Volunteers for Outreach center (Village)

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StandUp For Kids (SUFK) is a national, all-volunteer organization with active programs in 30 U.S. cities. We help youth who are on their own, having run away from or been kicked out of an unsafe (usually abusive) home. They are trying to restart their lives.

The Silicon Valley chapter of SUFK was launched in 2008, and our core service has been a 1-on-1 mentoring program for homeless youth referred to us by their school counselors.

Our dream has always been to open an outreach center where homeless and at-risk youth can come after school to hang out safely, get a hot meal, use computers, take a shower, get new clothes, do laundry, and talk to our volunteer counselors. In March, 2014 we opened "The Village", our outreach center in San Jose. We need lots of help at the Village, and you can make a real difference in these kids' lives by being a caring and trustworthy adult for them. We volunteers work as a team, and help each other every day in every way.

Various jobs for which we need volunteers at the Village are listed below. Please understand that these jobs are new, and you can help define the job and how it is done.

1. Shift supervisors. We are currently open Mon. and Thurs. evenings from 5:30 to 8pm (and hope to expand to additional nights as we grow). We need a shift supervisor on each shift to open the Village, coordinate the volunteers, follow the nightly checklist for opening and closing the Village, submit the nightly report, and handle any situations which may arise or decisions which need to be made.

1. Shift staff. We need at least 3 volunteers on duty each night that we are open. Duties of the staff include:

• Talking with and counseling the youth toward good life decisions
• Working at the intake desk, to register new youth, track attendees and assign daily chores
• Help serving hot meals (that are prepared and donated by local restaurants)
• Sorting donations of food, clothing, hygiene products, etc.
• Checking and signing off on youth's daily chores
• Monitoring supplies (food, clothing, hygiene) taken by youth
• Completing nightly checklist

Many Village staff are also choosing to become mentors to one of the kids they help at the center. Refer to our mentoring program for more details.

1. Clothing room coordinator. The Village has a room dedicated to clothing for the kids. It is VERY popular with them. We have a lot of donated new and gently used clothing, new underwear, shoes, etc. We need a coordinator to oversee what is in the clothing room, what we need more of, and initiate replenishment with the supplies team or the donations coordinator. Also schedule periodic "clothes sorting parties" where several volunteers work to organize and label what we have, and purge clothing that is not attractive to the kids.

1. Program Coordinator. We would also like to schedule some programs or events, such as classes, talks, games, etc. that our kids can participate in. The other outreach centers are doing this, and can offer us lots of ideas. We need a program coordinator to develop and schedule various programs.

1. Events coordinator. We would to host some events, including a grand opening party for our supporters and donors, various functions for our kids and volunteers, limited only by our creativity.

If you have at least 4 hours per week and would like to learn more about our program, please email siliconvalley@standupforkids.org. Volunteers must :

• Be at least 18 years old
• Submit a criminal background check
• Make a 6-month commitment
• Have a positive attitude and desire to help our youth.