Make a difference. Become a volunteer.
We welcome volunteers who need to complete community service hours for court or for school.
Please contact Gretchen Fennelly, Volunteer Coordinator to sign-up to volunteer or to drop off a meal. Call (207) 947-0092 or e-mail gretchenf@bangorareashelter.org to schedule a tour.
Click Here to Meet Some of Our 2023 Volunteers
You can literally save lives this winter!
We urgently need volunteers for the Winter Warming Center.
What is the Warming Center? Beginning December 7, 2024, and closing March 15, 2025, our day room is open to unhoused people who are literally living on the fridged streets of Bangor. The Warming Center saves lives by giving people a safe place to stay warm, a home cooked dinner at 7 pm, and get warm clothes. There are three ways to volunteer in the Warming Center.
Option 1: Cook a main course dinner at home and drop it off at the Shelter. We serve 40 people a night – two turkey sized aluminum pans worth of food. Volunteer Hours: Drop off the meal between 8 am and 4:30 pm. Do your younger family members want to help? Cooking a dinner at home and dropping it off is a perfect option.
Option 2: Heat up the pre-cooked dinner in our shelter kitchen and serve dinner at 7 pm to people who are literally living outside on the streets of Bangor. Volunteer Hours: 5:30 pm to 8 pm. * 1 to 3 volunteers fit in our kitchen at a time. Everyone who volunteers in our shelter’s kitchen to cook or serve dinner must be over 18.
Option 3: Cook and serve 7 pm dinner for 40 people in our shelter kitchen. Volunteer Hours: 5:15 pm to 8 pm. * 1 to 3 volunteers fit in our kitchen at a time. Everyone who volunteers in our shelter’s kitchen to cook or serve dinner must be over 18.
Click here to be part of the solution: Warming Center Sign-up Calendar
* From the middle of December to the middle of March we serve 2 dinners every night. 5 pm dinner for people living in our shelter. 7 pm dinner for people using the Warming Center.
We use a paper calendar in the kitchen for 5 pm dinner volunteers to sign-up on.
Ways to Volunteer:
(Need for each volunteer position varies.)
Volunteer to drop off a meal
Please contact Gretchen Fennelly, Volunteer Coordinator to find out what days we need help. Call (207) 947-0092 or e-mail gretchenf@bangorareashelter.org
Volunteer to Cook or serve a meal in our kitchen
We serve lunch at 12 noon to anyone in the community. We serve dinner at 5 PM to our guests in the Shelter. We need volunteers to cook meals and to serve a pre-prepared meal. Contact Gretchen to find out what days we need help.
Volunteer to organize and give out donated items:
We receive many generous donations of clothing and items. Volunteers un-bag the clothing, sort it, and hang it up. Requires lifting up to 40 pounds, doing stairs, and working independently.
Volunteer Drivers:
Our Shelter has a zero-dollar food budget meaning all the food we serve and give out at our food pantry is donated not bought. Our drivers pick up food from Good Shepherd Food Bank, Shaw’s, Hannaford, and BJ’s. Must have a valid driver’s license, be reliably available for 7:30a pick-ups, must be able to lift 50 pounds.
Currently, we need only need a volunteer driver to pick up a pallet’s worth of food at Good Shepherd Food Bank located in Hampden at 10am on the second Wednesday of every month. Must be able to lift 50 pounds.