Get involved
We will not invent a task for you.
Three hundred volunteers keep this place running. Every one of them does a real job, because a volunteer who is not needed is a volunteer we have wasted.
- Volunteers
- 300
- Orientation
- 1st Tuesday
- Min. commitment
- 2 hrs/week
- Ages
- 18+
Roles we actually need
| Role | Commitment | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Bench helper | 2 hrs/week | Assist a program lead, set up materials, coach one step at a time. Our biggest need. |
| Salon assistant | 3 hrs/week | Shampoo, cleanup, front desk, appointment book. No license required. |
| Van driver | 2 shifts/month | Drive a school route. Clean record, training, and a background check. |
| Saturday lab host | 1 Saturday/month | Run a station, welcome families, teach one small thing. |
| Kitchen help | 3 hrs/week | Prep, plate, wash. We pay for the food handler card. |
| Event crew | Varies | Science Fair judging, Haircut-a-Thon setup, bike giveaway, Bridge Disaster sweeping. |
The process
- Come to orientation: first Tuesday, 6–8 p.m., Hawthorne. No RSVP needed.
- Complete a background check. We pay for it. It takes about a week.
- Meet with the site coordinator and pick one role. One.
- Do a shift with a staff member, then take a regular slot.
What we ask
- Show up when you say you will. If you cannot, text the site phone. That is the whole reliability bar.
- Keep boundaries: no rides, no gifts, no social media contact with kids, no one-on-one time out of sight.
- Do the boring job. Materials setup and cleanup are most of the work and all of the value.
- Tell us if something feels wrong. You will not be penalized for raising a concern, ever.
What we do not need
We do not need volunteers to supervise kids alone, design curriculum from scratch, run fundraising campaigns, or pose for photographs. We have had all four offered and all four are the wrong kind of help. We also do not need a commitment you cannot keep; two hours a week for a term is worth more than ten hours in one heroic Saturday.
Group volunteering
Corporate teams, church groups, and clubs are welcome, with a caveat: we ask for two visits, and the second one has to be kid-led. A team that shows up once to paint a wall is a construction project with a photo op. A team that comes back and lets a twelve-year-old teach them to solder is a partnership.
The volunteers who last pick one boring job and do it every week. The ones who want to be inspiring usually last about three weeks. I say that at orientation now.
Volunteer
First Tuesday, 6–8 p.m. Two hours, a background check, and a job that matters.