Trip Leaders are the core of our program. We might be able to survive (for awhile, at least) without transit privileges, without our jerseys, even without donations. But if we don't have Trip Leaders, we don't travel.
Leaders never finish a trip with the feeling that they weren't needed. Teachers and youth group coordinators sometimes must book trips months in advance, simply because Leaders aren't available to chaperone their trips. If Leaders aren't free, the group isn't signed up and the kids can't go. The fifteen to twenty children that travel with a typical group have the Leader to thank for the day's visit to the zoo, or the aquarium, or the museum.
Because our participating youth groups are entrusting their kids to a Leader's care, becoming one takes some work. Trip Leaders are required to join trips as a Volunteer Guide, and then co-lead under a current Leader's supervision. They get a full background check, Red Cross first aid training and a day of TransitPeople training. Once accepted as Leaders, they receive an inventory of TransitPeople jerseys and transit passes, as well as a first aid kit. Before every trip they commit to lead, they receive detailed directions on how to chaperone the day's group.
Volunteers new to TransitPeople begin as Guides; the process is explained in this section. But if you think you'd like to become a Trip Leader eventually, and want to know what's involved, just click on the link below to download the application. We'll be grateful if you do: you're essential.