Community Outreach Worker
The Community Outreach Worker in the context of Human Services is a member of a non-profit or governmental organization that works to engage and educate the community about the organization and its goals. The Community Outreach Worker is the primary point of contact and organizer of volunteers for the organization. Volunteers are recruited at various community events that the Community Outreach Worker will be expected to design and implement. In addition to volunteer coordination, the Community Outreach Worker will act as a liaison with community partners to further the organizations goals for community and volunteer education. The Community Outreach Worker will also take part in community fundraising events and identify a respective sponsor list based on past donations or likelihood of future donations.
Sponsored School(s)
The list of duties for a Community Outreach Worker might include:
- Volunteer recruitment
- Volunteer organization and leadership
- Volunteer training and education
- Creation, development and implementation of community events
- Being a liaison with community partners
- Creation, development and implementation of community fundraisers
- Creation of strategies to retain current partners, volunteers and donors
- Creation, development and implementation of media campaigns
How a Community Outreach Worker Services Humans
The Community Outreach Worker services human beings by helping their organization to promote: public education, volunteer recruitment and coordination, media campaigns and fund raising goals. By doing this, the Community Outreach Worker helps their organization fulfill its mission to service the community. An example of this would be a Community Outreach Worker who works for a Domestic Violence shelter. By informing the community about their organization’s goals of reducing and preventing Domestic Violence, the Community Outreach Worker helps to raise awareness of their issue. This leads to greater public understanding and interest which in turn helps facilitate fund raising efforts and shaping the public’s thinking and policies around this issue.
A Community Outreach Workers Impact on Society
The impact of a Community Outreach Worker on society can be significant.
Some ways in which the community is impacted are:
- Greater understanding of the organization’s cause
- Greater desire of the community to support the organization financially
- Empowerment of local community to effect change around cause
- Increased public safety
- Increased public health
Impact at the Individual Level
The Community Outreach Worker works at the level of the organization and community. However, the impact of the Community Outreach Worker’s job can be felt at the individual level. For example a child with asthma might benefit tremendously from the work of a Community Outreach Worker in changing policy around burning of trash in a child’s neighborhood. While the work of a Community Outreach Worker is focused on the macro level, ultimately it will have a positive impact on the individual.
Impact at the Family Level
The Community Outreach Worker impacts the family in a similar way to that of the individual. That is, their efforts filter down to families by improving the quality of life in their community. The Community Outreach Worker can impact the family in many ways. For example, there could be a reduction Domestic Violence through educating members of the community, reducing local pollution or changing unfair lending practices. As you can see the work of the Community Outreach Worker impacts families in a measurable way.
Education to Join the Workforce
The Community Outreach Worker is a position that usually requires a Bachelor’s degree in a Social Sciences field such as Sociology, Psychology or Social Work. Bilingual and multilingual capabilities are heavily favored depending on the region one is working in.
Range of Salaries for this Job
The average annual salary for a community outreach worker is $46,900.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2019. National average for Community and Social Service Specialists. Salaries based on national data not school specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed March 2021.
What’s Next to Purse a Community Outreach Worker Career?
Most employers will be looking for a candidate with a Bachelor’s degree in a Social Sciences field. The most common degrees are in Sociology, Social Work or Psychology. Here are a list of schools with quality programs in your area.