We are all volunteers. Angeles ICO does not have any paid staff. So there is much to do in order to deliver services to over 2000 students a year. Your help is needed. Please reach out to us at ico@angeles.sierraclub.org and we’ll get you you started helping the students!. Please find below the roles that need to be filled each year. If there is a role you don’t see that you want to serve, let us know that as well.

Volunteer Coordinator: Connects promptly to individuals interested in becoming an ICO Volunteer. Explains and walks them through the ICO volunteer application process. Directs them to the ICO applications, collects their completed applications, conducts initial interview, checks their references, sends them the ICO monthly Meeting Zoom link, connects them to the Background Check Coordinator (David Hickman) who will walk them through the background check process, when their back ground check is completed, sends a congratulation email and adds them to the ICO Volunteer Google List serve, and emails them the current take a hike list and contact list of ICO leaders.

Other duties include: maintains and publishes a list of current official ICO Volunteers, including their skills, talents and experiences, and responds quickly to requests from leaders about whether a person is a certified volunteer. Maintains the angeles-ico-volunteers listserve, by adding new volunteers and removing ICO Volunteers who become ICO Leaders. Keeps track of and notifies the volunteer when volunteers’ background check expires. Conducts monthly Volunteer orientations at the ICO monthly meetings. Sends volunteers who want to attend campouts, the link to the online Mandated Reporting training, collects, and registers their completion certificate.

Updater of the Take-a-Hike list: Maintains the ICO Take a Hike List, sending it to the Certification/Records Manager twice a month, except only once a month during the summer, on the 10th and the 25th of each month. Reads the trip reports and follows up with leaders about low numbers (20 students are required to justify a bus).

Background Check Coordinator: Interfaces with vendor to ensure that background checks are completed.

Certification/Records Coordinator: Reviews the Take a Hike list to make sure that leaders have the correct certs, then renames it as Angeles ICO Outings List sends the schedule to the listservs and to the Safety Committee. Contacts leaders if they need to renew a certification, instructing them how to do that. Enters ICO specific data in Leaders Management on Campfire. When informed by the Leader Candidate Coordinator that a candidate is eligible for a provisional hike, this person will then ask the Chair of LTC, Jane Simpson for permission for a provisional hike and then informs the candidate when that permission is granted. This person collects the completed forms from the provisional leader and the evaluator and sends them on to LTC Admin: ltcangeleschapter@gmail.com, and to the ICO Chair for review and approval. This person is also the Safety Committee liaison for all certification related issues. Maintains the angeles-ico-leaders listserve.

Leader Candidate Coordinator: Tracks and supports leader candidates. Helps to find mentor. When the candidate has completed all requirements for a provisional, The Leader Candidate Coordinator sends the provisional leaders and their evaluators the necessary evaluation forms and informs The Certification Records Manager who then obtains permission for a provisional from LTC Admin: ltcangeleschapter@gmail.com. Upon obtaining permission, the Certification Records Manager informs the leader candidate of the permission being granted, cc’ing The LeaderCandidate Coordinator. The Leader Candidate Coordinator then informs the mentor and the candidate, indicating the need for an evaluator. Once a provisional trip opportunity is identified with an approved evaluator, the Leader Candidate Coordinator informs the Certification Records Manager and the Keeper of the Take-a-hike list that the provisional is a GO. The Leader Candidate Coordinator sends the evaluator and candidate the evaluation forms, with instructions to have the forms returned to The Certification Manager. The Leader Candidate Coordinator tracks: confirms candidate has a Sierra Club membership, attendance at an ICO meeting, completion of all volunteer forms, background check verified with Volunteer Coordinator, volunteering at 5 Sierra Club hikes including 3 ICO hikes, First Aid/CPR in person class, LTC Seminar completion, and Mandated Reporter certificate.

Safety Liaison: This person is our formal liaison to the Angeles Chapter Safety committee on all issues such as incident reports, watercraft/lifeguard requests, etc.except for the Take a Hike List. This role is also responsible for MOUs with third party vendors/partners, such as LAMI, Santa Monica Mountains Task Force, Sierra Club Yosemite Heritage House, etc. Also conducts the New Agency Liaison Orientation at monthly meetings.

Leader Candidate Mentors: Help candidates with all steps involved in organizing, planning, and executing Provisional Hikes, including identifying appropriate schools, ordering buses, pre-hike planning, finding an evaluator approved by the Certification Records Manager, and ensuring that after hike written review of candidate are turned into the Certification Records Manager.

LTC Admin: Is responsible for the Chapter’s leadership training, and they have the authority and the responsibility to track prospective SC leaders. When someone signs up to take the LTC, Jane Simpson, or the Chair of LTC, notes that person as a “trainee” under Cert Level in Leaders Management on Campfire. The candidate submits completion info to LTC which tracks his/her progress on Leader Management. When all requirements have been met, LTC changes the designation from “trainee” to “Provisional O”. We (ICO) need to make sure we do not schedule a provisional hike until this happens. The prospective leader is informed of all requirements during the LTC training and is responsible for meeting all of these prerequisites.

Chair: prepare agenda for each meeting, requests funding from the Angeles Chapter ExCom, approves provisional leaders’ evaluations to become leaders.

Vice-chair: attends each meeting to shadow the Chair.

Secretary: takes notes at each meeting, keeps track of Destination Contact List and the Who’s Who List.

Earth day Coordinator: coordinates Earth day activities.

Agency List Maintainer: keeps track of the agencies we serve; also maintains the angeles-ico-teachers google group listserve.

FamCamp Liaison: Attends the FamCamp (a California State Parks access program) three-day two night campout training, which affords a two year certificate for ICO to use the FamCamp Program/equipment. Within ICO this person will schedule ICO campouts with FamCamp, and be responsible that FamCamp policies are followed and document that all FamCamp equipment is properly used, returned, and notifies FamCamp of completion of trips.

National ICO Service Trip Liaison: Contacts National ICO leadership after the new year to ask if they will grant permission and pay for all travel, food, lodging expenses for Angeles ICO to take high school students on a National Sierra Club Service Trip during the summer. If National grants permission and a National SC Service trip is Identified, then our ICO Service Trip Liaison works with the National Sierra Club Service trip leader to recruit ICO students, collect paperwork, hold zoom meetings with interested students and parents. The ICO Service Trip Liaison books the transportation and lodging for themselves and the students, attend the trip and see that the students are safely returned home. They will then send to the National ICO office a reimbursed request for any out of pocket expenses they made.

Outdoor leadership & Backpacking Coordinator: Manages the backpacking and outdoor leadership high school clubs including arranging for events (campouts and backpack trips), transportation, job opportunities, and education.

Treasurer: pays all bills and interfaces with Sierra Club Foundation; maintain and update the trip report spreadsheet.

Fundraising Committee & Committee Chair: raises funds for ICO through grant-writing, fundraisers, and letter appeals. Tracks grant expenditures as necessary and provides all funders (agencieds, foundations and individuals) with updates as appropriate.

Bus Coordinator: downloads the Trip requests and sends requests to the bus companies under partnership with Angeles ICO; Maintains spread sheets of schools&agencies and destinations. Transmits bus company confirmations to leader and treasurer if bus company has not already done so.

Equipment Coordinator: manages and stores ICO equipment including for camping trips, snow trips, and educational resources.

Website Committee and Commitee Chair: makes periodic updates to the website at the request of ICO.

Social Media Coordinator: ensure that Instagram feed is working and runs the annual Video Contest.

Campfire Trip Reporter: Uuploads the trips to Campfire for reporting purposes at the end of each year.

Trip Assistants: Attend outings and help as needed including bringing your own special talent, knowledge, or interest to the students, such as yoga, insects, plants, photography, history, etc.

Monitor of the email Inquires: For our incoming email of ico@angeles.sierraclub.org, monitor distributes email to appropriate roles