Volunteers

Volunteers are the lifeblood of the organization.

Helping Hands has no paid staff. Our seventy-eight+ volunteers come from a wide variety of backgrounds, and range in age from teens to some in their 80’s. Volunteers donated over 8,700 hours in 2017.

Helping Hands volunteers have these common traits:

  • they demonstrate sincere empathy toward all people
  • they are non-judgmental
  • they are committed to being a team player
  • they demonstrate good social and communication skills
  • they have the physical stamina to stand and lift bags of donations

Individuals who are interested in becoming a Helping Hands volunteer need to complete a Volunteer Application Form. They also must agree to arrange for an interview and a shop orientation with our Volunteer Coordinator. A three-hour training session is mandatory before a new volunteer can be assigned to work with clients during open hours. By Board policy, clients of Helping Hands are not eligible to become volunteers.

Volunteers have great flexibility in the frequency of their assignment in the schedule. For example:

  • some work on the same day, each week from 9:a.m. until 12:00 noon or in the afternoon from noon until 2:00 or 3:00pm.
  • others work once a month on the same day. (third Saturday, for example).
  • some others choose to work a floating schedule and fill in whenever a need arises.
  • several volunteers choose to only assist with special projects — transporting merchandise to storage, assisting with Christmas events for clients or maintaining the grounds.