Volunteer Information

Introduction

Thank you so much for your interest in volunteering at St. Vincent de Paul. Not only is volunteering an expression of support for the work of our organization, but it also is a gift of yourself. In sharing your talent and time you receive a feeling of satisfaction, and you also make our world a better place for everyone. So thank you!

SVdP is dedicated to meeting the needs of the poor in Santa Clara County in a variety of ways, and as you might expect there’s a broad spectrum of ways to get involved. Whether you come as an intern or as a student with class requirements - whatever your passion, whatever your availability, you’ll make a difference in your community!

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Weekly opportunities

We are particularly looking for volunteers who can volunteer on a weekly basis for 3 hours each week, for a minimum of three months.

ESL Teacher: We need ESL instructors to teach basic English to our day workers while they wait for a job opportunity. No experience is required to begin – we will train you to use our special curriculum for English for Specific Purpose. This curriculum focuses on English used in jobs such as construction, landscaping, painting, gardening, and housekeeping. We are recruiting instructors for classes held Tuesday through Saturday from 9:30 – 11:30 am, with a time commitment of at least 90 days. We need instructors for the office in San Jose.

ESL Instructor’s Assistant: We need ESL instructor’s assistants to help instructors teach basic English to our day workers while they wait for a job opportunity. Must be bilingual in English and Spanish. No experience is required to begin – we will train you to use our special curriculum for English for Specific Purpose. We are recruiting assistants for classes held Tuesday through Saturday from 9:30 – 11:30 am, with a time commitment of at least 90 days. We need assistants in our office in San Jose.

Computer Instructor: We need computer instructors to teach basic computer operations to our day workers while they wait for job opportunities. No experience is required to begin – we will train you. This class will teach the basics of how to operate a computer, eventually focusing on Windows and Word, learning how to type and on using the Internet to search for jobs. We are recruiting instructors for classes held Tuesday and Thursday with a time commitment of at least 90 days. We need instructors for our San Jose site.

Computer Instructor’s Assistant: We need computer instructor’s assistants to help instructors teach basic computer operations to our day workers while they wait for job opportunities. Must be bilingual in English and Spanish. No experience is required to begin – we will train you. We are recruiting assistants for classes held Tuesday and Thursday with a time commitment of at least 90 days. We need assistants for our San Jose site.

Office Helper for Day Worker Center: We need office helpers for our day worker centers to assist site managers with clerical tasks while working directly with clients. Helper must be bilingual in English and Spanish. Duties include light filing, answering phones, helping clients fill out job applications, and some data entry. We are recruiting office helpers for our center hours between Tuesday and Saturday from 7:30 –11:30 am, with a time commitment of at least 90 days. We need helpers for our San Jose site.

General Office Help: Basic office help keeps us whirring and on-track! Mailings, filing, data entry, sticking stickers -- you name it, we do it. These volunteers are the backbone of so much that we do, working cheerfully and faithfully behind the scenes. Office hours: M-F 9am-5pm.

Events

Events are a great way to get your group involved, or to get a quick no-commitment taste of what SVdP is about. But we should warn you… you might like what you experience and make it a habit!

We also keep a list of volunteers who want to be contacted for special events on a regular basis, so you can ask to be on that list if you’d like, or just sign-up for a specific event. Check back on this site frequently to see dates for upcoming events.

Easter Bonnets and Baskets: While parents choose new clothing for their family, children decorate eggs, make Easter baskets and enjoy fun games.

St. Vincent de Paul Conferences

Conferences are groups of volunteers, organized through local Catholic parishes, who minister to the poor on a regular basis and meet together to support and encourage each other. Conference members do one-on-one house visits and do what they can to meet the needs of each individual in their area who requests assistance. Conferences focus not only on the day-to-day work of serving the poor, as modeled by the founder Frederick Ozanam, but they also spend time being renewed together through scripture study and spiritual meditation.

HOW TO SIGN UP CONTACT INFORMATION

To sign up for any of these volunteer opportunities please complete one of the volunteer applications below and return it to:

Volunteer Coordinator
P.O. Box 5579
San Jose, CA 95112

Phone: (408) 298-7290
Fax: (408) 993-0885

Volunteer Match

Volunteer Application in Word
Volunteer Application in PDF