A:The purpose of the volunteering requirement is to secure help from all families in the STLL community to cover league operations, field improvements and maintenance, and events. In the past, field conditions deteriorated, important and necessary board and committee positions continually went unfilled, and large numbers of volunteer shifts for league-wide events were not being covered.

Q: How does the new volunteering program work?
A: The volunteering program is a points-based system with each registered family required to complete a certain number of points for each season in which their child/children play in the league. Families have the option to participate in the volunteering points program or pay a seasonal buy out option (see bottom for buy out details).

Q: How many points per season are required?
A: Families are required to earn ten (10) volunteering points for the Spring season.  

Q: What are the time frames during which volunteering hours must be completed?
A: For Spring 2025, volunteers have from September 1, 2024 until August 2025 to complete their points.

Q: How is the Volunteering program tied to registration?
A: During registration, you will be prompted to select a volunteering role, meaning you commit to volunteering to meet the points required.

Q: What if I have more than one child in the league?
A: We only have one volunteering points requirement per family per season. Volunteering and buyouts will be tied to the registration of your oldest child in the league.

Q: How do I earn points to fulfill my volunteering requirement?
A: Points are earned through participation in a wide variety of activities needed to successfully run the league. This includes taking on Board and Team Roles (coaches, managers, team parents) , participating in scheduled activities and events such as field clean up days and Opening Day, or through other activities that help support the business of running the league. See list of potential points roles and activities in table below.

Q: How does STLL keep track of points earned by families?
A: We will be using a  Volunteering App called “Track It Forward” which you can download on your Android or iPhone here at https://www.trackitforward.com/site/santa-teresa-little-league.

Q: What if I was told I had earned points for an activity but am not seeing them in my account?
A: For most activities, we have a log of who signed up for what activity and who completed them. While we will do our best to keep things updated in real time, please understand there may sometimes be a delay in hours being logged. Don’t worry we will figure out how to credit you. Reach out to [email protected] with any questions.

Q: Where can I see a list of events or activities for which I can sign up?
A: Events and activities for which families can sign up to earn points can be found on our website here: STLL Volunteering Opportunities & Calendar. This list is constantly updated, and we communicate regularly when major updates are made.

A: YES!!! We are always interested in feedback on potential ways to leverage the skills and talent from the STLL community to address critical needs. Please fill out our form here if you believe you have a skill or resource that would benefit the league. You can send recommendations for projects you feel may be of use to the league to [email protected]

Q: Can I donate or “give” my extra points to a fellow volunteer?
A: Our sole objective is to get help from the community in running the league. If someone wants to volunteer more, and help another family out, we will allow the sharing of excess points between community families with the following stipulations:

• Only points earned in participating in a league approved projects and events can be shared. Points earned through league/team roles (Board, TPs, Coaches, Managers) cannot be shared.

• In most cases, prior authorization is requested before the sharing takes place. This means a volunteer reaches out to [email protected] and states intent to do work and “give” points to a fellow community family. 

• Points can be shared by one volunteer family with any other volunteer family in the league

Q: What happens if I do not fulfill my volunteering obligation for a given season?
A: Families with past due volunteering fee balances are ineligible for All Stars, 9U Jamboree, or specialty tournaments such as Memorial Weekend or Super 8’s teams until they have a zero balance. Points not completed by the August 31, 2025 cut off date will result in a $25 per point non-volunteering fee to be added to your STLL account.

Q: How does the volunteering program buyout work?
A: Families may buyout the volunteer requirement for $250. Anyone electing the buyout will have this reflected in TrackTrack It Forward, and points credited for the season in which the buyout is paid.

IMPORTANT - Buyouts will be first applied to any past due non-volunteering fees before a buyout can be credited to a current season. You cannot buy out a current season but have a balance for past seasons.

Q: Do I sign up for the buyout through registration?
A: No. We found the use of the registration process to be confusing, so we are now running the volunteering buyout process separate from registration.

Q: How do I sign up for the volunteering buyout?
A: We will open a buyout window for the Spring 2025 season starting in December 2024 and run it until March 15, 2025. We will communicate to all registered families when the buyout window is open and the process for paying the buyout fee. Buyout requests should be made by filling out this Google Form here. Payment options for the buyout are included in the form.

Q: What does the buyout actually cover?
A: There are two sets of volunteering in STLL. First there are league/team duties which include operations, field improvements and maintenance, events, and any of the league or team specific roles we need filled every season and every year (Managers, Coaches, Team Parents, Board members). Then there are gameday activities which include snack shack, scorekeeping (GameChanger), pitch counting and scoreboard operating. 

IMPORTANT – the buyout only covers the first set of volunteering activities above in the league/team wide category as the buyout covers the league's ability to replace a family's volunteer hours. Buyout does NOT cover gameday responsibilities for teams including snack shack, scorekeeping (GameChanger), pitch counting and scoreboard operating. Volunteer points requests for these activities posted in Track if Forward will be declined.

A: Anyone electing the buyout will have it reflected in Track It Forward as a credit for volunteering points in the season in which the buyout is paid. The league will enter the buyout on your behalf. No action required.

Q: What if I signed up for the buyout and  need to switch to the volunteering program for some reason?
A: No Problem! If you signed up for the buyout, but then took on a team/league role and need a refund, please contact [email protected]. We will only be able to provide you with a league credit on your account for your buyout fee unless you are leaving Santa Teresa Little League, in which case a refund check will be issued.

Q: What if I signed up for volunteering and need to switch to the buyout for some reason?
A: Email [email protected] to request a change to buyout.

Q: Is there a cut off for switching between the buyout and the volunteering program?
A: In order to plan for our requirements, we ask that families do their best to commit to the volunteering points requirement or the buyout by March 15, 2025. However, as life is unpredictable, there is no hard cut off for switching from one program to the other.

Q: How will STLL use the money it receives either through the buyout process or through fees collected as a result of non-fulfilled volunteering requirements?
A: All funds collected either through the buyout and collection of non-volunteering fees will be used specifically to cover replacement for volunteer hours. This may include payments to third party organizations to work at STLL events (sports and cheer teams, bands, etc) or use of professional resources to complete specialty projects for the league (fencing, mound rebuilds, etc).

Q: Why aren’t you including Snack Shack, Game Changer, Pitch Counting and Scoreboard duties in the buyout or volunteer points program?
A: We are focusing on addressing the shortfalls we are experiencing in helping with league-wide duties. The business of the league will not get done if we don't have more participation in league-wide volunteer positions; our fields will deteriorate if we're not able to get more people out on a consistent basis for major clean up and repair days; and the quality of our events will start to go down. We are committed to continual evaluation of the program on an annual basis to determine what is working, what is not, and what changes we may want to implement moving forward.

Q: Can you specifically elaborate on Snack Shack which other leagues allow buyouts for?
A: The simple reason is equity for all. We do not want to set up a dynamic where families with the means or willingness to pay the buyout place a heavier burden on covering Snack Shack on those parents who could not or did not select the buyout. The volunteering points program therefore focuses on those things outside of game days where families can then choose how they want to contribute to the league as a whole. This can be through the buyout (where we can offset the loss of volunteer hours with money to secure the resources we need) or through participation as a volunteer.

A: STLL will try our best to work with families who have hardships because of unique situations. Requests for a hardship exemption should be emailed [email protected] for consideration by the STLL Board.