Our volunteer program is a valuable area of our organisation and we have opportunities for volunteer activity at various levels, most of which are listed below. Before volunteers can join the organisation, they usually need to attend an information evening where details of current opportunities will be given. Once we receive your application we will endeavour to contact you at the first available opportunity, which is usually within 3 months. Please contact us on volunteer@youthoffthestreets.com.au or 02 9330 3530

All of our volunteers must be at least 21 years of age. Anyone under the age of 21 who is looking for volunteering opportunities should go to www.volunteering.com.au for information.

Food Van – volunteers prepare and distribute hot food to the homeless in the Kings Cross/Darlinghurst area. The van goes out almost every night of the year, with volunteers typically rostered on one evening per month. Volunteers meet at our crisis refuge, Don Bosco House, in Marrickville at 9pm and depending on how busy the night is, are finished by 12.30am - 1am. To be a part of our food van program, you must first attend the information night.

Please be aware we will not be holding another Food Van volunteer information night until mid 2010 due to having a full complement of volunteers.

Outreach – Airds (near Campbelltown), Doonside, Rosemeadow and Macquarie Fields – Volunteers help with barbeques and basketball games at Macquarie Fields, Airds, Rosemeadow or Doonside. The main focus of this program is to engage local youth in positive peer culture activities and provide them with access to important services.

Driver Trainers Our young people participate in a program where they can learn to drive and receive their Ps. To do so they need to drive a certain amount of hours with an experienced driver. We have funding through the Honda Foundation and provide our young people with a significant number of hours with a qualified instructor. Following that, we then need volunteers to help provide the hours and instruction to our young people. We are looking for people who have patience, are good drivers, flexible hours and would be willing to help a young person learn to drive.

Mentoring – Our mentoring program organises relationships between young people and caring individuals who offer guidance, support and encouragement so that the “mentee” develops their character, confidence and competencies. Mostly, our mentor programs are situated in Western Sydney and becoming a mentor involves a significant commitment of time – around 2-3 hours per fortnight – and volunteers need to be able to commit to a long-term relationship of 12 months. Mentoring is a rewarding program for both mentor and mentee.

Tutoring – our young people attend high school and often need assistance with their subjects. Volunteers can assist in the role of tutor for these young people. A variety of subjects, to HSC level is needed. Tutoring is generally needed during school hours.

Administrative help – volunteers help with either one-off projects or on a continuing basis, eg several hours per week or fortnight. The help we require ranges from assistance with large mail-outs, to covering the phones during busy periods, to helping in the run-up to major events. We generally need help during standard office hours, either at our Mascot office.

Maintenance - We always need help with upkeep of our properties. If you are interested in gardening or cleaning we would love to hear from you. Unfortunately we have tight budget constraints so can’t manage the upkeep of our properties and rely on volunteers.

Public Speaking – For those people who enjoy public speaking, we often need speakers to attend meetings and functions to talk about our organisation and programs. This can be daytime and/or evening work and can be for small or large audiences so experience is essential. Public speaking training nights are held once or twice a year.

Fundraising – Youth Off The Streets is always looking for volunteers in the community to organise events for us as we have limited resources to do this ourselves. If you are interested in fundraising for us on an independent basis, I can send some ideas in this area for you to have a look at, otherwise please feel free to call Joanne Baxter on 93300 3500 to discuss your ideas.

Southern Highlands Support Group - a group of committed volunteers who support Youth Off The Streets in the Southern Highlands. Volunteer work includes being involved in a stall that is run on 2 Saturdays of every month, helping with events and other ad hoc jobs in the Southern Highlands.

Op Shop Volunteers - ever considered working behind the counter of an Op Shop? We have stores located in Casula, East Maitland, Cessnock, Singleton, Newcastle, Wyoming, Sefton, Goulburn and Bowral. We would love to hear from you if you have a spare day during the week. Please contact Robert Innes on 0428 497 240 or email roberti@youthoffthestreets.com.au if you are interested in joining the Op Shops as a volunteer.

Op Shop Locations:
BOWRAL 15 Bundaroo Street - Phone: (02) 4861 2307
CESSNOCK 136 Vincent Street - Phone: (02) 4991 4426
GOULBURN 404 Auburn Street - Phone: (02) 4822 5011
MAITLAND 250 High Street - Phone: (02) 4933 4433
SINGLETON 251 John Street - Phone: (02) 6572 1789
NEWCASTLE Shop 2 & 3 / 104 Maitland Road ISLINGTON 2296 - Phone: (02) 4965 3698
WYOMING - Unit 2, 9 Brooks Avenue - Phone: (02) 4328 3840
CASULA – 632 Hume Highway – Phone (02) 9600 7122
SEFTON – 38A Helen St, SEFTON NSW 2162 Phone: (02) 9645 4300

If you would like to volunteer for Youth Off The Streets please complete download the Volunteer Form and post back to the Volunteers Coordinator, at PO Box 6025, Alexandria NSW 2015 or email volunteer@youthoffthestreets.com.au