First Class Homeschool Ministries Special Bulletin Connect with the FCHM Community: Volunteer! Dear Jay and Heidi, It's here!  Have you noticed?  Spring is in the air!  Here in the northwest, it's been unseasonably cool (downright cold, in fact) but the signs are still everywhere.  The daffodils and cherry blossom trees bear witness to the changing seasons. This is a wonderful, hopeful time of year. Here at First Class, we are feeling the effects of spring too - requests for new co-ops are beginning to pick up speed as parents finish up this year and begin to think about next fall.   The spring and summer months are the best time of the year to plan a new homeschool cooperative for the fall. Jay & Heidi... Podcasting!   If you have been thinking about the ministry of First Class and wondering how you can help, there are dozens of opportunities to get involved.  Aside from financial support,(which we very much appreciate and need), we need people who are willing to volunteer their time in order to minister to the growing numbers of homeschooling families.  We want to invite you to be part of what God is doing through the ministry of First Class, and to get involved! You can make a difference in the lives of homeschool families -  and impact the world with the love of Christ at the same time.  Please read the following opportunities and prayerfully consider where God might use you to touch thousands of homeschooling children in a very tangible way... building up local communities of homeschoolers that are founded and grounded in their commitment to following Christ.  It has never been more important than it is now. Because of Him and for the next generation, Jay and Heidi St. John for the FCHM Board of Directors FCHM Volunteer Staff Job Descriptions Message Board Moderator (3 openings) Work From Home... Do you enjoy encouraging other homeschoolers?   If you are online at least three times a week and find yourself surfing the Internet, this may be the job for you!  We're looking for a team of people to help facilitate conversations on our message boards.  We'd like to see these boards grow into a very lively place where members can find great information, share ideas, and find encouragement. Skills needed: high-speed connection to the Internet available one hour, three times a week to answer posts able to communicate effectively online heart for ministry to homeschoolers, ability to listen   Graphic Designer (2 openings) Work From Home... Are you creative and full of great ideas?  If you are, we could really use your help to design flyers and brochures for FCHM and Real Life Marriage Conferences.  Skills needed: previous experience in graphic design desired self-motivated, creative and easy to work with (we're easy!) skilled at using design software such as In-Design, Photoshop and Illustrator   Assistant to the Webmaster (1 opening) Simply put... Jay needs an assistant!  This would be done from home.  6 - 10 hours /week Skills needed: familiar with Photo Shop, Fireworks, and Flash knowledge and experience working with websites ability to assist individual co-op leaders with website questions (training provided!) close-working relationship with the Webmaster creativity!  Primary responsibility will be designing new templates for FCHM websites.   PHP Specialist (1 opening) Are you skilled in PHP?  We're looking for a php guru! Primary responsibilities include developing and maintain FCHM database and web systems Skills needed: ability to look at existing scripts, add code and get your PHP to talk to your MySQL ability to collaborate with web team ... crunch the code with us! Podcast Editor (1 opening) FCHM produces several podcasts.  The primary one goes out one a month, but we also do short training podcasts from time to time.   Skills needed: 3-5 hours of work once per month previous experience working with audio editing software preferred self-motivated team player creative Inquiry Response Team (4 openings) Work From Home... Each week, we receive dozens of inquiries about the ministry of First Class from all over the world.  To date, we have answered over 1000 requests for information.  We're building a team of people who care about the mission and ministry of FCHM to help us answer these inquiries personally.  Team members will spend time over the phone talking with people who request more information about First Class Co-ops.  You'll need to be familiar with how the First Class Co-op Concept works - and we'll train you!  This is a absolutely crucial part of the ministry team at First Class. Skills needed: Internet connection understanding of how FCHM operates (we'll train you!) excited to share the vision that FCHM has for planting homeschool co-ops good listening skills   Office Assistant (1 opening) For someone living near the FCHM office in Vancouver, WA... Are you a highly organized person who enjoys general office work?  Tasks vary from week to week, and include mailing out FCHM resource packets and materials.  Skills needed: reliable, ability to mail out time-sensitive information high speed Internet connection  ability to work on a team ability to edit and improve existing FCHM materials self-motivated FCHM is a dynamic ministry that is largely staffed by a wonderful team of dedicated volunteers.  As we grow, it is our prayer that many of these opportunities will become paid positions. We continue to thank God for each person who has and is giving of their time and/or financial resources to further this ministry. If you have any questions about these opportunities, or would like to apply, please contact us. CONTACT INFORMATION: by phone:  360-326-8826 by email:  info@fchm.org Thank you for your support of First Class. For homeschooling families, Julie Schoening Executive Assistant julie@fchm.org