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Ways to Volunteer

Become a Volunteer!
Download the Volunteer Orientation Booklet

There are so many ways to get involved at Rainbow Village!

• Play with kids at Big Recess
• Be an After-School tutor or reading buddy
• Volunteer for Community Workdays
• Teach a Life-Skills or Character Building class
• Offer Administrative Support in the office
• Join our Gala, Golf or Bookfair Committees
• Serve Dinner during evening programs
• Coordinate a corporate Service Project
• Assemble a “Welcome Home” Box for new residents
• Be a Rainbow Village Advocate in our community

Volunteer opportunities are endless!

Get Started

Rainbow Village is committed to making sure our volunteers are well-trained and oriented to our work before we put you into action. Volunteer Orientation workshops for new Rainbow Village volunteers are typically held on the last Saturday each month at 10:00am in Duluth.

All new volunteers that will be working directly with our children are required to complete a volunteer application form, attend orientation, and pass a background check before they will be able to volunteer. This is for your protection and for the children’s protection.

Click here to share your volunteer interests.

Big Recess

Big Recess is a time, on Thursday evenings, for the Children of Rainbow Village to play and have FUN. Volunteers provide support, supervision, and a variety of exciting activities. We need volunteers with the energy and love to keep up with our amazing children during Big Recess.

After School

The Rainbow Village After-School program provides academic and emotional support for the school-aged children of our residents and graduates. The program operates on weekday afternoons during the school year. Volunteers are needed to act as tutors, reading buddies, and to provide general guidance.

Community Workdays & Service Projects

Several times each month, we must address our properties’ maintenance, groundskeeping and cleaning needs. A Rainbow Village workday is a great way for business, community groups, and faith-based organizations to volunteer together and give back.

Life-Skills Classes

Every Tuesday & Thursday evening, our adult residents participate in the Life-Skills program. Classes focus on 5 key areas of self-sufficiency: personal development, parenting & family, financial management, and career development. Volunteers with experience and expertise in these areas are needed to facilitate classes.

Character Building Classes

The children & youth character building program takes place on Tuesday evenings. Several community partner organizations and individual volunteers help facilitate programs aimed at building self-esteem, personal safety, physical fitness, and foundational skills. Volunteers are needed to assist with activities and chaperone.

Administrative Support

We can always use an extra pair of hands around the office to help with administrative duties, database management, answering phones, sending thank you notes, and more. If you’ve got a few hours to give, please call and schedule a time to come in and help. We’d love to have you!

Committees

Rainbow Village hosts several major events each year that help us with friendraising and fundraising. They are our annual golf classic in May, our Gala in October and our Bookfair in December. Volunteers serve on event committees to offer their help in event planning, sponsorship solicitation, donation procurement, decorating, promotion and more. If you love to help with special events, this is a great fit for you!

Serve Dinner

Every Tuesday & Thursday our resident families, graduates, staff, and volunteers join for a meal. We rely on volunteers to prepare and serve these meals. Food may be prepared and brought to the dinner or prepare food in the on-site kitchen. This is another great opportunity for companies, organizations, and groups to volunteer together.

“Welcome Home” Boxes

Every family receives a welcome home box when they arrive at Rainbow Village that includes the necessities they need to set up house and have a fresh start. These boxes include items such as linens, towels, small appliances, dishes, utensils, cleaning supplies, etc. Often these items are donated in-kind to Rainbow Village and we need volunteers to help package them together in sets to be ready for future families. We can also use your help in soliciting for more donations to ensure we have the inventory of items we need on our wish list.

Rainbow Village Advocates

We need volunteers to learn the facts and help dispel the myths about homelessness in our community. Rainbow Village Advocates are members of our speakers bureau that help by offering prepared presentations throughout our community that educate citizens about the cycles of homelessness, poverty and domestic violence and how they can help. The more our community understands and engages in our mission to fight homelessness the greater our impact will be.

Become a Volunteer!