Volunteer at WeShine!
Thank you for your interest! We look forward to working with you!
Our work would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of our volunteers. Thank you for all that you do!
This summer, our most significant need is weekly meals for the villagers. Shared meals are a wonderful way for the villagers to sustain a sense of community and are a time when villagers can catch up with each other. Providing meals also helps alleviate anxiety over food scarcity and can help make meals feel joyful again. Many of us grew up experiencing the impact of shared meals around a large table, and weekly meals can allow villagers to feel cared for, learn to trust again, and engage in community building.
Ideally we would appreciate a group of volunteers to commit to providing meals one week a month for six months. So for example, a group could come together and provide meals for the first week of every month for the next six months.
Every week the villagers participate in a Village Council Meeting where they come together and discuss the news of the week over a shared meal. We are looking for volunteers to bring in a full meal including a main course, side salad or vegetable side, and dessert. Hot meals can be brought in the day of the Village Council Meeting or a refrigerated meal can be brought in up to 24 hours before and reheated the day of the meeting.
Volunteer Application Process
You can submit a Volunteer Application here!
Once your application is received, you will be contacted by the Volunteer Coordinator to discuss your specific volunteer interests and availability. Please note that, for the safety of our staff and village residents, admin jobs and positions that include working directly with the village residents will require the submission of references, a background check, and an orientation prior to volunteering. Other jobs such as building, painting, or other village construction may not have the same requirements.
Our volunteer roles are broken into four main groups:
Guest and Community Support Volunteers: Tasks involve working directly with village guests or members of the wider unhoused community and include but are not limited to:
- Participate in daily outreach/clean-up patrols AKA neighborhood walks
- Doggy play-dates and co-walks
References, background check, and orientation required.
Village Life Enrichment Volunteers: Tasks involve working directly with or for village guests to develop and implement social, educational, arts-related, and recreational group projects including:
- Cooking meals for Village Council Meetings and other village gatherings
- Coordinating holiday events and celebrations
- Coordinating art and music projects
- Coordinating cooking demonstrations and classes
Both on-going and single events included
References, background check, and orientation required.
Village development or improvement: Tasks involve providing skilled or unskilled labor, including but not limited to:
- Basic construction of or improvements to sleeping pods
- Basic construction of or improvements to community buildings
- Basic construction of or improvements to village landscape
References, background check and orientation may be required.
WeShine Operations support: Tasks involve providing skilled assistance and/or training to WeShine staff in areas such as:
- Communication
- Information technology
- Volunteer management
- Fund-raising
- Serving on a board committee
References, background check and orientation may be required.
