Volunteer FAQ's

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Event volunteers assist on the day of the event and help with set-up, greeting attendees, answering questions, recruiting volunteers for various programs, crowd flow management and/or tearing down tables and tents. Please note that specific tasks may change depending on the event.

Warehouse volunteers are responsible for loading and unloading trucks, keeping the warehouse organized, supporting distributions by unpacking and sorting food and merchandise, sorting and packing donations, stocking items on shelves, checking expiration dates and discarding expired or damaged product, breaking down boxes, and various related tasks as requested by staff. From time to time you may also be asked to assist with community pick-ups.

Office volunteers help with everyday business tasks such as greeting guests, answering phones, filing, data entry, research on the internet, general maintenance and cleaning of the office space, providing support for meeting and events, or with special projects and other administrative tasks as assigned. 

Inventory volunteers will organize and track incoming donated items. They will sort and store things in an organized manner, while keeping track of inventory and advising on both needs and excesses of items. Duties include receiving items, sorting, labeling, organizing supplies, and stocking; working with staff to determine what will be stored where; putting together pre-made packets of supplies for clients; keeping staff and donors advised on what we have too much of, and what we need more of; taking pictures of donations as needed; interacting with donors in a positive, professional manner that clearly expresses respect and gratitude for donated items.

Photography volunteers are responsible for photographically capturing the essence of Voices of Our Youth. You must be discreet when photographing individuals and have an artistic eye to capture heartwarming and emotional photographs. Duties include creating, organizing, evaluating and maintaining a photo library, coordinating the services of other volunteer photographers, and developing photographic standards for Voices of Our Youth photographers.

Food service volunteers should treat each client respectfully and must wear gloves before handling any food. 

Family distribution guidelines are as follows: Families of 1-4 people à 1 item per station; Families of 5-7 people à 2 items per station, Families of 8 + people à 3 items per station. 

Stations are organized by category: canned fruit and soup; vegetables and beans; dry goods; pasta, rice, casserole mixes, Hamburger Helper etc.; breakfast and baking items; cereal, oatmeal, pancake mix, scone mix, sugar, flour, cake mix, etc.; miscellaneous items such as salad dressing, spices, marinades, tea, coffee, etc.; frozen vegetables; protein items; tuna, beef, chicken, lamb, etc.; dairy and prepared foods; yogurt, cheese, sandwiches, salads, etc.; fresh fruit and vegetables; snacks, pastries and baked goods; muffins, cakes, candy, etc.; and drinks; juice, water, milk, etc.

Volunteers who are helping feed families agree to obtain a food handlers card. You can obtain one at https://efoodcard.com for a nominal fee of $7.99 (you pay once you pass). You must provide this to the Chief Operations Officer as soon as possible, so we have it on file.

 To help raise funds for Voices of Our Youth in order to provide services to meet the needs of the community by developing local/community fundraising and awareness events; putting up posters or handling out flyers; approaching individuals, schools, universities, shops and commercial organizations for sponsorship and donations and other tasks as assigned.

To assist in promoting Voices of Our Youth’s community, events, and resources while creating an engaging platform for members to interact across social media, digital & print media, newsletters, and other marketing outlets. You will partake in brainstorming sessions and meetings to develop a strategy for best practices and an implementation plan to further our mission, programs and events.

Duties include keeping our social media platforms updated, ideally at least two to three times per week; encouraging others to comment on our posts and share them; creating communication plans and messaging content for the Voices of Our Youth blog; increasing the numbers of people following our posts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+ and YouTube; building the Voices of Our Youth brand; and helping to set and work towards, social media objectives and targets.

The role is very much about communicating externally and building relationships with potential and current constituents. The Social Media Marketing Volunteer will be working alongside staff and committee members, in particular, the Chief Operations Officer.