Volunteers & service hours
Teams, a schedule families answer in one tap, clearance dates you can prove, and hours counted at the door.
In short
Pearspark runs volunteers end to end: a roster carrying each person's fingerprint-clearance status and expiry date, teams and positions, events with a headcount per position that can repeat or be copied to new dates, requests families accept or decline straight from the email, self-signup and blockout dates in the family portal, staffed check-in, and an hours CSV for the board.
The check-in desk, and who's on campus right now
The desk is a search box: type a name, tap Check in. "On campus now" lists everyone still in the building and how long they've been here, and one "Check out all" ends the day. A visit somebody forgot to close is flagged as missing rather than quietly counted as fourteen hours. Staff sign volunteers in — every visit records who did it and when.
Teams, positions, and a schedule that repeats
Build the teams a small school actually has — Lunch Crew, Field Trips, Front Desk — and the positions inside them. An event says what it needs by headcount (2 Servers, 1 Greeter) and shows a fill meter: 3 of 5 confirmed, 1 still pending. A repeating event becomes real dates on the calendar, up to 60 at a time, because each date carries its own people, replies, and check-ins; "every school day" reads your actual timetable rather than guessing. Next year's festival is a copy of last year's, needs and all.
Families answer in one tap — or claim the spot themselves
Nothing emails automatically: you schedule people, then send the requests when the plan is settled. The email has Accept and Decline buttons that work on their own, so a grandparent answers from a phone without a password. A reminder goes out to everyone who accepted before the day arrives. In the portal, volunteers see their upcoming schedule, say "Can't make it" honestly, and add blockout dates — which warn you the next time you try to schedule them.
Clearances you can prove, without storing fingerprints
Each volunteer's record holds clearance status, card number, and expiry date — the card on file, never biometric data. Mark a position as requiring a current clearance and the roster tells you who doesn't have one; filter to expiring-soon and you renew in September instead of discovering it at the field trip. Pearspark warns rather than blocks: checking in someone whose clearance lapsed takes a deliberate "check in anyway", and the visit is logged either way.
Hours the board will accept
Every closed visit is hours. The check-in log shows each one — in, out, duration, and which staff member signed them in — over this month, last month, the year, or a custom range, and the CSV export gives a row per visit plus a total per volunteer. The numbers come from the door, not from a form a family fills in from memory in May.
What's included
- Volunteer roster with photos, contact details, and notes
- Add existing parents to the roster in one step
- Fingerprint clearance status, card number, and expiry — no biometric data stored
- Expiring-soon filter, 60 days ahead
- Teams and positions; a position can require a current clearance
- Events with a headcount per position and a fill meter
- Repeating events as real dates: weekly, fortnightly, monthly, or school days
- Copy an event — needs, times, and people — to new dates
- Accept / decline straight from the request email, no login
- Automatic reminder email before the event
- Family portal: upcoming schedule, open spots, blockout dates
- Open self-signup or office-scheduled only — the school's choice
- Staffed check-in desk with "on campus now" and check-out-all
- Check-in log with date ranges and missing-checkout flags
- Volunteer hours CSV: every visit plus per-volunteer totals
- Portal invitations sent per volunteer, when you choose
All of it is part of the flat price — $50/month including 20 students, then $2.50/student (volume bands down to $1.00). Nothing on this page is a paid add-on.
See it done in 60 seconds
All 11 videosReal screen recordings, one task per minute — no fluff.
Common questions
Do volunteers need an account to reply?
No. The request email carries Accept and Decline buttons that work on their own, so someone with a phone and no password can answer. A portal login — invited one volunteer at a time, when you choose — adds the rest: their upcoming schedule, open spots to claim, and the days they're unavailable.
Does Pearspark run background checks?
No, and it stores no fingerprint or biometric data. It keeps the record: clearance status, card number, and expiry date. You run the check through your state's process; Pearspark is the part that tells you in September that three cards expire in October, and that flags a lapsed one at the door.
How are service hours counted?
At the door. A staff member checks a volunteer in and out, and each closed visit becomes a duration in the check-in log, an hours-to-date figure on the roster, and a row in the CSV export with per-volunteer totals. There's no self-reported hours form, and Pearspark doesn't police a per-family hours requirement — if your school has one, export the hours and compare them against your own policy.
Can families sign themselves up, or do we ask each person?
Either — it's one school-wide setting. In open mode families see open spots in the portal and claim them, and a parent who claims one joins the volunteer roster automatically. In office-scheduled mode there's no self-signup at all: only the people you schedule are asked.
Try it in the live demo
Explore volunteers & service hours in a real sandbox school — admin, teacher, and parent views. Sample data resets daily.