We are always happy to welcome volunteers, not only because they help us out, but because they almost inevitably become part of our community—people with whom we have fun and pray and celebrate and share the charism of L’Arche. There are no specific age or education requirements. All we ask is that you have a desire to develop mutual relationships with the core members and assistants. After that, we will help you find a way to use your particular talents and skills. We will provide any necessary training. We do ask that you have your own transportation.
Here are some examples of things volunteers do with us:
- Cook with one of the core members and share dinner with us.
- Help us paint a room (winter)
- Help us landscape and plant (spring)
- Accompany one of the core members on a walk, a bike ride, to the swimming pool or to a movie
- Take one or more core members for a visit to the zoo, a museum, the botanical gardens, etc.
- Demonstrate how and help us to make holiday decorations
- Assist as one of our events where we announce L’Arche and raise funds to support the community
- Drive a core member to and/or pick up a core member from work one or more days a week
These are only suggestions. If you have an idea about how you can volunteer with us, we are happy to hear it.
How much you volunteer with us is entirely up to you. It can be once or twice a month, once a week, or for a particular holiday or specific event. It helps us to plan ahead if your schedule is regular, but we understand that life happens and are always ready to accommodate changes.
The first step is to contact us and express your interest. Please see our contact us page. We encourage potential new volunteers to come to one of our Community Nights, which take place the second Thursday of every month
This gives you a chance to meet the assistants and our core members and gives us the opportunity to meet you. Next we will ask you to come to the house for a meal and interact in a smaller setting. By the end of the visit, if everyone is comfortable, we will let you know our orientation schedule and we can discuss what you would like to do and what the community needs and what times work best for both.
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