Community Volunteer Ambassadors: National Early Service Training Held at San Antonio Missions National Historical Park

The September 2023 Cohort of Community Volunteer Ambassadors

The Community Volunteer Ambassadors (CVAs) from the September 2023 cohort participated in National Early Service Training at, San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, in Texas, from November 6^th to November 10th. The CVAs interacted with their fellow members as they went through robust training to prepare them for their new roles in assisting their sites Volunteers-In-Parks program by connecting with their local communities. These CVAs worked hard to learn topics like VIP program management, handbooks and local policy, NPS history and culture, leadership skills, communication skills, networking, conflict management, and cultural humility.

The CVAs also presented their Early Service Training projects, which they used to understand more about their national park site and its volunteer program, identify potential needs that could be met by the volunteer program, and potential opportunities for improvement in the volunteer program. These projects will be invaluable tools for the CVAs as they begin to build up their volunteer programming at their sites.

Community Volunteer Ambassadors at San Antonio, Texas

On one of the training days, second year CVAs hosted a panel to answer questions by the first year CVAs. This was a space for the CVAs to bounce ideas off one another and for them to hear suggestions from sites like theirs. The panel session was an incredible opportunity for the second CVAs to demonstrate to the first year CVAs what can be accomplished in a year and what to look forward to in the coming months.

A special thanks goes out to those second year CVAs who stepped into a leadership role at National Early Service Training during sessions and by welcoming the first year CVA members into the cohort by including them in social activities.Congratulations to the September 2023 cohort of CVAs on completing their National Early Service Training and for connecting with one another so well to make the training a memorable one.

The official logo of the Community Volunteer Ambassador program.

About the Community Volunteer Ambassador Program:

As a fifty-week professional internship, the Community Volunteer Ambassador Program is managed in partnership between the National Park Service Volunteers-In-Parks program and the Stewards Individual Placement Program of Conservation Legacy. Members are youth (ages 18-30 or 18-35 if veterans) from diverse backgrounds who aspire to future careers in service and conservation stewardship. In 2022, approximately 90 members will be placed in park sites throughout the country to provide capacity-building services focused on connecting communities to parks through engagement and volunteer activities.

Community Volunteer Ambassador (cvainternships.org) Stewards Individual Placement is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all and prioritizes recruitment of individuals who reflect the demographics of the nation from underrepresented communities including black, indigenous, people of color, and LGBTQ+. Apply for the Winter Cohort by December 22! For application questions please contact Geoff Elliot, Stewards Program Director at [e-mail].