Volunteer | FPGR

Volunteer Opportunities!

Volunteering is not only a gift to others—it’s an incredibly rewarding experience for you as well. As you spend time supporting families on their journey toward stability, you’ll witness resilience, courage, and hope in powerful ways that leave a lasting impact on your own life. From meaningful conversations to hands-on service, each moment offers a sense of purpose and connection that’s hard to replicate elsewhere. To ensure you feel confident and prepared, all shelter volunteers working with families receive approximately three hours of training, available either online or in person, equipping you with the knowledge and tools to serve effectively. With just a small investment of time, you can step into a role that brings fulfillment, community, and the opportunity to truly make a difference.

Shelter Volunteering
Every family deserves a safe, welcoming place to land during life’s most difficult seasons—and you can help create that space. By volunteering at our family homeless shelter, you’re offering more than your time; you’re offering dignity, stability, and hope to parents and children working toward a fresh start. Whether you’re serving warm meals, cleaning and preparing rooms for new arrivals, organizing inventory so essential items are easy to access, assisting with groundskeeping or light maintenance to keep our space safe and inviting, leading a donation drive to stock our shelves, or sharing your leadership by serving on our Board of Directors or a committee, your involvement makes a meaningful and lasting impact. Join us in building a supportive environment where families can rest, rebuild, and move forward with confidence. Here is what volunteering with Family Promise of the Great Rivers looks like:

Meal Planners & Grocery Shoppers

Meal Providers play a vital role in supporting the families staying at our shelter. Volunteers serve in small, organized groups, with each group committing to cover meals and groceries for one full week at a time. This structure allows families to experience consistency and care, while also making it manageable and meaningful for volunteers. During their assigned week, meal providers are responsible for purchasing groceries and preparing meals for the families in residence. We strongly encourage homemade dishes whenever possible, as they offer a personal touch that makes a powerful difference. A warm, thoughtfully prepared meal can provide comfort, stability, and a sense of normalcy during what is often a challenging time. In addition to dinner preparation, we also rely on dedicated grocery shoppers who help keep our kitchen and pantry stocked. These volunteers purchase and deliver breakfast and lunch essentials so families can easily prepare their own meals during the day. Items such as cereal, oatmeal, eggs, bread, lunch meats, cheese, yogurt, fresh fruit, vegetables, peanut butter, soup, and other simple, nourishing options ensure families have access to healthy choices throughout the week. Keeping these staples readily available allows parents and children to maintain familiar routines and independence. We ask that all meals and grocery donations focus on healthy, nourishing ingredients while still being family-friendly and comforting. Dishes that are hearty, balanced, and appealing to both adults and children are especially appreciated. Fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and wholesome snacks help ensure families receive the nutrition they need. We are happy to provide guidance on portion sizes, dietary considerations, and suggested meal ideas to make planning easy and stress-free. Volunteering as a meal provider or grocery shopper is a wonderful opportunity for community groups, faith-based organizations, workplaces, clubs, families, or individuals who want to make a tangible difference. Serving together not only strengthens your group’s bond but also directly supports families during a critical time in their lives. If you are part of a group—or if you are an individual interested in joining one of our existing teams—we would love to connect with you. Please call our office to learn more about current openings, scheduling, and how you can get involved. Your generosity helps create a welcoming, caring environment where families can feel supported, nourished, and valued.

Clean Rooms or Organize Inventory

Volunteers play an essential role in helping us maintain a clean, peaceful, and welcoming environment for the families who stay in our shelter. For many families, arriving here marks the beginning of a new chapter during a very difficult time. The care and attention you give behind the scenes help ensure that every family walks into a space that feels safe, comfortable, and thoughtfully prepared just for them. One of the most important ways volunteers serve is by preparing guest rooms between stays. This includes thoroughly cleaning and sanitizing rooms, changing and washing linens, making beds, restocking basic supplies, and ensuring that each space is fresh and ready to welcome its next occupants. A clean, orderly room provides more than physical comfort—it offers dignity, reassurance, and a sense of stability. Volunteers also assist with maintaining our common areas and Day Center. These shared spaces are where families gather, children play, meals are shared, and supportive services take place. Regular cleaning of kitchens, bathrooms, living areas, and play spaces helps promote health and safety while creating a warm, inviting atmosphere for everyone. Keeping these areas tidy and organized allows families to focus on rest, connection, and rebuilding their lives. In addition, volunteers help wash, fold, and organize linens and towels to ensure we always have fresh supplies available. Organizing pantry shelves, storage rooms, and inventory is another key task that keeps our operations running smoothly. By keeping donated items sorted and accessible, you help staff quickly meet the needs of families without added stress or delay. Whether you can give a few hours occasionally or commit to a regular schedule, your time and effort make a meaningful difference. Every swept floor, freshly made bed, and neatly arranged shelf contributes to an environment where families feel respected and cared for. If you would like to be part of creating a clean, welcoming space for the families we serve, please get in touch with our office. We would be grateful for your support and happy to help you find a volunteer opportunity that fits your availability.

Grounds Keeping & Light Maintenance

Our shelter offers meaningful, hands-on volunteer opportunities for individuals and groups who enjoy outdoor projects and practical, task-oriented work. These roles are perfect for those who like to stay active and take pride in seeing the immediate results of their efforts. By helping maintain and improve our property, you play a direct role in creating a safe, welcoming environment for the families we serve. Throughout the year, volunteers assist with seasonal outdoor tasks that keep our grounds clean, accessible, and inviting. In the winter months, snow blowing and clearing walkways are especially important to ensure families can safely enter and exit the building. During the spring, summer, and fall, mowing lawns, trimming hedges, pulling weeds, and picking up litter help maintain a well-kept appearance and provide a pleasant space for children to play and families to spend time outdoors. In addition to groundskeeping, there are a variety of practical indoor and outdoor projects that require helping hands. Volunteers may assist with painting rooms, touching up walls, or refreshing common areas to keep the space bright and well-maintained. Others may help assemble furniture, install shelving, build storage racks, organize supplies, or complete small repair projects that improve the functionality of our facility. These behind-the-scenes tasks are essential to keeping our shelter operating smoothly. Your time and effort—whether it’s a one-time project, a seasonal commitment, or an ongoing partnership—make a meaningful difference. A freshly painted room, a neatly mowed lawn, or a cleared walkway sends a powerful message to families that they are cared for and valued. It also ensures our facility remains safe, organized, and ready to serve those who need it most. If you enjoy practical work and want to use your skills to support families in our community, we would love to hear from you. Please contact our office to learn more about current projects and how you can get involved.

Drivers & Movers

We are seeking compassionate and dependable Driver Volunteers and Movers to play a vital role in helping families on their journey toward stability, security, and independence. These volunteers are essential in ensuring that families in our program have safe, reliable transportation and the hands-on support they need to move forward with confidence. For many of the families we serve, lack of transportation can be one of the biggest barriers to employment, education, and accessing critical services. By volunteering your time, you help remove that barrier and create opportunities for lasting change. Driver Volunteers provide transportation to and from our Day Center, as well as to work, school, childcare, medical appointments, job interviews, and other essential commitments, using the Family Promise van. Your willingness to offer a ride does far more than get someone from point A to point B—it helps parents maintain employment, ensures children can remain in school, and allows families to attend important appointments that support their long-term stability. A friendly face and a reliable ride can make an incredible difference during a challenging season of life. Movers serve an equally meaningful role by assisting with the transportation of donated furniture and helping families move their belongings as they transition into stable housing. Using the organization’s van and trailer, movers help turn empty spaces into comfortable homes, providing families with the dignity and fresh start they deserve. Whether you’re carefully loading a dresser, delivering a donated couch, or helping set up a new apartment, your efforts directly support a family’s next chapter. If you are responsible, caring, and ready to make a tangible, hands-on impact in your community, we would be honored to welcome you to our volunteer team. Your time, energy, and kindness can help create a pathway to hope and stability for families working toward a brighter future.

Other Ways To Volunteer

Behind every family’s fresh start is a strong network of community members working together to make it possible. When you support our mission through donation drives, fundraising events, and leadership service, you help build the foundation that keeps our shelter running and growing. By organizing a supply or hygiene drive, rallying friends and colleagues around a creative fundraiser, securing sponsorships, assisting with event planning and logistics, or lending your expertise on a committee or executive board, you ensure we have the resources and strategic direction needed to serve families with excellence. These behind-the-scenes efforts may not always happen inside the shelter walls, but they are essential to sustaining programs, expanding impact, and strengthening our future. Join us in advancing the mission of Family Promise of the Great Rivers by helping fuel the support systems that empower families to achieve lasting stability.

Organize Donation Drives

Hosting a drive supports individuals and families who are transitioning from homelessness, domestic crisis, displacement, or other hardships into safe, stable housing. While securing housing is a huge milestone, many of our neighbors move in with little more than the keys in their hands. Together, we can help transform empty apartments into warm, welcoming homes. We are collecting essential household items that provide comfort, dignity, and a strong foundation for a fresh start. Needed items include: - Cleaning supplies (all-purpose cleaner, sponges, mops, buckets, paper towels) - Toiletries and hygiene products (soap, shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, menstrual products) - New bedding (twin and full sheet sets, pillows, blankets, comforters) - Bath towels and washcloths - Kitchen starter kits (pots, pans, dishes, utensils, dish towels, can openers) - Laundry baskets and basic home organization supplies These everyday essentials may seem simple, but for someone starting over, they mean everything. A set of sheets becomes a good night’s rest. A stocked kitchen becomes the first shared family meal. Cleaning supplies create a healthy, welcoming environment. Each donated item brings comfort, stability, and hope. Organizing a drive is a meaningful and hands-on way to make a direct impact in your community. It’s also a powerful team-building opportunity for businesses and corporate teams, faith communities, schools and student organizations, civic groups, neighborhood associations, and even groups of friends and families who want to give back. When you organize a Supply Drive, you’re not just gathering items — you’re helping someone rebuild their life. You’re offering dignity to a parent setting up their child’s first bed. You’re providing stability to a senior moving into secure housing. You’re supporting independence for individuals determined to create a better future. We make it easy to get involved. Our team can provide a current needs list, promotional materials, collection guidance, and delivery instructions. Whether you collect items for a week or a month, every contribution helps. Every donation matters. Every drive strengthens our community. Every box collected helps someone move one step closer to long-term security and self-sufficiency. Ready to get started? Call us today to learn about our most urgent needs and how you can organize a Shelter & Move-In Supply Drive. Together, we can help turn housing into home.

Event Volunteers

We host and participate in a wide variety of events and community engagements throughout the year, and we rely on the energy, creativity, and dedication of our volunteers to make each one a success. From health fairs and educational awareness booths to poverty simulations that spark meaningful conversations and deepen community understanding, our outreach efforts are designed to inform, connect, and uplift. We proudly take part in cherished local traditions and fundraising activities such as Trunk or Treat, parades, live entertainment events, basket raffles, ticket raffles, car shows, brat sales, chili cook-offs, and so much more. Our Cranfest Parking fundraiser is our largest and most impactful event of the year, playing a vital role in supporting our programs and services. This major community event requires many helping hands—from organizing parking logistics and directing traffic to greeting visitors and ensuring everything runs smoothly. The success of Cranfest Parking directly fuels our ability to carry out our mission throughout the year, making volunteer support especially important. We are always seeking enthusiastic, dependable volunteers who are excited to contribute their time and talents. Opportunities range from helping plan and organize events behind the scenes to setting up and decorating, greeting guests, managing booths, selling tickets, coordinating activities, and serving as friendly ambassadors for our organization. Whether you’re available for a single event, a few hours here and there, or are interested in taking on a larger role in event coordination, your involvement truly makes a difference. Volunteering with us is not only a meaningful way to give back—it’s also a chance to build connections, develop new skills, and be part of a passionate team working together to strengthen our community.

Board and Committee Members

We invite passionate, community-minded individuals to step forward and join our Volunteer Board of Directors, where your leadership, insight, and commitment can help shape the future of our organization. As a valued board member, you will collaborate with a dynamic team of dedicated leaders to guide strategic priorities, strengthen governance, and ensure the long-term sustainability of our mission. Board members play a vital role in championing our vision, fostering innovation, providing oversight, and ensuring accountability as we continue to grow and evolve. This is a meaningful opportunity to make a lasting impact in our community while sharing your professional expertise, expanding your professional network, and serving with purpose. In addition to board service, we are also seeking dedicated volunteers to contribute their skills through our standing committees. Our Human Resource Committee supports organizational effectiveness by focusing on people, policies, and culture. The Finance Committee provides financial oversight, budgeting guidance, and stewardship to ensure fiscal responsibility and transparency. The Volunteer Committee strengthens engagement by supporting recruitment, retention, and recognition of volunteers. The Fund Development Committee helps secure sustainable resources through fundraising strategy, donor engagement, and community partnerships. Whether serving on the Board or contributing through a committee, your involvement can help drive meaningful progress and advance our mission in powerful and lasting ways.