Volunteer

Volunteers like you make House of Hope possible.

House of Hope Volunteer Positions As a volunteer, you will be required to complete the House of Hope volunteer application as well as an orientation session. Specific programs may also require additional forms such as a background check. 

Partners for Hope: Serve as a friend and guide to a House of Hope participant by building trust, modeling positive behaviors, and practicing dependability and continuing engagement. Relationships are meant to lift one another up through recognizing strengths and resilience. Building these relationships based on mutual kindness, listening, healthy boundaries, and positive regard can help both parties become more resilient and have a stronger sense of well-being. 

Tutors: Support our moms and kiddos by acting as a tutor who provides knowledge in an ongoing manner or as a need arises. This is a need, but most often works best when the volunteer is connected to House of Hope by volunteering in another capacity, both parties already familiar with the other. 

Mother’s Helpers: Help our moms stay organized at home. Mother’s Helpers spend time with kiddos while their mom is cooking, doing laundry, and other timely tasks. Your one-on-one time with kiddos allows the children and our moms to thrive. Providing care for each child builds their brains and is another opportunity to foster a positive relationship in a child’s life. 

Life Skills Childcare: Childcare volunteers care for children on Wednesday evenings while moms are in life skills class. Not only is childcare important for kiddos but it allows our mothers to attend life skills. Our focus is to snuggle, love, and be attentive to the children while they are in our care. We practice redirecting the children within the center to create positive play interactions with the children and volunteers.  

• Background checks required  

Kids Crew: Kids Crew is our after-school program for school aged children every Tuesday evening. The purpose is to provide a space for students to unwind after school with crafting, games, and social connection.  

No School Days: The Waterloo School District reserves a no school day at least one Friday a month. We provide programming on no school days along with holiday breaks. Activities include games, crafts, sports, and snacks with school aged children. 

Coffee Chats: Coffee Chats is our mom’s group each Thursday morning. Our program is an hour of coffee, breakfast, crafts, and chatting. Volunteers provide childcare while moms connect. 

Meal Train: The meal train is a wonderful opportunity for volunteers to donate if they cannot donate their time. We ask for snack and meal donations to support Coffee Chats, children’s events, and family recovery. 

General Cleaning and Light Maintenance: Volunteers help keep House of Hope clean and tidy. House of Hope maintains a clean space with volunteers like you! General cleaning and light maintenance involve cleaning our lobby, offices, bathrooms, conference rooms, and other common areas.  

Sorting and Organizing Donations: House of Hope would not operate without donations from people within the community. Volunteers are needed to sort donations into organized groups to ensure residents get what they need. Furniture, appliances, and home décor are used to create a comfortable living environment for each family. 

Receptionist: Receptionists allow our staff to dive deeper into their work for House of Hope. Receptionists interact with the staff, moms, clients, donors, and other volunteers within the organization. At the front desk, volunteers greet guests as they come in, answer phones, and receive donations. Working at the front desk is a great opportunity to get to know our organization along with expressing your strengths as a volunteer. House of Hope wants to use your strengths to create a meaningful experience for you.  

Light Clerical Work: Completing tasks related to light clerical work provides additional support and assistance to House of Hope staff. Some of these tasks may include filing documents, answering phone calls, data entry, and sorting of documents to ensure we continue to operate smoothly. 

Special Projects for Individuals or Groups: Special projects allow groups to serve together. Group projects may involve painting, landscaping, preparing apartments, serving mothers a meal, etc. 

Apartment Cleaning and Staging: Help clean an apartment when a mom graduates and/or set it up for a new family to move in! We stage apartments before moms move in to create a relaxing and easy move. Staging an apartment involves adding furniture, décor, and other home necessities to an apartment. 

Transportation: Break down barriers for mothers at House of Hope by providing transportation at your own pace. Volunteers may provide transportation for a mother in many scenarios such as a ride to work, an appointment, or the grocery store.  

Fundraisers & Events: Get involved and spread awareness by attending fundraisers or special events throughout the year. Help our Development Coordinator with setup and execution of fundraisers and advocate for House of Hope by spreading awareness for upcoming events. 

Provide art kits: During Coffee chats, moms have the opportunity to keep their hands busy and exercise creativity through self-led craft activities. Volunteers can purchase, collect, and assemble these kits including instructions.