concert/readings program for the Advent Concert, the performances to be displayed during the Evening of Fine Arts, and the fundraising aspects of the Evening of Fine Arts.
Chair: Alexandra Montano | Vice-Chair: Kimberly Smith | Staff Liaison: OLV Volunteer Coordinator
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House Parents Committee
The Chesterton Academy House system draws on the 1,000-year-old tradition of Christian education exemplified in the colleges at Oxford and Cambridge. Houses provide a real, tangible community within the larger school, giving our students the opportunity to take ownership of the school’s culture, exercise true leadership, and grow in virtue. Two volunteer families from each house serve as “House Parents” and partner with the school to create and execute house events (both social and competitive) throughout the year. They are chosen by the headmaster.
They work most closely with the House prefects and faculty advisors in their respective Houses to perform the following duties:
Host or help organize one date night at the start of each semester for the other parents in their house. The aim is to achieve House cohesion and model this for their children.
Lead families to pray for the House members through the intercession of their respective patrons.
Assist prefects in planning House events and help to generate House Spirit/Loyalty (feast days, dances, competitions, etc.)
Help plan (and possibly host) three House dinners in cooperation with other House parents (Houses are paired round-robin style—one dinner in the Fall Semester; one in January/February; one in March/April)
House Parents must be returning families.
Chair: Christine McAdam | Staff Liaison: Headmaster
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Prospective Family Hospitality Committee
These parents work closely with school leadership to help organize, advertise, lead, and participate in prospective family events throughout the year. Specifically, the committee will:
Provide refreshments, setup, and cleanup for Prospective Family Open Houses (a maximum of three during the fall (school day mornings and weeknights, and one in the spring).
Attend and participate at the open house by mingling and speaking about your experience at OLV with attendees.
Host and attend Prospective Family Coffees on various Saturday mornings (maximum of two coffee events).
Lastly, after the enrollment of new students is complete, the committee chair will assign members to contact the parents of new families to answer questions about OLV, invite them to the summer events, and help ease them into the community.
There will be a meeting early in the fall with school leadership to discuss expectations for these events and how best to market the school and welcome new families. Ideal candidates need to have a clear vision as to why they send their child to OLV, a passion for promoting the school and community, and a love of hospitality. Not all committee members need to be at each prospective family event.
Prospective Family Hospitality committee members must be returning families.
Chair: Megan Hjelmstad | Vice-Chair: Christy Hilz | Staff Liaison: Lisa Cushnie
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Formation Friday Support Committee
The Formation Friday committee supports the school with the planning and executing of Formation Friday events. The headmaster, alongside the dean of students and deans of men and women, own the vision of spiritual and character formation of our students, based on their significant interactions and relationships with the students. As such, Formation Friday committee members are asked to support the vision of the school by assisting with execution of events and at times to organize them, depending on the nature of the event.
Chair: Valerie Haas | Vice-Chair: Anna Worachek | Staff Liaison: Headmaster
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School Support and Faculty Appreciation Committee
This committee is responsible for:
Planning and executing the celebration for the Senior class after the baccalaureate Mass, typically consisting of cake, flowers, and coffee/tea. Note: The faculty and staff own the planning and execution of the programming for the Baccalaureate Mass and Graduation Ceremony.
Coordinating faculty and staff appreciation gifts at Christmas and the end of the year.
Finding small ways to show appreciation for the faculty and staff throughout the year.
Supporting faculty with arranged meals during parent-teacher conferences.
Supporting the faculty with general or unplanned needs, requests as they arise.
Chair: Julie Smith | Vice-Chair: TBD | Staff Liaison: Alex Crane
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Liturgical Support Committee
This committee supports the School Sacristan in the preparation and beautification of our liturgies.
Cleaning and Preparing Liturgical Linens. Working with the Sacristan to launder the linens used in the daily Sacrifice of the Mass. Training is provided.
Liturgical Purchases (Gerkens for Hosts, Wine, etc)
Liturgical Season Planning (Advent, Ash Wednesday, …)
Liturgical Space Beautification (Flowers, etc)
Chair: Sara Thomason | Vice-Chair: TBD | Staff Liaison: Genevieve Cutrell
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Theater Support Committee
This committee helps our drama teacher prepare for the three plays performed every year (one in the fall, two in the spring). Areas of greatest need include sewing, set building, set painting, and backstage chaperoning during performances. 2024-2025 performances are scheduled as follows:
Sophomore Play: Week of Oct. 21 2024
Junior Play: Week of Dec. 9 2024
Senior Play: Week of May 5 2025
Chair: Rita Sargent | Vice-Chair: TBD | Staff Liaison: Christina Ouyang