If you are already a SAVY Member, you can sign up for projects and start making a difference today! The information below should help you navigate some of the exciting new features of our website and explain some of the key changes.

Signing Up For Projects

Just Four Easy Steps to Volunteer!
Step 1: Log In
Step 2: View Project Calendar
Step 3: Press for the project you are interested in
Step 4: Attend the project and have fun!

3 Ways to View Projects
From the menu bar on the left, select “Project Calendar.” You now have 3 ways to search for and view projects, each of which allows you to refine your search in different ways:

• Search Projects – allows you to search on a number of different criteria and conduct advanced searches

• Browse Projects – view a list of all projects, filtered by Impact Area and/or Region

• View Project Calendar – see a calendar view of all projects. The calendar can be filtered by Project Attributes, Impact Area or Region (this is the easiest way to find SAVY Projects)

Finding SAVY Projects
When you visit the Project Calendar, you will see ALL projects that are taking place that month, whether part of the SAVY Calendar or not. However, SAVY Projects are easy to identify, as they will all have SAVY before the name of the project e.g. SAVY – Friends of Cats. If you are only interested in viewing SAVY Projects, select ”SAVY Members Only” from the Project Attributes dropdown menu.

Applying Filters
You can now apply a number of filters to refine your search. Here are a few you may find useful, or you can view a full list of filter definitions:

• Good for Beginners – While all of our projects are good for beginners, these are some of our favorites.

• Good for Groups – While most SAVY Projects are not appropriate for groups of more than 2 or 3 people, certain projects can accommodate larger groups (see project description for maximum team size allowed).

• Service-Learning Friendly – These projects give you the opportunity to learn new skills and gain knowledge.

• HOT Projects – These are projects that need more volunteer support. Why not try a HOT project and help us remove it from the list?

• Flex Members Only – This identifies all Flex Projects. If you are over 16, you are also able to participate in most Flex projects - see below.

• SAVY Members Only – This identifies all SAVY Projects (exclusive to SAVY Members aged 14-19).

• Metro Transit Accessible – These projects can be reached via public transportation.

Two Ways to Sign-up
1. Online – this is the quickest and the easiest way to sign up for projects, simply log-in, select the project you are interested in and select .
2. Phone – if you do not always have access to the internet, but wish to sign up for projects, you may call 858-636-4123. Please make sure that you provide the following information when you call:

1. Your name

2. Your phone number

3. Your email address (if available)

4. The name of the project you are signing up for

5.  The date of the project you are signing up for

Please remember - you MUST be a registered SAVY member with a waiver signed by your parent or guardian in order to sign up for projects. If you are signing up by phone, please call at least one full day before the project, as phone messages are not checked in the evenings or on weekends.

SAVY Etiquette
We are proud to offer this valuable service to SAVY Members. In return, we ask that you please adhere to the following guidelines at all times:

• Always sign-up for each project you wish to attend – never turn up at projects without signing up first.

• Don’t be a no-show – if you can’t attend, please visit the My Projects section in the Member Center and select from any project you are unable to attend as soon as possible, or call 858-636-4123. By signing up for projects and not attending, you may be depriving someone else of the opportunity to participate and the project of much-needed support.

• When you attend projects, be sure to bring the emergency contact information that would be most useful that day.

• Please arrive on time and stay for the entire project. Projects have been carefully coordinated to make the best use of everyone’s time and to ensure that we have enough volunteers to get the job done.

• Please be respectful when using My Teams – while a few projects will accommodate groups, most SAVY projects were not designed for group participation. The system will allow you to use My Teams to sign up as many people as there are slots available, but we ask you to please adhere to the maximum number specified in the project description.

Community Service Hours
If you need a record of your volunteer hours for school, whenever you attend a project, we strongly recommend that you get the Team Leader or someone who works for the agency to verify the hours you have served at the end of the project. It is often difficult to get verification of hours at a later date. Please note – Volunteer San Diego is not able to verify any hours for projects that are not managed by us.
 

New Features

Member Center
Each time you log in to the system, you will be taken to the Member Center. From here, you can:

• Find Volunteer Opportunities

• View the Projects and Courses you are currently signed up for (and remove yourself from them if you are no longer able to attend)

• View your Project / Donation History

• Update Personal Information, make changes to contact information or school, identify interests and skills, reset your password and more

• Create and manage your teams (see below)

Email Confirmations
Each time you sign up for a project, you will receive three, auto-generated emails:

• Registration Confirmation – sent immediately following sign up, confirming time, date, location and any other information you may need

• Event Reminder – sent the day before the project

• Post Project Feedback – sent the day after the event, allowing you to provide feedback (good or bad), and record your hours if the team leader hasn’t already done so

Creating and Managing Teams
If you have friends who are also SAVY Members, you can invite them to volunteer with you by Creating a Team. Once you create a team, every time you sign up for projects, you will have the option to ”Sign Me Up” or ”Sign My Team Up.” If you select ”Sign My Team Up” you will be able to automatically sign up any members you select, provided that they meet the criteria for that particular project.

Important things to note:

• Invitations – The system will send an email to all team members inviting them to join your team. They must accept this invitation before you will be able to sign them up for projects.

• Restrictions - While anyone can be part of your team, the system will only allow you to sign up people who meet certain criteria:

  • SAVY Members – To sign up for SAVY projects, volunteers must be SAVY Members.

  • Age – if members of your team do not meet the age requirements, they will not be able to participate in.

• Check Availability - If you sign up members of your team, they are automatically signed up for that project, so please check that they are available and wish to participate before signing them up.

• Maximum Team Size Allowed - SAVY was not designed for group participation, so please be respectful of this when signing up your team. Within each project description, you will see ”Maximum Team Size Allowed.” This will state the maximum number of people that one team is permitted to sign up for that project. While the system may allow you to sign up more than this, please honor this number.

Participating in non-SAVY projects

Volunteers over 16 - As a SAVY Member, you are automatically enrolled in our Flexible Volunteer Program; you do not need to attend an orientation. The Flexible Volunteer Program offers a calendar very similar to the SAVY Calendar, but contains over 90 projects per month. Most Flex projects are open to Members aged 16 and older. Learn more

Volunteers under 16 – there are a range of other opportunities available to you, but you will need to volunteer with an adult. Learn more

Having Problems?

The only way we are able to fix problems is if we know about them. If you are having problems with this site or at any of our projects, please contact us.

Already have a waiver on file?
If you are already a SAVY member, but the system is telling you that you need that you need a waiver on file, this can be easily fixed, please email savy@volunteersandiego.org with your full name and the approximate date that you joined SAVY.

View Other Frequently Asked Questions

Contact Us

Email:   savy@volunteersandiego.org
Phone: 858-636-4123