This month we tip our hats to you, our amazing volunteers! At FIRST^®, our volunteers are vital to the success of our students and our programs. We want to take the time to say a BIG THANK YOU to all our volunteers around the world in honor of Global Volunteer Month.

Scroll down to explore how FIRST is celebrating and appreciating our volunteers this month as well as how to stay connected to FIRST in the off-season.

Enter the 2024 FIRST Global Volunteer Month Raffle for a chance to win a free package of FIRST swag. All FIRST volunteers are eligible to win! Limit one entry per person. The raffle ends on April 30, 2024, so get your entry in today! Winners will be notified via email (please use the same email associated with your FIRST account for verification purposes).

Enter the Volunteer Month Raffle today!

Sarah is a Senior Product Manager at FIRST^® Strategic Partner John Deere and a FIRST alum who uses her skills and experience to inspire future generations as a FIRST mentor and volunteer. Read more about her journey in STEAM and how it led her to her current role on the FIRST blog.

FIRST thrives because of the investments of time and treasure from you, our Volunteers! Did you also know that many employers will match your volunteer hours and/or cash donations with cash contributions to organizations like FIRST? Check to see if your employer has a matching gift program and how you can double your impact by directing those funds to FIRST.

All are invited to celebrate FIRST Signing Day on May 20, 2024! On this day, FIRST will be sharing teams around the world celebrating their high school seniors on our social channels. Follow @first_official and @firstsigningday on Instagram to stay up to date on all things FIRST Signing Day. 

Thank you for your time and contributions to the FIRST IN SHOW^SM presented by Qualcomm season! Here are a few tips to stay engaged until the 2024-2025 game reveals and season!

• Share feedback with your local FIRST about the 2023-2024 season to your local FIRST, we need to hear your voice!
• Participate in local FIRST off-season events (local newsletters or social media groups are great ways to find out about local off-season events and meetups).
• Ask how to prepare for next season by reaching out to your local volunteer coordinator about new trainings or learning a new volunteer role.
• Log your volunteer hours from the 2023-2024 season:
  • Event volunteers with assigned roles can log and edit their volunteer hours in Volunteer Registration for the current season only. Please complete logging all hours by April 30, 2024.
  • Check it out by logging into your FIRST dashboard and following these steps:
    • Click on “Hello, Your Name” in the upper right-hand corner.
    • Select “My Profile” from the drop-down menu.
    • Select “Volunteer Log Hours” from the menu on the left.
    • Refer to page 13 of the Volunteer Registration User Guide for more information.