Volunteers at Oasis

Oasis for Youth appreciates our community members who wish to make a difference for our young people. Volunteers play a vital role, offering support, sharing expertise, and even saving staff time and dollars, which increase Oasis’ capacity to serve youth.

We have three levels of volunteering. Whether you can only commit to two hours one day or want to be involved every month, we welcome your help and expertise in making a difference for the youth we serve. We hope you’ll join our team of volunteers!

Group & One-Time Opportunities

Groups or one-time opportunities allow you to make a difference even if you have limited time to volunteer or want to volunteer as a group to make a tangible impact on our ability to help young people.

Prepare a Meal – Provide and prepare a meal for our young people, which our staff will serve during drop-in. Openings on Mondays and Wednesdays. Please use this link to sign-up for meal drop-off: http://bit.do/mealsignup

Event Volunteers – Help with set up, tear down, and support for Oasis fundraising events (typically in June and September).

Donation Drive – Coordinate a donation drive at your school, church or employer. Please see our wish list for an inventory of needed items and information on how to drop-off donations.

Fundraisers – Plan a fundraiser to secure dollars for Oasis for Youth. Every dollar invested in Oasis is leveraged to help young people find housing, secure basic needs, and connect to positive supports.

Project Specific – Periodically, we have project specific opportunities which we will advertise.

Sign up process: Please attend one of our quarterly volunteer orientations to get more information about one of these opportunities or contact info@oasisforyouth.org to request more information.

Behind-the-scenes Volunteers

Individual behind-the-scenes opportunities allow you to bring your expertise and energy to expand Oasis’ impact in the community. If you enjoy planning events, coming up with creative communication pieces or simply want to help us keep our fridge stocked, these opportunities free our staff’s time so we can focus on helping young people. 

Office Volunteer: Support Oasis staff with administrative tasks such as data entry, mailings, and general office support. Because we try to save paper, computer savvy volunteers are especially appreciated to be able to streamline our administrative processes.

Committee Member: Oasis relies on volunteers to plan and coordinate events, develop fundraising campaigns and communication strategies to raise awareness about Oasis. Committees typically meet monthly, and we require at least a six month commitment.

Donation Driver or Food Shopper: From time to time, Oasis must pick up donated products or go shopping at the grocery store to restock our fridge. Volunteering to pick up donations or shop for items saves staff time . Oasis can provide mileage reimbursement.

Sign up process: Please attend one of our quarterly volunteer orientations to get more information about one of these opportunities or contact info@oasisforyouth.org to request more information.

Direct-Service Volunteers

Direct service volunteers make an incredible difference for the young people we serve. Because Oasis values the safety, confidentiality and comfort of our youth, these opportunities require a greater level of commitment, an interview process and specific training to prepare individuals for direct-service volunteering. Also, any volunteers at this level must be 21 years old or older.

Drop-in Volunteer: Create a safe, warm and welcoming atmosphere for the youth who visit the drop-in.

  • Shifts are 1:45pm – 5pm; weekdays
  • Cover at least two shifts per month
  • Six-month commitment required
  • Set-up and close the drop-in center, which requires some light lifting and light cleaning
  • Welcome youth and assisting with youth intake
  • Help youth with use of laundry and computer facilities

Transportation Volunteer: Provide transportation to youth to the local food shelf.

  • Shifts are flexible between 2pm – 5pm; weekdays
  • Cover at least two shifts per month
  • Six-month commitment required
  • In addition to the required screening and training; we do require proof of insurance and a specific driver’s application

Skill-Based Volunteer: Provide a skill-based class for young people, such as basic financial management, job searching skills, or computer skills.

  •  Skill-based class times can be negotiated according to availability of the volunteer, staff and youth as well as location
  • Classes are during drop-in hours, 2pm-5pm on a week day
  • Six-month commitment required

Sign-up process: Because these opportunities involve working with minor youth, we screen and interview our volunteers to ensure our youth’s safety. The process will include:

  • Your participation at one of our quarterly volunteer orientations (next orientation to be determined; please check back for updates).
  • Your submission of the volunteer application and required background check information; (since our resources are limited, we welcome a gift to help cover the background check fee)
  • Staff review of your application and completion of background check
  • You will be asked to participate in an interview with staff and youth
  • Your selection as a direct volunteer will be based on youth’s feedback
  • Once selected, you will be sent commitment forms, provided an opportunity-specific orientation, and be asked to participate in required training

Volunteer on the board of directors

If you are interested in joining our board, contact our Executive Director for more information:  Nicole Mills via email at nmills@oasisforyouth.org.