Volunteers are vital to our ministry. Volunteers help us keep our operational costs down, allowing us to use our resources more efficiently and effectively.
Volunteer opportunities include serving at Thanksgiving, at our Rock the Run 5K, during our summer day camp for inner-city kids, maintaining or cleaning our facilities, and many more ways.
Explore the volunteer opportunities below that are currently available. Give us a call when you are ready to join us in giving hope to Hagerstown at 301-739-1165 or fill out the Volunteer Application and email it to us at volunteer@hagerstownhopecenter.com.
Volunteer Opportunities
Check-in Office
We need men over 18 to work shifts of 4 or 8 hours. Responsibilities include monitoring everyone coming in or leaving the building. Monitoring Foundations Life Recovery residents as they leave or return from a pass. Answer intercom calls and watch the security camera monitors. Interact, talk and encourage program residents and day/overnight guests. To learn more, call Terry at 301-739-1165 or email him at terryizer@hagerstownhopecenter.com.
Wildside Youth
From hosting action-packed after-school parties to student leadership training at The Crew, Wildside Youth ministries are helping to make a difference in the lives of kids in Hagerstown. Activities are focused on building relationships, learning about Jesus, and providing a fun, safe environment where kids can be kids. Wildside activities are free for kids ages 5-12. Meals, snacks, and limited transportation are included. If you have a heart for children, this is perfect! Wildside is always looking for volunteers to help in many different ways with various events. To learn more about Wildside, check out www.wildsideyouth.com.
Evening Chapel & Dinner
Each evening, the chapel at The Hope Center comes alive with music, testimony, dramatizations, and the Word of God, thanks to many churches in the greater Hagerstown area. Since the host is different each evening, the nightly services are always varied for our residents or community guests who attend. Many churches use this opportunity for various ministries and outreaches, and their church body leads the service. From choirs, to youth groups, to Sunday School classes and puppet teams, evening chapel services are an exciting and creative way for your congregation to come together and reach people for Christ! The host church also has the opportunity to serve the evening meal following the service. This is yet another opportunity for people in your church to get involved.
The Great Hagerstown Thanksgiving Feast
Our big Thanksgiving celebration is returning to an in-person event again this year! We're planning on hosting 250-300 guests for our annual buffet. We need volunteers to help set up, serve food, and clean up. The event starts at 11:30 am in the Trinity Center on Thanksgiving. Volunteers will only need to serve around 3 hours that day. For more information, please call Michelle at 301-739-1165 or email volunteer@hagerstownhopecenter.com.
Camp Wild
Every summer, the kids of Hagerstown experience a week of fun & adventure! Our day camp is free for kids ages 5-12. Mornings are spent at The Hope Center. In the afternoon, the campers are transported to our outdoor camp facility just a few miles outside Hagerstown. Camp Wild volunteers help in many ways. From leading a small group to helping set up various activities, volunteers keep the show running and help to build lasting relationships with the campers. To learn more about Camp Wild, click HERE.
Donation Center/Sorting Room
Do you love shopping at thrift stores or second-hand shops? We need volunteers to help in our sorting department. When kind neighbors and friends donate their gently-used clothing, housewares, books, furniture, shoes, and toys, we have a dedicated staff and volunteers who sort through everything dropped off. These people help to price items for our stores in Hagerstown and Chambersburg. If you have a few hours a day or some free time during the week, join the crew who keeps our stores thriving!
Men's Ministry
We're looking for a few good men to help be encouragers, supporters, and examples to the guys currently enrolled in our Foundations Men's Ministry program and the men who are our overnight guests. There are plenty of opportunities to help, like working in the check-in office, counseling, teaching a class, having one-on-one devotionals, or just spending quality time hanging out with the guys. We want our men to build strong relationships with Christian men to help him become the man God created him to be! Learn more about our Foundations Life Recovery program or our emergency shelter.
Thrift Store Sales Associate
Soup Line
Every day The Hope Center hosts a free lunch meal for anyone in the community who is hungry. Following a brief devotion, neighbors in the community are welcomed into our dining room for lunch Monday - Saturday. Doors open at noon. On Sunday, doors open at 12:45 pm. Volunteers can help serve food and interact with guests. Optionally, volunteers can provide, prepare and serve the food.
Church & Civic Representative
Our thrift stores in Hagerstown and Chambersburg are an essential part of the support system for the many ministries at The Hope Center. The funds generated from sales of gently used items donated help to keep our facility running year-round. And the affordable items at our thrift stores help families and individuals on a tight budget. If you have experience in retail and would like to use it for Christ, please let us know.
Maintenance
If you like to paint, repair vehicles, or fix things, you may want to volunteer in our maintenance department. We have several buildings that occasionally need repair. We also have a fleet of trucks and vans used to pick up donated items or transport residents and guests to various events. Maintenance volunteers help keep The Hope Center running smoothly.
The local church is an integral part of our ministry and support from the church is essential to providing our services free of charge to all of our guests. We must have a way to keep the many churches in our area informed and current on everything happening at The Hope Center. Church representatives are a liaison between our ministry and the congregation. Church representatives ensure our news, needs and activities are known. They help us find volunteers and donors for specific projects and needs, and they also help organize food drives or get our staff and residents into their church to talk to the congregation about The Hope Center.
Food Pantry
Do you have excellent organizational skills and a heart to feed hungry neighbors? If so, our food pantry may be the perfect place for you to volunteer. Our pantry is the heart and soul of The Hope Center. Food stored in the pantry is used for all the meals served, and it's also used in food bags handed out to people in the community—all food donated from food drives and more needs to be sorted and placed into the pantry. Pantry workers also help make food bags to distribute to those with food insecurity.
Photography
Do you have the gift of photography? We'd love to put that talent to good use! There are always several photo opportunities at The Hope Center. From special events to daily activities, guest snapshots, and specialty shots, we always need a person with an eye for good photos. Whether you're an amateur or professional, we'd love for you to join our Photographers Pool. This is a great way to have fun, use your talent, and help in a big way at The Hope Center.
For more info call us at 301-739-1165 or email us at volunteer@hagerstownhopecenter.com