Volunteer

CLOTHING DONATION AND VOLUNTEER UPDATE

Due to an unexpected surge in donations, we have paused our acceptance of gently-used items until June 1, 2021. Please refrain from bringing any gently-used donations, including clothing, household and children’s items, to our campus until this date. Thank you for your understanding!

Questions or concerns? Email Rachel Warne at rwarne@covenanthouse.org.

In accordance with the policies of the City of New Orleans, we are allowing a limited amount of in person volunteer opportunities. For more information on availability or virtual volunteer opportunities please contact volunteerNOLA@covenanthouse.org.

Volunteers are an invaluable asset to our staff. Whether they are working at our crisis desk, conducting mock interviews with our residents, or coming with a group to serve a meal or lead activities for our residents, Covenant House is a better place because of them.

We ask that all volunteers be at least 25-years of age, and that those participating in any individual volunteering opportunities working directly with our resident commit to a minimum of 6 months of service.

All volunteers must pass a background check, complete our online application and attend volunteer orientation. We also ask that volunteers make a $25 donation to cover the cost of processing the background check.

Want to get started? You can complete your application by clicking here!

We love our volunteers, and are always open to new ideas! For any questions related to volunteering, email volunteerNOLA@covenanthouse.org.

Please note that we cannot validate court mandated volunteer hours.

Individual Volunteer Opportunities

Crisis Desk Volunteers

Welcome Desk Volunteers work in the hub of our crisis center and are the first friendly face a youth sees when entering Covenant House. In this position, you learn about everything going on at Covenant House and get to interact regularly with residents and community members. It’s a fast paced position that is vitally important to keeping things running smoothly in the Crisis Center. Volunteers interested in this role must commit to 1 four hour shift a week, for a minimum of 8 months and should have experience working with youth.

Interested in volunteering as a Crisis Desk volunteer? Click here to sign up for your orientation!

Administration Desk

This position is the administrative counterpart to our Crisis Desk position. Our Administrative Volunteers are located in our admin center, and assist with directing phone calls, visitors, and donors. They also assist our Finance, Development, and Programs departments with a variety of activities. These volunteers do everything from filing and data entry, to creating excel spreadsheets and assisting with donations.

Interns

Interns gain valuable on the job experience while providing our staff with much needed support. Applicants should be at least 18 years old, and commit to at least 3 months with us.

Undergraduate interns can assist with Development, Volunteer Coordination, Social Media, Finance, Administration, and more. If you are interested in applying to be a part of our team, please send a cover letter and resume to chnoinfo@covenanthouse.org.

Group Volunteers

Host a Dinner

Prepare & Share a Meal for our residents! Groups (or 10 or fewer) can come to Covenant House to host dinners or lunches for our youth.

Want to learn more about this opportunity?

If your group, club, church, or company is interested in our Share & Prepare a Meal program, please fill out this form and we will reach out to schedule your first service!

If you are a returning group, email volunteernola@covenanthouse.org and we’ll help you navigate our new online platform.

Clothing Room

Every day donors bring their gently used clothing and goods to our site. Our Clothing Room Volunteers organize and sort the donations, allowing our residents easy access to the clothes they need most. Many of our youth arrive with just the clothes on their back, and these donations help us ensure they have access to clean and quality clothing.

Physical Service Projects

We are always happy to have groups do physical service projects, which include anything that needs to be done around our facility. This could be painting, cleaning, gardening, etc. Anything that helps keep Covenant House a home for our residents!

For these types of projects, we typically recommend a 3 hour day, between 9:00 to noon or noon to 3:00 PM. This opportunity is ideal for groups to be between 5 and 20 people.

Hold a Donation Drive

Our Most-Needed Items

“Black and White Drive” to collect black pants and white button down shirts and blouses for job interviews
“Street Outreach Drive” to collect travel snacks, first-aid kids, bottled water, travel size toiletries, and more for our outreach team to distribute on the streets
Create your own drive! Click here to view our most needed items, and coordinate with our Volunteer Department to design your own drive

Special Occasions

We always want our residents to know that they are loved and cared for. Holiday donation drives ensures that no resident is left out of the joy and support of the holidays.

Christmas
- Gift card drive (Target, Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, Ulta, etc.)
Easter baskets
Valentines baskets
Halloween goody bags

Sponsoring Residents

Our residents experience milestones in their lives, just like every other teenager. But unlike most young people, they don’t have a parent there to support them through these moments in their lives. Sponsoring one or more residents allows them to have all the supplies they need to start on the right foot:

Starting a new year of school, or having a child who is starting school
Moving into a new apartment
Starting a new job