Volunteer

The Friends is an entirely volunteer organization. This means that donations go almost completely to services. It also means that we’re always on the lookout for more volunteers! Volunteer jobs range in scope from once or twice a year to monthly or even weekly in a few cases.

Volunteers are needed for the following areas:

Serving Meals. Each evening, a volunteer meal team prepares and serves dinner at the shelter.  Most teams do this on a monthly basis, but there are slots available for teams to do this less often.  Each meal includes an appetizer, drinks (usually fruit juices or soda), one or more main dishes, bread, salad or vegetables, and dessert.

Laundry.  Help is needed transporting linens to and from the Hampshire County House of Correction.  The facility washes and folds the shelter’s linens for free twice a week.

Shelter Sunday.  This fundraiser held every October benefits five organizations serving the hungry and the homeless, the Friends being one of them.  Volunteering includes attending meetings and performing assigned responsibilities.  The bulk of this takes place in September and October.

Services.  We welcome volunteers to share their skills, e.g., hair cutting.

Outreach.  Help is always needed with a variety of outreach and educational activities which educate the public on the homelessness situation and support our mission.

Fundraising.  Volunteers are needed to help with event planning and other fundraising activities.

Supplies.  Help is needed in soliciting and collecting donations of supplies and other support from individuals, religious congregations and other organizations. We also need a shopper to purchase basic kitchen supplies on a weekly basis.

If you are interested in helping our community meet the challenge of homelessness, please email us at volunteer@hamphomeless.org or call Rick Hart at 413.320.1886.