Girl Scouts Service Unit 8
Volunteer Opportunities at the S.J. Family Shelter
Simple and easy ideas for young troops:
- Organize a juice box drive at your school. Provide the children water or
lemonade from large size dispensers as an alternative and ask students to donate their own
juice boxes to the Shelter. In this activity you are asking the students themselves
to donate, not their parents. You could also do this with individually wrapped
cookies or other snacks. Be sure to get permission from your principal, PTA, lunch
program etc.
- Call the Sunday Friends hotline at 408-793-0441 and listen to their recorded message
to see what the current wish list includes. Organize a drive to collect for one of
these needs. A recent need was for outgrown Halloween costumes. Ongoing needs
include art supplies and batteries (all types for children's toys and teen's headphones).
- Every Sunday afternoon Sunday Friends organize fun activities for the children of
the shelter to enhance pride, self-esteem and work ethic, as well as learning and family
unity. Successful completion of projects earns the children "tickets"
which can be spent in their "store". Donations of toys and gifts of all
kinds are always needed for this store. Suggestions include disposable cameras,
stickers, watches, Pokemon cards and other collectibles, cassette and CD players, roller
blades, trendy school suppliers, Lisa Frank kits, in-style new teen clothing and shoes,
popular teen music and electronic games.
The Shelter volunteer coordinator has suggested the following other volunteer
opportunities:
After School: 4 - 5:30 p.m. Monday - Friday
During the school year, resident children return to the Shelter around 4 p.m.
Volunteers - including someone over the age of 18 - are needed at that time to
supervise the play yard or to provide quiet indoor activities until dinnertime at 5:30
p.m. Outside the they have some play equipment, a basketball court, a small grassy
area and a playhouse. Volunteers can choose to provide general supervision or focus
on an age-group activity for 3-5 year olds, 6-12 year olds, or teens. There are some
books, games and equipment onsite, but you are also free to bring in your own planned
activity, crafts, etc.
Evening Activities: 7 - 9 p.m.
After dinner help to provide age-appropriate activities for children within small
groups supervised and led by volunteers. If the weather permits, some children will
want to return to the play yard. The youngest children enjoy a short story time before
bed. Many of the preteens enjoy board games or crafts. All school-aged
children my need help with homework or need to improve their reading, math or computer
skills.
Saturday Play Groups: 10 a.m. - Noon or 1 - 4 p.m.
Often the youngest children (and the moms with the most kids) will stay at the
Shelter on Saturday mornings. The parents welcome volunteer support that allows them
a little rest or the opportunity to complete their chores unhindered while their children
are safely at play. It's a good time to set up water play, sandbox play, playdough,
finger paints or a tea party. Many of the families are Spanish-speaking and it's
always a benefit to have bilingual volunteers to help out.
Friends of the Shelter
Volunteers can assist the Friends of the Shelter with the monthly birthday party,
holiday celebrations, and extra support activities for families leaving the Shelter.
Food Service Volunteer Opportunities:
Packing Lunches and Donating Lunch Items
About 150-200 lunches are packed every evening after 7 p.m., when the dinnertime
chores have been completed. Many hands make light work so a team of 3 - 4 people in
the kitchen will quickly finish this task. It is always a great assist to the
Shelter if volunteers also bring food donations such as individual-portion sized juice
boxes, chips, cookies, fresh fruit or other snack foods. Most families must leave
the Shelter by 9:30 each morning, returning no sooner than 4 p.m. If they don't have
spending money for food, the packed lunch may be all they'll have until dinnertime.
Weekend Meal Teams
Breakfast teams usually consist of at least five volunteers. The team must be
prepared to serve hot breakfast to approximately 135 residents. The team leader can
call the day before for a precise head count. Food can be brought and prepared in
the Shelter's kitchen, or prepared outside and brought in. Most teams arrive around
6:30 a.m. to prepare the food and to serve the meal at 8 a.m. Typical dishes might
include: hot cereal, boiled or scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage or ham, sweet rolls,
muffins, grits, hash browns, etc.
Dinner teams consist of at least 5 volunteers ready to serve about 135 residents.
Again, the team leader should call the day before to get a precise headcount.
Dinner is served at 5:30 p.m. If cooking in the Shelter kitchen, plan to arrive
around 3 p.m. Arrive at 4:30 p.m. if the food is already prepared and just needs
re-heating. Dinner team volunteers do not participate in clean up duties - the
residents attend to that as part of their evening chore's routine. Typical dinner
meals might include: chicken, hamburger or other meat dishes, pizza or hot sandwiches,
pasta, rice or potatoes. Most of our residents are young children so it is
appropriate to serve some foods that are mild, simple and pleasing to young palates.
Other Possibilities:
The Shelter would be pleased to work with your school, church or service
organization if you would like to collect and contribute items for packed lunches.
Friends of the Shelter make up food baskets for needy families, stuff Christmas stockings
and fill Easter baskets. They sponsor a monthly birthday party. They need
party favors, decorations and special food treats for these occasions.
San Jose Family Shelter
1590 Las Plumas Blvd.
San Jose, CA, 95133
phone: 408-926-8885
San Jose Family Shelter