MENTORING ADULTS
Barnabas Pen Pal
The Salvation Army Barnabas Pen Pal program seeks to link Christian volunteers with inmates for the purpose of making contact through the written word. The relationship is meant to provide the inmate with spiritual guidance and personal encouragement. Inmates are often very lonely as most families have given up on them and they need to know that someone cares. Pen pals use aliases and all letters are routed through The Salvation Army to ensure volunteer safety.
Dates: Ongoing, year round
Time: At least one letter a month
Location: Flexible
Job Coach
The Salvation Army Minneapolis Harbor Light Center provides emergency assistance, shelter, housing, chemical dependency treatment, transitional housing, health care services and spiritual support to its clients. At the Harbor Light Center, the Basics of Life Training (BOLT) program is a comprehensive residential program for individual men who are dealing with homeless issues or who are recovering from chemical dependency. One of the focus areas for the BOLT program is vocational skills. To help the men in the program, volunteer job coaches can assist with resume writing and interview skills during the business class. Volunteers will be working in small group settings and also doing one-on-one training with the individuals. Volunteers need to be at least 25 years old, willing to work with the homeless, and able to make a minimum of a six month commitment.
Dates: Thursdays, year round
Times: 10 a.m. – Noon
Location: Salvation Army Harbor Light Center, Minneapolis
Computer Lab Supervisor
The Salvation Army Harbor Light Center provides emergency services, shelter, housing, chemical dependency treatment, transitional housing and spiritual support to the homeless. In the center is a computer lab for the clients to use. The computer lab supervisor will monitor usage of the lab including logging clients into workstations, fixing simple computer problems, answering questions regarding web searches or basic computer skills, and helping to maintain cleanliness in the lab.
Dates: Flexible, available year round, Monday – Friday
Time: 2 or more hours, one or more times a week between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Location: Salvation Army Harbor Light Center, Minneapolis
Bingo Coordinator
Once a month, the women staying in the transitional shelter at Harbor Light enjoy a fun and relaxing evening playing bingo. Up to four volunteers each month can help setup the bingo room, call out numbers, choose the type of bingo game to play, hand out prizes, and clean up the room at the end of game night. Volunteers need to be sensitive to the issues facing homeless women, such as mental illness, addiction, and physical disabilities.
Dates: Last Wednesday of every month, year round
Time: 6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Location: Salvation Army Harbor Light Center, Minneapolis
Book Club Coordinator
The Salvation Army Harbor Light Center provides emergency services, shelter, housing, chemical dependency treatment, transitional housing and spiritual support to the homeless. For the women staying at Harbor Light, a monthly book club gathering is an opportunity to visit, learn and enjoy each other’s company in a healthy environment. Volunteer book club coordinators will select the book, promote the monthly gathering by creating flyers, develop or find discussion questions, and lead the discussion. Volunteers would also find copies of the books for the women to use. Around 10 – 15 copies of the selected book would need to be donated, and Harbor Light has information on getting donations if needed.
Dates: Flexible, year round
Time: Flexible, Harbor Light Center is open between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m.
Location: Salvation Army Harbor Light Center, Minneapolis
To apply for any of the volunteer opportunities, please fill out our Volunteer Interest Form.
