All-Stars Coaches' Guide - How to Help

Disney Adventures All-Stars Coaches' Manual - A Guide for Interested Adults

I. Getting Started
First, please read the Disney Adventures All-Stars Playbook and the guidelines that it sets out for creating and implementing a volunteer project. Your most important role in this process is to be a coach, helping your "players" follow the game plan that can help make their project a success.

II. How to Help Select a Project
Does your child or student need help in developing an idea for a volunteer project? Consider the following tools they can use:

* Mind Mapping
- Brainstorm issues and pick one to focus on; then brainstorm the cause, effects, where more information is available, and possible project ideas

* Conduct a survey
- Ask young people what their greatest concerns are or give them a list to rank

* Hold a community forum
- Have an open microphone to share community problems and dreams

* Interview senior citizens
- Ask seniors about community changes (for the better and worse), fears, and sources of community pride

* Three wishes
- Ask what people would wish for in their community given unlimited power/resources

* Watch the news
- Keep an eye out for stories that point to community problems that can be addressed

* Utopian towns
- What was your favorite community to visit? Why? How does your town differ?

* I have a dream...
- Read Martin Luther King's well-known speech and think about your own dreams for your community

* Group goals
- Identify the goals of your group and then research the goals of other groups around you are trying to do

* Ask legislators

* 60-minute search
- Divide a map of your community into parts and have group members search their areas for needed improvement. Mark "hot spots" on the map and discuss area needs

When deciding which needs to address within the community, be sure to check with local Volunteer Centers and other local nonprofit organizations to see how they are working to address problems in the community. They may already have service projects set up that groups can get involved in. Working with Volunteer Centers and other local agencies can also help keep your work coordinated with a larger effort, rather than duplicating something already being done.