Volunteers
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Point-In-Time Homeless Count Volunteer...Click HERE!
Volunteerism Overview
We need your help! Volunteers just like you can help us to end homelessness in Pinellas County. There are many kinds of volunteer opportunities available--from meal service to data entry. Getting involved is safe and easy. Just follow these three steps:
- Review our current list of volunteer opportunities
- To create a volunteer project for a group (employees, congregation, Scout troop, etc.), please drop us a line to let us know about your availability.
- Select or create a volunteer project
- If you do not find the right opportunity in our listing, we will contact you to help you customize the best possible volunteer experience to fit your needs.
- Complete the Volunteer Interest Profile (VIP) Form below.
- After you submit your information, we will help you find the best match for your interests, skills and availability.
You can volunteer with confidence through the Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless. PCCH is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that must meet federal government requirements to maintain our status. We accept volunteers without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, disability, religious orientation, sexual orientation, or age (some volunteer projects may be best suited for people within certain age ranges). PCCH provides liability insurance protection for its volunteers.
Current Opportunities
Each year, on the fourth Monday in January, beginning at 4 a.m., representatives of scores of social service agencies, aided by hundreds of volunteers, spread throughout Pinellas County to conduct a manual count and survey of people experiencing homelessness. They count and survey people in traditional service locations such as meal sites and day labor sites and in “street” sites such as encampments, parks and along railways. A complete and accurate count helps to bring millions of federal dollars to this community each year to help prevent and end homelessness.
In all, over 500 volunteers are needed to visit nearly 350 sites to insure that every homeless person is counted and their needs documented. Volunteer recruitment for the PIT count is conducted year-round, and training is provided in early January. Concerned individuals are encouraged to donate their time or resources to assist us with the PIT count. In 2012, the count will begin on Monday, January 23. There are a number of volunteer and donor opportunities available including:
- Conducting street surveys;
- Data entry;
- Collecting toiletries and other items to be distributed to homeless people on the streets;
- Providing coffee, water and snacks for PIT volunteers;
- Staffing the survey collection sites ;
- Providing transportation for volunteers; and
- Organizing the Volunteer Recognition Reception in March.
Click here to register as a PIT homeless count volunteer today!
Project Homeless Connect
Got energy, compassion, and a free Saturday? Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless is seeking just 700 good volunteers to provide one-to-one assistance to people participating in Project Homeless Connect next fall. Project Homeless Connect is a one-day service fair that will connect approximately 1,200 individuals who are homeless or at the risk of becoming homeless with health care professionals and other services in order to improve their lives and help them move closer to self-sufficiency.
The “Faces of Homelessness” Speakers’ Bureau is a cadre of people who have or are experiencing homelessness and who have volunteered to speak about their experiences to groups throughout Pinellas County. These are real people, each with their own unique story. Through these presentations we hope to raise awareness about the true nature of homelessness and stimulate your group’s involvement in the fight to end homelessness.
Groups of volunteers or individual volunteers are needed to provide and serve lunch or dinnerl for up to 250 residents at various shelters and meal sites around the county. Volunteers’ are also needed to provide brown bag lunches for residents going to jobs or on job searches. There are also opportunities to provide and/or serve meals at the Cold Night Shelters when they are in operation.
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Volunteer Interest Profile (VIP) Form
