Community Helpline Volunteers are responsible for providing high-quality service and support to individuals around Orange County who need food assistance. Each volunteer is responsible for operating Second Harvest’s food assistance helpline in a caring and compassionate manner. Volunteers will offer referrals to food pantries, prescreen callers for CalFresh (SNAP or food stamps), make appointments for clients at our CalFresh applications assistance locations, give general information about our programs and services, and connect individuals with appropriate staff when necessary.

ACTIVITIES INCLUDE:

• Provide timely responses regarding food assistance information via incoming phone calls, voicemail messages, and text messages directed to the food assistance helpline
• Make referrals to food pantries near individuals based on location or hours of operation
• Become a resource on CalFresh with the ability to answer general questions about the program and our services
• Prescreen clients for CalFresh to determine eligibility
• Make appointments for CalFresh application assistance at one of our hubs around Orange County

REQUIREMENTS:

• Fluent in English
• Bilingual Spanish/Vietnamese preferred but not required
• Ability to travel to Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County office in Irvine
• A passion for hunger alleviation and community development
• Strong verbal communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to provide quality customer service
• Be 18 or older
• Good judgement when handling sensitive and/or confidential material

HOW THIS ROLE IS TIED TO OUR MISSION:

• By dedicating their time and talents, Community Helpline Volunteers will be an invaluable resource for the Second Harvest CalFresh Outreach team, who does not have the capacity to fully staff the helpline at all times. By providing consistent coverage for the helpline, not only will our CalFresh team members be able to dedicate their time to growing our CalFresh application numbers, but individuals who call the helpline will be assisted right away. Ultimately, volunteering as a Community Outreach Volunteer will help us accomplish our mission of ending hunger in Orange County.

HOURS:

Minimum 4 hours per week, flexible Monday - Friday. Would prefer morning shift: 8:30am - 12pm or afternoon shift: 12pm - 4:30pm. Must complete training and commit to a minimum of 3 months.

TRAINING AND SUPERVISION:

Training and supervision will be provided by Samantha Sobrevinas. Trainings include: CalFresh Program (Pre-screening potentially eligible individuals), Case Management (following up on current statuses of client’s cases), Food Referrals (referring clients to nearby food sources).