Volunteer with US

No, you do not need any experience! All training will be provided after you sign up.  

Create an account on Bloomerang to sign up to volunteer. All volunteers must pass a background check and obtain a Food Handler's Card prior to volunteering (Unity Shelter can cover the $10 cost of the Food Handler Card if requested). Do not show up for a volunteer shift without signing up through Bloomerang.  

After being approved to volunteer, you will receive an email to schedule a volunteer “shadow shift” with our Community Engagement Coordinator, Sophie. During this shift you will train for the role you signed up for so that moving forward you feel comfortable and prepared to volunteer independently. Volunteers interested in more than one role will complete a shadow shift for each role before signing up on their own. Volunteers will also need to complete Trauma Informed Care, OFB’s Civil Rights Training, and Food Handler’s training via online modules. Please be advised that all volunteers must also sign a confidentiality agreement before volunteering.  

They can! There are several different volunteer opportunities/roles, some of which involve working directly with guests, some of which do not. It is up to each individual what role they would like to volunteer for, and how much interaction they would like to have with guests.  

Generally, a T-shirt and jeans or shorts are fine. Keep in mind that clothing may get a little dirty. Appropriate attire for Unity Shelter staff includes flat, close-toed shoes, and clothing free of profanity, drug/alcohol, and sexual references. We expect the same of our volunteers. Program Managers maintain discretion over appropriate attire at each location. Volunteer badges will be provided for each shift.  

Please reach out to Sophie as soon as you know you will be unable to come in, and cancel your volunteer shift on Bloomerang. Please do not come in for volunteer shifts if you are sick.  

If you would like to volunteer and are not available during the existing volunteer time slots, please reach out to volunteer@unityshelter.org. It is possible to schedule another time frame that works for you, but it must be communicated before coming in.  

Yes, any of our volunteer roles can count towards community service. The Community Engagement Coordinator will be able to sign off on hours you've completed. Reach out to volunteer@unityshelter.org if you have questions.  

Yes, it is possible to volunteer with Unity Shelter as a group. However, we usually need to plan special tasks for groups to complete as we cannot have large groups of people volunteering in the shelter at once. Interested parties can reach out to Sophie, our Community Engagement Coordinator, to plan a group volunteer activity depending on the group size; volunteer@unityshelter.org.