Volunteer
Volunteers are the beating heart of North Helpline. We have two service sites, in Lake City and Bitter Lake neighborhoods of Seattle, WA. Both sites feature food access, homelessness prevention, and client services volunteer opportunities.
Support your community by volunteering at North Helpline!
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Volunteer Portal
If you haven’t volunteered with North Helpline before, please take a few minutes to fill out our Volunteer Application by clicking “Sign Up” in the Volunteer Portal. We will usually process your application in a day or two.
If you have volunteered with us in the last 5 years, please click “login” in the Volunteer Portal. If this is your first time on the new portal, then click “Forgot your password?” to reset your password.
Once we have processed your application you will receive an email confirmation. You can then return to the Volunteer Portal and complete the orientation. In the Volunteer Portal you can browse all of our programs, view shifts (opportunities) and sign up for recurring volunteer shifts.
Please note that you must have an approved volunteer application in order to sign up for shifts - submit that application today to get started!
Recruiting North Helpline Volunteers
General Volunteer Requirements
We welcome kids ages 12-13 with an adult guardian’s presence and 14-17 with guardian permission.
Closed-toe shoes are required in our warehouse.
Please wear weather-appropriate clothing as our warehouse is not a climate-controlled environment.
Warehouse volunteers will be standing the entirety of their shift.
All client-facing volunteers are encouraged to wear masks. We will happily provide masks and gloves for volunteers if you do not have them.
We are asking that anyone exhibiting symptoms of a cold or virus, such as fever, cough, or shortness of breath, not come in.
Shift
Calendar
Contact us at volunteers@northhelpline.org to sign up with a group or for more information.
Please don’t show up for a shift unless you have signed up. Thanks!
Holidays and inclement weather may alter schedules. All changes to regularly scheduled hours will be announced through our social media, email, and website.
Volunteer
Positions
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The Client Services volunteers welcome our neighbors and share the services North Helpline offers and how to access them. These roles are crucial in helping us meet the needs of our community with compassion and respect.
These volunteers will help neighbors by being an outdoor Greeter, a Check-in volunteer or working inside the CS office.
The Greeter welcomes our neighbors, asks if they are registered and hands out numbers to those waiting in line to access the food bank on distribution days.
The Check-in volunteer calls out the numbers outdoors under the blue tent and scans the neighbor's membership card to check them into our database.
The Registration volunteer is available to register neighbors into our database system and assist them in accessing other resources both internally and in the community.
The Hygiene Runner assists our check-in volunteers and gets items from the warehouse like baby formula, diapers, wipes, incontinence products, etc. for neighbors. This is an outdoor position that requires standing for most of the shifts so please be prepared for the elements and to lift crates for restocking items.
Volunteers interested in Client Services should join us for distribution regularly first to have a better understanding of the needs of this position.
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Supplying our locations with food items from local stores allows us to serve our neighbors every week! Grocery volunteers pick up donations from grocery stores in the north Seattle area.
This is a weekly volunteer job that requires some training and a sincere commitment. Because we rely on these groceries to serve our neighbors, we do need someone who is consistent and extremely reliable.
We ask for volunteers to commit to a minimum of six months.
Volunteers interested in grocery rescue must be able to lift at least 50 lbs in weight.
Depending on the store, volunteers may use their own vehicle, or one of North Helpline’s vehicles.
For this particular position, volunteers may work alone or with a buddy.
For this particular position, volunteers will be working alone.
There is some flexibility in the day, but grocery pickups are always done in the morning.
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Sharing food and resources with our neighbors is at the heart of our mission! Volunteers helping in this position will work directly with our neighbors to assist neighbors in selecting foods that match their needs. Volunteers will stand at stations in the warehouse and neighbors will select foods according to the allotted amounts for their household size. You can expect to serve with 8-12 other volunteers. Please show up on time and sign in at the door; we depend on volunteers showing up on time for their shifts in order to adequately serve our neighbors.
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Every day we get wonderful donations from local stores, pea patches, and individual donors. Help us ensure we are only distributing food that we would pick up ourselves! Volunteers are needed to inspect the quality of food coming in from donations and partner organizations. Food that looks delicious will need to be prepped for distribution. This means volunteers will bag produce and fruit and may also assist with bagging bulk items such as rice, dog food, potatoes, etc. Bread and pastries also get sorted after being inspected. You can expect to work with 3-4 other volunteers as we sift through items. Please show up on time and sign in at the door; we depend on volunteers showing up on time for their shifts in order to adequately serve our neighbors.
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Our mission is to help our entire community obtain their necessities. We need volunteers to help us pack boxes for people who are unable to make it into our regular distribution. These boxes will be packed according to dietary restrictions and then delivered by volunteers later in the day. Make sure to dress for the weather, as our warehouse is not climate controlled! You can expect to work with 4 to 5 other volunteers as we “shop” through items. This opportunity will require standing for the duration of the shift as well as bending and lifting boxes up to 30 lbs.
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Some of the people who need to access services are unable to come to us – so we go to them! With our Home Delivery Program, volunteers pick up pre-made boxes from our location in Lake City to deliver to clients in the area. This is a weekly volunteer job that requires some training. Volunteers interested in Home Delivery may use their own vehicles (provided the vehicle has enough space for at least 12 medium-sized banana boxes) or North Helpline’s, and be able to lift 50 lbs in weight. Currently, this position only operates out of Lake City. This program is special and has volunteers working one on one with our neighbors. For that reason, it is imperative that we find volunteers who are able to be consistent and reliable. We have a minimum expectation of nine months for volunteers in this program. Right now, our program operates Thursday afternoons between 1 and 5. For this particular position, volunteers may work alone or with a buddy.
Volunteer FAQ
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Please email volunteers@northhelpline.org to confirm the number of hours served at the food bank. Please note this may take up to a week to verify.
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The Food Access Manager or Food Access Director will sign your papers to confirm the number of hours served for school or court. Volunteers should bring papers to sign at the end of the food distribution shift. If you need your form signed for dates you served prior to bringing your form in, that can done after the food distribution or any other time during regular office hours.
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Please arrive on time to scheduled shifts. We ask new volunteers to arrive at the food bank 5-10 minutes prior to the start of their first shifts. We need to orient volunteers to their roles in advance in order to open the food bank on time.
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Like all other volunteers, Service-Learning students must complete a volunteer application before they can begin serving in the food bank. This can be done by clicking here and submitting an application online. Upon your completion of the application, Service-Learning students will receive a full orientation and tour of our facility upon the first day that they arrive to serve as a volunteer.
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There are some positions in the food distribution that require volunteers to serve the full length of the distribution as to not interrupt service to food bank clients. Therefore, if a volunteer needs to leave early they should email volunteers@northhelpline.org before arriving for the volunteer shift. The earlier that you inform us of your schedule, the more we will be able to accommodate you. If you must consistently leave before the food distribution ends, we may not be able to offer volunteer opportunities and will try to provide references to other locations that may work with your schedule better.
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Volunteers must arrive on-time or earlier to serve in the food distribution. If a volunteer is late then there is no guarantee that their volunteer position will be held as we need to have all positions filled before the start of the distribution.
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Yes, volunteers may use the food bank at the end of their shift (for the morning shift) or the end of distribution (for the afternoon shift). Just let a staff member know you plan to go through the line in case we need to fill in.
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Yes, older siblings can act as guardian to other siblings while volunteering as long as they are 18 years or older.
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No, volunteers need to hold on to their own forms. The volunteer coordinator will only take the form to sign and then return it to the volunteer.
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We recommend that group sizes are between 4 and 6, with 8 being the maximum. We will check in with your group a week before to ensure all of your spots are still filled. If you do have anyone who drops out of their shift, please let us know immediately so we can try to fill the spots.
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North Helpline wants to make sure that everyone has a chance to serve the community who would like to. At the same time, it is paramount that clients and volunteers feel that the food bank is a safe environment to work in. Therefore, we will only turn away anyone who has been arrested for violent crimes, including assaults, domestic violence, etc. as well as more recent offences on a case by case basis. We will provide references to other food banks and non-profits if we are unable to find a position for you with us.
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Yes. Volunteers will receive a link to our online calendar to sign up when we have processed the background check. All volunteers should use the online calendar to find a shift that is open and works for their schedule.
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North Helpline strives to find volunteer positions for everyone. Please contact us at volunteers@northhelpline.org or 206-413-8271 to discuss what positions might work best for you.