Join the Way to Grow Family!
There are many ways to join our Way to Grow family and participate in the work that we do. By enrolling your family in our program, volunteering your time, or supporting our work financially, there is a place for everyone. Together we can all work to help every child succeed in school and life. Read on to learn more!
Strengthening Community Together
Way to Grow was founded on the belief that only through a collective effort will we to see everyone succeed. In 1989, we made a promise to our community to address the serious and prevalent gap in early childhood education in Minnesota. By bringing together neighbors and community partners to support families along their journeys, we have worked every day to make good on that promise.
However, we cannot do this critical work alone. Will you join us in our promise of providing a better future?
Online Registry for Families
Throughout the year, there are opportunities to support our families with a purchase from our registry. Thank you for supporting Way to Grow families!
Raising a child is hard work. We can help!
Way to Grow offers a free, in-home education program for expectant parents and families with children birth through grade 3 (age 8). Open to ALL families in Minneapolis and the surrounding suburbs. Every family is matched with a certified Family Educator and receives one-on-one support. We will meet you where you are at and customize a program for you and your family, including promoting home-language learning and connecting you to resources you need to thrive.
We’re here to help you get your children ready to learn and succeed in school. We’d love to hear from you!
Volunteer with Way to Grow!
Volunteering with Way to Grow is a terrific way to help parents and children in your community. Our volunteer opportunities include assisting in our preschool, volunteering at family events, providing administrative support, or helping with our special events. We can even create a volunteer opportunity based on your interests and skills. Read more below and fill out the form if you would like more information!
Listings reflect our current ability to host volunteers, but we are always open to ideas and would love to connect!
Volunteer Opportunities
Digital Ambassador
Do you love to smash subscribe buttons and double-tap great photos? Consider becoming a Digital Ambassador for Way to Grow! Ambassadors commit to sharing news, posts, and creating their own content about the work of Way to Grow on their social media platforms. By activating your audience, you can help build support for programming, raise money, and help families learn about our services!
Translation Services
Way to Grow serves an incredibly diverse community. In order to better reach families and share important information, we need to translate materials from English into the various languages spoken by our families. Translators can expect to translate flyers, forms, and basic marketing materials. If you are fluent and proficient in writing in the following languages, get in touch! Languages needed include: Amharic, Arabic, French, Hmong, Oromo, Somali, and Spanish.
Preschool Pals Volunteer
Become a classroom volunteer and you will see the impact of our work firsthand! Volunteers are needed as weekly classroom helpers during normal classroom hours (M–F, mornings and afternoons during the school year). In order to maintain a stable classroom environment, we ask that you be able to commit to a set schedule for at least three months at a time. All volunteers will be required to pass a background check.
Family Events
Do you love meeting new people, a little bit of crowd control, and a lot of laughter? Then consider volunteering for one of our family events! Throughout the year, we host a variety of events for Way to Grow families—from 0ur annual Early Learner Graduation to regular Family Engagement Nights. We are always looking for volunteers with a lot of energy, ready to support our staff and engage with families!
Fundraising Events
We’re looking for folks who are great with details, who take initiative, and are ready to work hard and play hard to help out with our biggest events of the year! Whether it’s our Education is Power luncheon, our Shine Celebration gala, or any event in-between, we need hardworking volunteers to help us pull off these signature events so we can raise funds to support our work.
Special Projects
There are always projects popping up throughout the year that could use a little extra help. These could include sorting donations, putting together curriculum kits, making cards for families, or wrapping gifts during our annual Adopt-A-Family program. We don’t always know when we need folks, but if you’re flexible and up for anything, we can keep you in mind the next time something comes up!
Office or Clerical Assistance
Life doesn’t stop at a nonprofit! If you like the rhythm of putting together mailings, are uniquely gifted with photocopy machines, feel soothed by digitizing files, or have translation skills you’d like to put to use, we’d love to have you join us at our office. Let us know what skills you have and we’ll find something to match! These opportunities are only available M–F, 9am–5pm.
Fundraising or Resource Building
If you want to support growth at Way to Grow, are passionate about this work, and ready to dig in, we’d love to have your help fundraising and building up our capacity as an organization. Perhaps social media is your second home and you’d like to be an online ambassador. Or maybe you’re an Excel wiz and want to lead a training for our staff. Whether it’s helping us grow as a team, increasing our reach, or finding ways to help our organization become more effective, we’d love to hear how you can help!
Other Ways to Participate
Host a Supply Drive
Our families are always in need of donations. New or very gently used clothing for all ages and seasons, educational toys and books for all reading levels, socks and underwear, diapers and wipes, formula, and household staples are all examples of supplies frequently needed by families. If you would like to donate supplies and/or organize a drive for Way to Grow, please complete the Volunteer Interest Form so that we can work with you to determine current needs.
Adopt-A-Family
Close out the year by giving back during our Adopt-A- Family program! The perfect opportunity for a team, department, or group of good friends to work together to give one family a happy New Year. For more information, visit our Adopt-A-Family page or get in touch! Adopt-A-Familiy runs November–December each year.
Host a Fundraiser for Way to Grow
Are you passionate about education and ready to be a champion for families? Consider hosting a fundraiser to benefit Way to Grow. Whether it’s a Zoom happy hour among friends, a business lunch with professional connections, or a bake sale at your church, we would be happy to help you share our story with your community!
Volunteer Interest Form