Volunteer Opportunities

Small groups and individuals can bring and serve a meal at First Light! Volunteers can sign up to provide breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  We have a fully functional commercial kitchen as well as paper products, drink mixes and some condiments.  The number of servers needed varies depending on the meal and menu, but generally a group of 3-6 people is ideal for breakfast and dinner and 1-3 for lunch. The meal calendar fills up very quickly- we’re blessed with several faithful volunteer groups!

Volunteers spend the night at First Light every night of the year. This involves coming in at 7 pm, handing out toiletries and hygiene products to the guests in the emergency shelter, and making sure the routine is kept each night. A guard covers the front desk all night, so overnight volunteers generally sleep through the night in their own private room (with a bathroom). Volunteers may leave the following morning as early as 6 am during the week and 7 am on the weekends. This is one of the most rewarding volunteer opportunities we have! As you can understand, females are preferred for this position as our guests are changing into night clothes and taking showers in the dorm room, which is connected to and visible from the volunteer room.

We enjoy having volunteers some afternoons to play games with the guests, bring a fun and uplifting movie for them, throw a holiday party (think Halloween, Christmas, New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, 4th of July !), paint nails, or bring a fun craft!

First Light is a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Our income comes mostly from donations, grants and special events. We do 2 main fundraisers each year: an annual Gala and Holiday Lights in November and December. The Gala requires significant committee participation! If you are good at planning events, soliciting donations and sponsorships, decorating, graphic design, marketing, or working with A/V, WE NEED YOU on a special event committee! Our Young Partners Board started a "Dancing with the Stars" event in the Fall of 2016. They invite local celebrities or high profile individuals to prepare a short dance routine and the dancers promote and invite financial contributions as "votes" for them.

If you are at all interested in serving on our board of directors, serving on a special events committee could be the perfect segue!

First Light serves MANY people every day. Most, if not all of those, are adults. We rely on donations of hygiene products, toiletries, over-the-counter medicine, undergarments, and many other items. One way to help meet these needs is to host a supply drive at your church, office, civic club meeting, or neighborhood. Get creative! Host a drive for toothpaste and toothbrushes on National Dentist Day. Host a drive for laundry detergent during National Laundry Week- yes, these actually exist! Host a housewarming party for a guest moving into permanent housing- you can have fun volunteering! Have a birthday party and ask guests to bring in-kind or cash contributions for First Light instead of gifts for you--several children and teens have done this! Please visit the link below for a list of our current shelter needs.
https://www.firstlightshelter.org/give_hope/currentshelterneeds.html

Sometimes, individuals and groups get together, come up with a creative fundraising idea, and then do it! Significant funding can be raised for First Light with a good idea and some coordination. Please contact us at 205-323-4277 if you have an idea- we’d like to walk with you through the whole process!