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 doing individual volunteering commit to six months of service, for one four-hour shift a week. If you are younger than 25-years of age, you can participate in group volunteer events or join our team as an intern.
We love our volunteers, and are always open to new ideas! For any questions related to volunteering, email volunteerNOLA@covenanthouse.org.
Individual Volunteers
Crisis Desk Volunteers
Crisis 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.
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.
Wellness Volunteers
Wellness Volunteers will lead workshops or other fun events for our residents, such as yoga, meditation, movie nights, “girls’ nights,” art classes, etc. Sharing your interests and skills with our youth is a great way to expose them to new activities and ideas, while also connecting them with more role models in the community. We ask that you lead a workshop or activity anywhere from once a week to once a month.
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 two months with us. Undergraduate interns can assist with Development, Volunteer Coordination, Social Media, Finance, Administration, and more. Go to our Careers page for the position descriptions and application.
Group Volunteers
Host a Dinner
Host a dinner for our residents! Groups who host dinners prepare enough food to feed at least 75 residents, and come to our location to prepare and serve the meal. Your group would arrive at 4pm, and then serve from 4:30-6pm. There can be a maximum of 15 volunteers, and your group can come any day of the week (though we prefer weekdays if possible!).
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. Volunteering in the clothing room can be a regular weekly activity, or can be a one-time group volunteering opportunity.
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. For these types of projects, we typically recommend a four hour work day, and for groups to be between 5 and 20 people. These projects are done on the week days only.
Group Activities with Residents
Plan a group activity with the residents! This could be hosting a cooking class, facilitating an open mic event, throwing a holiday or sports party, or any idea you come up with! We generally prefer these to be one hour sessions on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday evenings. Volunteers must provide all supplies and snacks, and there can be a maximum of 15 volunteers.
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
Covenant House NOLA
CHNOLA is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Much more than “just a shelter,” we provide supportive counseling and the tools needed to help our youth become independent, productive members of our community.
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