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Volunteers
City House truly could not function without the support of hundreds of volunteers per month. My Friend's House, TRIPS, Administration, and Development rely on the support of volunteer resources to fulfill our mission to help homeless children and provide excellent services to the community.
Please note that due to our commitment to protect the children, volunteer opportunities for children under the age of 18 are limited, and no court-ordered community service is allowed.
What do I need to do?
All volunteers must fulfill a series of steps before being able to volunteer with our children.
- Attend orientation; and the dates for 2012 are:
- Saturday, February 11
- Saturday, May 12
- Saturday, August 25
- Saturday, October 13
Orientation is 9:00-1:00 and is usually held in the Youth Commons Building of St. Andrew United Methodist Church. The Youth Commons Building is on the east side of the property.
- Register for orientation by emailing Lisa Rodgers at lrodgers@cityhouse.org and indicate the date that you would like to attend
- Download the Volunteer Application Form and bring the completed form with you to orientation
- Bring a pen to complete additional paperwork
- Bring a copy of your driver’s license
- Bring $20 for the session (waived for City House Coalition Members)
- Complete a background check - consent forms are completed at orientation
- Pass a TB test:ÝOur licensing requires a TB test. We offer the TB test onsite at the orientation at no additional cost to you. If you have been tested within the past 6 months and have results or if youíd like to have the test done individually, please bring a copy to the orientation session.
- Once the above steps are completed, you will be contacted about starting your volunteer work.
Volunteer Opportunities at TRIPS
Life Skills Coaches/Mentors
Qualified volunteers serve as a Life Skills Coach to tutor and mentor the young adult through the program. This will include group presentations and individual support in basic financial skills, including finding and maintaining stable employment, improving earning power, personal budgeting, banking, saving, and credit repair.
Pot Stickers (Meals - Dinners or Weekends)
The clients really appreciate a home cooked meal. Dinner can be made at home and dropped off or cooked in our kitchen.
Volunteer Opportunities at My Friends House (0-17 years)
Rock-N-Rollers (9 a.m. to 9 p.m. – 2 hour commitment any day)
Provide support to child specialists working with babies. This involves rocking, reading, and singing to them and taking them outside on a stroll. Provide our youngest children with much needed social interaction to help in the development of trust, and build the necessary framework for positive brain development.
Play Dates (9 a.m. to 9 p.m. – 2 hour commitment any day)
Provide support to child specialists working with toddlers and pre-schoolers. This involves positive interaction with individuals as well as working in small groups. Volunteers will assist in implementing developmentally appropriate activities designed to build a child’s self-esteem and help them feel loved and supported through the use of play.
Dinner Dates (5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.)
Rock-N-Rollers and Play Dates during this time will participate in the evening meal and act as Dinner Dates. Adults will model appropriate meal behavior and encourage social time at dinner. They will also assist with family style meals and encouraging children to eat and try new things.
Dust Bunnies (9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. – self-scheduled 2-3 hrs.)
Involves basic housekeeping duties such as dusting, vacuuming, mopping, and tidying common areas.
Suds & Duds (9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. – self-scheduled 2-3 hrs.)
Support staff by washing, drying, folding, and putting away mounds of laundry.
Donation Dudes & Divas (9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. – 2-3 hrs., Monday, Wednesday, Friday)
Organize and inventory types and quantities of stored clothing and other resources being collected for residents. May be asked to pick up donations or exchange items.
Admin Aces (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. – Monday - Friday)
Duties include greeting guests, answering phones, copying, filing, organizing, and general support for the staff.
Go-Getters (self-scheduled 2-3 hours – Tuesday or Friday)
Run errands for the staff. It could include grocery shopping, getting clothes or gifts for the children, or exchanging or returning items.
Homework Hounds (6 a.m. to 7 p.m. – Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday)
Must have your teaching certification. Provide tutoring or help during homework time. Ideally we would like to have two tutors, one for elementary and one for secondary.
Movie Night Sponsors (7 p.m. to 9 p.m. – Friday)
Volunteers provide two movies (G/PG and PG/PG13) for two different age groups to be shown in different rooms. The volunteer also provides appropriate snacks. Please see our additional guidelines.
Birthday Buddies (1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. – 3rd Saturday of the month)
Birthdays are celebrated once a month for all the children who have a birthday that month. Volunteers provide decorations, a healthy snack (the cake is provided monthly by a local church), and plan an activity. Please see our additional guidelines.
Provide a meal (Usually on a weekend)
You may offer to bring in a meal, but it must be from a restaurant or cooked in a commercial kitchen. It could be donuts on a Sunday morning, sub sandwiches on a Saturday, or anything else you can think of. You could even offer to sponsor a meal at a local restaurant and meet the children there.
Volunteer Opportunities Across City House
Administrative Support (flexible scheduling – Monday - Friday)
We need help copying, filing, typing, creating spreadsheets, organizing and general support for our administrative staff.
Maintenance Support (flexible scheduling – on call)
Work as needed at the facilities to paint, decorate, make minor repairs, mow the yard, rake the leaves, etc.
Special Events/Projects (flexible scheduling – on call)
We participate in many events that require extra manpower for the planning and execution of the event.
Sponsor a Resident Activity
Sponsor an outing such as bowling, playing whirly ball, going to a movie, or visiting a museum. If you have an idea, let us know so you can get approval.
Sponsor a Donation Drive
After discussing agency needs with the Community Relations Manager, organize a drive for items off our wish list at your place of worship, business, school, or neighborhood.
