Please send any questions to our Volunteer Coordinator at Makayla.Smith@familyabusecenter.org.

The Family Abuse Center depends on volunteers who share their time, talents, and skills to help us make an impact on the lives of domestic violence survivors and their families. Whether you choose to join us on a weekly basis, just a few times, or one time, there is a variety of different volunteer opportunities available.

If you are inquiring about an internship, please look at our internship opportunities page and directly contact a supervision in the respective department that aligns with your internship needs.

Steps to become part of the Family Abuse Center’s Volunteer Team:

• Step 1: Complete our volunteer application by clicking Apply Online below. The Volunteer Coordinator checks daily for any new submissions. Please allow 1-2 days for the Volunteer Coordinator to email you in response to your completed application.
• Step 2: Background check. The Volunteer Coordinator will send the background check form for you to complete. Please allow 1-2 days for the Volunteer Coordinator to run the background check and for the system to process your information.
• Step 3: Attend a Volunteer Orientation. The Volunteer Coordinator will email you the status of your background check and then provide upcoming volunteer orientation sessions once your background check is processed.
• Step 4: Sign Up for Available Volunteer Opportunities. If the background check is clear, the Volunteer Coordinator will share open volunteer opportunities.

Your volunteer time and efforts create a positive impact on Family Abuse Center’s clients and the community as a whole.

The Family Abuse Center schedules volunteers based on available volunteer opportunities on a semester basis (January – April; May – July; August – December). As several Family Abuse Center volunteers are students, there may be flexibility during the weeks of final exams and holiday breaks. If a Volunteer requires mandatory volunteer hours for a class, please try to schedule an orientation before the semester starts to ensure the availability of volunteer opportunities and positions.

Please see our volunteer opportunities below to see which option best matches your passion, talents, and interests:

Children’s Group:

Spend time with children at our shelter by engaging in age-appropriate activities while their parents are learning about domestic violence-related issues, skills and support. Tuesday and Thursday nights from 6:00pm – 7:00pm. Additional children’s training is required. Weekly or bi-monthly commitments are preferred.

Homework Help:

Children staying in shelter are easily distracted from completing their schoolwork. Volunteers can help school-age children with their homework so they stay on track. Monday – Thursday from 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm. Additional children’s training is required. Weekly or bi-monthly commitments are preferred.

Resident Advocate (RA) Assistant:

Resident Advocates rotate shifts at the shelter 24 hours a day and are the only staff member on-site outside of regular business hours. RA Assistants help the RA with tasks like cleaning up after meals, preparing clients rooms while RA is helping client during intake, and more. Available shifts are Monday – Friday evenings from 4:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., as well as Saturday and Sunday from 11:00am – 9:00pm. Weekly or bi-monthly commitments are preferred.

Cleaning:

Although our clients help us with cleaning while in shelter, we need some volunteers once a week to help with a deep cleaning.

Handyman/woman:

Family Abuse Center is always looking for help around the shelter with unique tasks that require specific physical skills (i.e. moving furniture, fixing blinds, hanging bulletin boards, painting etc.). Please email the Volunteer Coordinator for more details.

Gardening:

Family Abuse Center provides a Meditation and Reflection Garden for clients to enjoy while in shelter that requires maintenance and upkeep along with other landscaping needs throughout the shelter grounds. Please email the Volunteer Coordinator for more details.

Food Donation Pick Up:

Family Abuse Center receives donations from Panera Bread each week. Pick up is at 9:00 p.m. every Thursday night. Please email the Volunteer Coordinator for more details.

Pet Fostering: 

An obstacle for clients to come to shelter is not wanting to leave their pets behind. As a pet foster, we will not require more than two weeks of fostering shelter clients' pets. Please email the Volunteer Coordinator for more details.

Seasonal Volunteer Opportunities:

Children’s Summer Program: Throughout the summer children are not in school and sometimes are unable to attend camps. Our Children’s Services Coordinator plans events throughout the week for the children and needs help in facilitating those activities and/or chaperoning on field trips. Additional children’s training is required. Inquire more details by emailing the Volunteer Coordinator.

Holiday Helpers Gift Wrapping: During the Holiday season, Family Abuse Center accepts gift donations for our families in shelter and housing programs. We need volunteers to help wrap the gifts for our families. This is a fun opportunity to get into the holiday spirit! Please email the Volunteer Coordinator for more details.

If you are interested in applying to volunteer at Family Abuse Center, fill out our volunteer application by clicking apply online above. We will then let you know of upcoming dates and times for volunteer orientation. The training lasts 90 minutes and is required before you can begin volunteering or receive further training.