April is Volunteer Appreciation Month, and at YouthCare that means lots of “Thank you’s”! Last year, 1,872 volunteers donated 9,745 hours of their time. Those are impressive numbers, but they don’t begin to capture the impact that volunteers have on our work to get homeless youth off the streets and preparing for life.
Here are just a few of the reasons we are thankful for our incredible, dedicated, and inspiring volunteers:
- You help us do our work better. From sorting donations at the administrative offices to deep cleaning our housing programs, you keep things in tip top shape so that our staff can get down to the business of serving youth.
- You connect with our young people. Regular drop-in volunteers, meal group providers, and GED tutors come back week after week and month after month, winning the trust of our young people and showing them that they are not invisible. A network of caring adults is crucial for any young person to succeed in this world. Thank you for being a part of our young people’s lives.
- You spread the word. Whether it’s referring young people in need to our services, encouraging a friend to volunteer, or organizing a group of colleagues to donate new socks and underwear, you are the best community ambassadors we could ever ask for.
- You “get” our kids. Myths and stereotypes about homeless youth abound, but you are out in the community talking about your experiences with the young people at YouthCare. You understand why young people end up on the streets. And you know that what matters is that these youth are part of this community — and they need this community’s help.
- You keep our costs down. We served almost 25,000 meals at YouthCare’s Orion Center in 2011, a 25% increase over 2010. Thanks to the hundreds of volunteers who stepped up to provide meals to ever-larger crowds each night at the Orion Center, our food expenses actually decreased during that time.
To celebrate our volunteers’ contributions to YouthCare’s work, all volunteers are invited to a Volunteer Appreciation Brunch on April 22.
Interested in becoming a volunteer? Check out our latest volunteer opportunities and find one that’s right for you, whether you’re volunteering solo or with a group!
