Published in the May 22, 2015



Q: How can I volunteer some of my time to help small business owners start and grow their businesses?

A: SCORE is a nonprofit association where you can volunteer to share your business experience, give back to your community, gain satisfaction from seeing others succeed, and connect with like-minded people. Each year, SCORE volunteers touch thousands of lives, sharing their knowledge and experience so that entrepreneurs can realize their dreams of business success. 

Nationwide more than 11,000 men and women in 320 SCORE chapters donate their time and talent to assist America's small businesses. At SCORE Houston, volunteers provide free, confidential one-to-one and team business mentoring and low-cost training workshops and seminars. We now counsel aspiring entrepreneurs at 12 locations and we teach about 130 workshops each year in 16 locations around the Houston area.

Whether you have owned your own small business, come from a large company, are retired, are a college student, or just have a sincere commitment to helping small businesses or volunteering, there is a place for you as a SCORE Houston volunteer.

Whatever their background, SCORE counselors share a belief that small business owners are more likely to succeed if they have business mentors to guide them. We are seeking new volunteers of diverse backgrounds and experiences to complement and grow our team of 105 volunteers in the Houston area. 

SCORE volunteers can contribute their time in different ways. 

Many are business mentors who meet with our clients to help them with business plans, apply for financing, and grow their businesses. But, being a large service organization, we require administrative, technical, and management functions so we can provide our client services. 

Much of our work can be done in the evenings or weekends from anywhere. 

So, there are lots of ways a volunteer can help SCORE help other people.

New members go through an orientation program to get familiar with SCORE and comfortable with the counseling process. All members stay up-to-date by attending regular monthly training sessions.

In Houston, we share offices and work closely with the U.S. Small Business Administration. We have twelve satellite locations throughout the city and are looking to establish more. Visit our website, www.Houston.SCORE.org. 

If you have questions or would like to volunteer to help people achieve business success, please e-mail us at scorehouston@gmail.com, or, call our office at 713-487-6565.