Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas relies on our volunteers and supporters to help provide essential services to those in our 21-county service area
All staff and volunteers must wear a facemask while at work.
Please fill our our Volunteer Interest Form and we will follow up with you shortly. Some volunteer opportunities are currently available through SignUp Genius slots; please see below or contact us for more information.
Volunteer Opportunities
Assist with the food pantries, sorting food, answering phones, screening for financial assistance, etc.
Sort donations and assist in the thrift store. TurnStyles helps support all of Catholic Charities’ other programming.
Sort and take inventory of food donations in a socially-distanced environment. This is a great volunteer opportunity for family groups to volunteer together.
Our Family Support Centers continue to provide services during this time of uncertainty. We are currently accepting appointments for those needing utility or rental financial assistance continue to operate our food pantries. Volunteers are needed in various ways including:
Volunteers must be 16 years or older or 12-15 years old with a guardian present.
Our Locations
Food Pantries:
Monday, Tuesday and Thursday
9:00am-noon & 1:00-3:30
Family Support Centers:
Monday through Friday
8:30am-4:30pm
TurnStyles Thrift offers affordable, dignified shopping for gently used clothing, housewares, furniture, electronics and more. All 3 TurnStyles locations are regularly cleaned for the safety of our shoppers, volunteers, and staff.
Volunteers assist with donation intake, sorting donations, hanging and tagging items, organizing the sales floor, cashiering, and more! This is a great opportunity for groups, and we can accommodate many size groups with social distancing.
Walk-in volunteers are welcome! Please first attend one of our walk-in orientations, then check in with a staff member when you arrive. Space is limited so same-day volunteering is not guaranteed.
Walk-in Orientations:
Monday—Friday: 11am & 4pm
Saturday: 11am
Please check with a staff member when you arrive.
TurnStyles Thrift Hours:
Tuesday—Friday: 9am-7pm
Saturday: 9am-6pm
If you have not volunteered with us before, please attend one of our walk-in orientations.
We welcome walk-in volunteers! If you have already attended orientation, simply check in with a staff member when you arrive.
· We will be limiting our guest to 5 people per 1000sq ft. This means that we will only have 40 guest in our store at any given time.
· We will have someone wiping down carts after each guest in preparation for the next guest.
· We will also have someone walking through the store to assist with cleaning at all times.
· We have installed a Plexiglas barrier at the checkout station. It will essentially be a see through barrier to separate our cashiers from the guest. It will have just enough space below for our guest to place their chosen purchases on the counter for check out.
· Our checkout counter will be cleaned between guest.
· We will not offer any public restrooms or drinking fountains at this time.
· We are placing social distancing reminders throughout the store as well as 6ft measured out spaces on the floor near the checkout.
· We will be spraying our shopping carts every two hours with a hospital grade disinfectant.
· We will also be requiring that all staff and volunteers wear gloves and facemask while at work. (Some fabric Facemask are available and should be washed for reuse by the staff/ volunteers using the mask)
· Our Donation process will be a contactless process. Our donors will be asked to place their donations directly into marked tubs. All of our donations will be quarantined for 72 hours before we process them. (This is in compliance with current CDC guidelines)
· No outside guest will be allowed into our Donation bay while making a donation. Our Facilities team has constructed a barrier that will allow our guest to deposit their donations directly into tubs that can be moved into quarantine once full. (This will happen outside of the donation bay)
· We will only accept clothes, house wears & electronics at this time (this is due to our available space for quarantine).
· We will adhere to strict social distancing guidelines in all areas of our store including our production areas.
Hope Distribution Center (HDC) serves as the central location for food distribution to eight food pantries and 21 counties served by Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas. The warehouse helps us ensure a balanced inventory for all of our pantries. We rely on the generosity of volunteer-driven food drives, gifts-in-kind, as well as financial contributions to help us keep our warehouse shelves stocked to meet the growing needs of individuals and families throughout our service area.
Volunteers are welcomed at HDC through a variety of volunteer opportunities, including sorting food, hygiene and other items and packaging and taking inventory of donations. HDC is located at 1708 Steele Road Kansas City, KS and is open Monday – Friday 8:30AM-4:30PM.
Volunteer for a Hy-Vee Food Drive on Saturdays at one of four stores in Johnson County. Volunteers hand out slips of paper to shoppers that list most-needed food items and collect donations that go straight to our food pantries. This is a great opportunity for students or volunteers seeking a weekend opportunity. For additional information please contact our team at 913.433.2081 or [email protected]
This volunteer opportunity is frequently full. Thank you for your understanding!
Our refugee programs offer several volunteer opportunities including:
On the 3rd Saturday of every month, Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas hosts a large mobile food pantry called Mass Food Distribution.
The VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program of Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas is gearing up for the upcoming tax season and is in need of volunteers. Using the IRS VITA program, we offer free tax preparation service to low and moderate income individuals and families from our offices at Leavenworth, Atchison, Lawrence and Wyandotte County.
Join our volunteer team to make a difference in our community. No prior tax experience is required. Volunteers can serve as Greeters, Intake Specialists or Tax Preparers. The program period is from February to mid-April. Hours can be flexible and will be determined upon volunteer placement. Training tools and guidance will be provided to become VITA certified and to be a successful volunteer.
Strict social distancing and safety protocols will be in place at the VITA service locations.
Please contact Hope Thompson at 913.433.2081 or at [email protected] to learn more about this volunteer opportunity.
Please contact our team at 913.433.2081 or [email protected] for additional information regarding all volunteer opportunities.
Above: a volunteer helps deliver food into vehicles
Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas is committed to serving our brothers and sisters in need during the coronavirus pandemic. We could not do this without your support.
In this time of trial, we are reminded of our common humanity—and our calling to support those in need.
Because of the local business closures, many of those we serve have been placed in financial hardship and many will be without food. Our top priorities are to ensure our food and healthcare ministries remain intact, and after the initial crisis is over, to continue to provide all services.
—Matthew 25:40
