Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Glass Youth Collective (GYC).
Volunteers are an important part of creating the kind of community we want teens to have: safe, welcoming, creative, inclusive, and built on mutual respect.
Working with young people also comes with significant responsibility. This guide explains the expectations, boundaries, and safeguarding practices that apply to every GYC volunteer.
Your Role as a GYC Volunteer
Volunteers may assist with workshops, events, activities, mentoring, setup and cleanup, administrative work, fundraising, community outreach, or other GYC programs.
Regardless of your specific assignment, every volunteer is expected to:
- Consent to a background check
- Treat teens with dignity and respect
- Maintain appropriate adult-to-youth boundaries
- Follow all GYC safeguarding policies
- Follow staff instructions regarding supervision and programming
- Model respectful, inclusive behavior
- Protect confidential and sensitive information
- Report safety concerns promptly
- Avoid favoritism or inappropriate relationships with participants
- Never use their volunteer position for personal, financial, romantic, sexual, or - -- - Other inappropriate benefit
- Immediately ask a GYC staff member or designated supervisor for guidance when - Unsure how to handle a situation
Being a trusted adult does not mean becoming a teen's best friend, therapist, parent, or rescuer. Your role is to be a safe, consistent, supportive adult while maintaining healthy boundaries.
Background Checks
Every adult volunteer who interacts with teens through GYC, whether in person or online, must complete GYC's required background-screening process before having contact with youth.
No volunteer may begin working directly with youth until required screening has been completed and approved.
Background screening does not replace ongoing supervision, training, or adherence to GYC policies.
GYC reserves the right to restrict or end a volunteer's participation when necessary to protect participants or the organization.
The Two-Adult Rule
A teen should never be isolated with a single GYC adult.
This applies:
- In rooms or other physical spaces
- During transportation
- During virtual programming
- During mentoring or individual conversations
- During setup or cleanup
- Before or after programming
- During side conversations away from the larger group
- Whenever reasonably possible, interactions between adults and teens should remain observable and interruptible.
If you find yourself alone with a teen unexpectedly, move to an open or visible area and notify another GYC adult.
If staffing falls below GYC's required adult supervision level, youth programming may be paused, canceled, or rescheduled.
Never intentionally arrange private one-on-one contact with a GYC participant.
Mandatory Reporting & Child Safety
GYC takes suspected child abuse and neglect seriously.
Volunteers must complete GYC's child-safety and mandatory-reporting training before working directly with youth.
If a teen tells you about possible abuse or neglect, or you observe something that causes you to reasonably suspect a child may be experiencing abuse or neglect:
stay calm and listen
- Do not interrogate the teen or conduct your own investigation
- Do not confront the person accused of causing harm
- Do not promise secrecy
- Document relevant information according to GYC procedures
- Immediately follow GYC's reporting and escalation procedures
- GYC policy requires volunteers to promptly report suspected abuse or neglect to the designated GYC leadership contact and to comply with any individual reporting obligation that applies under Washington law.
When a report to authorities is required, reports may be made to the Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) or appropriate law enforcement.
Protecting the young person comes before protecting GYC's reputation, another volunteer, a staff member, a donor, a parent, or any other adult.
No person will be retaliated against by GYC for making a good-faith safety report.
Communication With Teens
All volunteer communication with GYC participants must occur through GYC-approved channels and according to GYC communication policies.
Volunteers may not:
- Exchange personal phone numbers with participants for private communication
- Privately text GYC participants
- Privately message participants from personal social media accounts
- Communicate with participants through Snapchat or other disappearing-message platforms
- Initiate private social-media relationships with participants
- Move a conversation from an approved GYC platform to a personal account
- Delete or intentionally conceal communications with participants
- Approved communication may include official GYC email addresses, accounts, group messages, or other platforms specifically authorized by GYC leadership.
If a teen contacts you through a personal account, do not continue the conversation privately. Notify the appropriate GYC staff member and redirect communication to an approved channel.
These boundaries protect both teens and volunteers.
Physical & Personal Boundaries
Volunteers must maintain appropriate physical and emotional boundaries with participants.
Do not engage in:
- Sexual, romantic, or flirtatious behavior of any kind
- Sexual jokes, comments, or conversations
- Comments about a teen's body or sexual development
- Unnecessary or prolonged physical contact
- Corporal punishment
- Hazing, humiliation, intimidation, or threats
- Sharing pornography or sexually explicit material
- Providing alcohol, nicotine, cannabis, illegal drugs, or other age-restricted substances
- Asking teens to keep secrets from parents, guardians, GYC staff, or other trusted adults
- Relationships that create dependency, favoritism, or inappropriate emotional intimacy
- Appropriate encouragement and warmth are welcome. Physical affection should always respect the teen's boundaries and GYC policy.
When in doubt, choose the more professional boundary.
Transportation
Volunteers may not transport GYC participants in personal vehicles unless the transportation has been specifically authorized under GYC policy.
A volunteer should never transport a teen alone.
Transportation for GYC activities must follow all applicable GYC supervision, driver, insurance, seat-belt, and vehicle requirements.
Never make informal transportation arrangements directly with a teen.z
Gifts, Money & Favoritism
Small items distributed equally as part of GYC programming may be appropriate.
Personal gifts, money, loans, or significant favors between individual volunteers and participants should not occur without prior approval from GYC leadership.
Volunteers may not:
- Lend money to teens
- Borrow money from teens
- Give individual participants expensive or secret gifts
- Use gifts to create a special or exclusive relationship
- Ask participants for personal favors
- Establish financial or business relationships with participants outside approved GYC programming
- If you want to help a teen with a specific need, talk with GYC leadership so assistance can be handled appropriately and equitably.
Confidentiality & Teen Privacy
Teens deserve privacy, but volunteers cannot promise absolute confidentiality.
Personal information learned through volunteering should only be shared with appropriate GYC staff when necessary to support the participant, operate the program, or address a safety concern.
Do not:
- Gossip about participants
- Share a teen's personal story with friends or family
- Post identifying information about participants on personal social media
discuss sensitive information in public areas
- Take participant records or confidential information home without authorization
- If a teen tells you something involving abuse, neglect, self-harm, threats of harm, exploitation, or another serious safety concern, follow GYC's reporting and escalation procedures.
Photos, Video & Social Media
Volunteers may not photograph, film, record, or post GYC participants using personal devices or personal social-media accounts unless specifically authorized by GYC for an approved purpose.
Participant media may only be created and used according to GYC's media-consent procedures.
Do not assume that because a teen agrees to a photo, GYC has permission to publish it.
Only designated individuals may create or publish official GYC content involving participants.
Online Programming
The same safeguarding standards apply online as they do in person.
For virtual programming:
- Required adult supervision must be maintained
- Volunteers should use GYC-approved accounts and platforms
- Private one-on-one virtual meetings with teens are not permitted unless specifically authorized under a GYC-approved safeguarding procedure
- adult-to-teen messaging must remain on approved channels
- volunteers may not record sessions unless specifically authorized
- volunteers must protect participant names, images, conversations, and other personal information
- If appropriate supervision cannot be maintained, the session should not continue.
Mental Health & Emotional Support
GYC provides community, peer support, creative wellness activities, mentorship, and connections to resources.
GYC is not a clinical mental health provider, and volunteers do not provide therapy or counseling on behalf of GYC.
You can listen, validate, encourage, and connect a teen with appropriate support.
You should not:
- Diagnose mental health conditions
- Present yourself as a therapist or counselor on behalf of GYC unless specifically employed in that professional capacity
- Attempt to personally manage a mental health crisis
- Promise confidentiality
- Encourage a teen to rely primarily or exclusively on you for emotional support
- If you are concerned about a teen's immediate safety or wellbeing, follow GYC's emergency and escalation procedures.
Substance Use & Impairment
Volunteers may not possess, use, distribute, or be under the influence of alcohol, cannabis, illegal drugs, or other impairing substances while supervising youth or participating in GYC youth programming.
Volunteers must also use prescription or over-the-counter medications responsibly when those medications could impair their ability to safely supervise participants.
Insurance & Incident Reporting
Glass Youth Collective maintains insurance coverage through NIA intended to support the organization, its programs, volunteers, participants, and activities.
Insurance does not replace the responsibility of volunteers, staff, or board members to follow GYC safety policies, supervision requirements, training, and this Volunteer Guide.
Any accident, injury, allegation, behavioral incident, property damage, safeguarding concern, or other event that could potentially result in an insurance claim must be reported promptly to GYC leadership and documented according to GYC's incident-reporting procedures.
Do not independently admit liability, promise payment, negotiate a claim, or speak on behalf of GYC regarding an incident unless authorized to do so.
Questions regarding insurance or potential claims should be directed to the Executive Director or designated board representative.
Raising a Concern
If you see something that concerns you, say something.
Concerns may involve:
- Participant safety
- Another volunteer's behavior
- Staff behavior
- Boundary violations
- Harassment or discrimination
- Bullying
- Unsafe programming
- Inappropriate communication
- Suspected abuse or neglect
- Violations of GYC policy
Concerns should be reported promptly to the appropriate GYC staff member, Executive Director, or designated board representative.
A volunteer should never attempt to suppress a legitimate safety concern because they are worried about causing conflict, damaging a relationship, or harming GYC's reputation.
GYC prohibits retaliation against individuals who raise good-faith concerns.