SLS: Volunteer Coordinator & Support Roles for Family Shelter (2025-26 school year)

Family Promise of Metro East helps families experiencing houselessness though a community based response that includes shelter, food, case management and help with resource navigation.  

This position is one of the options for Portland State's Student Leaders for Service program. Please apply to the Student Leaders for Service program to express interest in this opportunity. To access the application to apply for SLS for the the 2025-26 school year, please visit https://pdx.givepulse.com/event/590919

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Family Promise of Metro East provides 24/7 emergency shelter for families with children in Multnomah County experiencing homelessness. We also provide case management, rental assistance, and guidance accessing other services available in our community. We do this in partnership with volunteers, faith communities, and community-based organizations. Volunteers are the heart and soul of Family Promise of Metro East. In 2023 we served 17 families including 28 children and helped 33 family members successfully transition into stable housing. We also helped 25 additional families through our rent assistance programs. A network of over 200 volunteers provided over 10,000 hours of service last year.

Roles for a Student Leader for Service may include any mix of the following:

• Serve as a Volunteer Coordinator: In this capacity, the SLS student will lead individual and group volunteer recruitment by identifying opportunities to publicize volunteer roles, posting volunteer opportunities to those and existing volunteer recruitment sites, following up with prospective volunteers, supporting the decision-making and onboarding process, connecting them to the required volunteer training, and supporting their sign up into open volunteer positions. In addition this person may help enter volunteers and prospective volunteers into our database, streamline our volunteer onboarding process, and recognize and celebrate our volunteers.
  
  
• Serve as a support volunteer in the day center or night shelter, helping out with the families, serving food, leading activities, or handling other hosting responsibilities. 

• Support administrative tasks such as website development, contributing newsletter content, maintaining our Salesforce database, and other responsibilities to be determined.

All of these opportunities will be available to an SLS student and they will have the opportunity to engage with the activities that most interest them and best fit their schedule. Each of the activities directly support our work with families in different ways. Through your support and that of our many other volunteers, you'll help us have a fully built-out shelter network that provides overnight and day shelter, food and case management for families experiencing homelessness 365 days of the year. You will be a vital part of helping us meet our mission, remain a vital part of our community houseless solution and make sure that our volunteer program is effective, streamlined and beneficial to both our families and the volunteers.

Modality: Most positions require at least some element of in-person service, with some opportunities for hybrid. For some roles, much of the requirements can be done remotely, though through doing it that way the student may miss many important contacts and experiences, so some in-person hours are encouraged.

Skills and Knowledge Required:

• First and foremost, a passion for our mission and vision, wanting to make a difference in the lives of children and their families experiencing homelessness.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

• Good computer skills, including familiarity with Google Workspace, and Microsoft Office Products

• Excellent organizational skills

• Ability to work independently and as part of a team

• Ability to manage your own time and projects

Preferred Skills: 

• Experience volunteering

• Experience with Salesforce or other database management software

• Knowledge of homelessness, the scope and causes

Onboarding and Training: Training will be dependent on the specific role taken on. All volunteers will receive FPME Volunteer Training and DEIA Training. Some roles may also receive Salesforce Training, both in person and self-directed.

Benefits of this Positions:

• Ability to make a tangible difference in the lives of children and their families

• Leadership skills that can be transferred to the nonprofit and for profit sectors

• Connections to community and business leaders

• Experience working with databases and systems management

• An increased awareness and knowledge of one of the biggest crisis in the Portland Metropolitan area and ways in which it is being addressed across the city, state and nationally

Supervision: The SLS member would report directly to the Executive Director. 

Location & Transportation: The Family Day Shelter will be the primary location. Opportunities to go to other local east side locations to increase contacts and experiences will be encouraged but not required.

• Family Day Shelter @ NE 48th and Couch
• Multiple Night Shelter sites across NE and SE Portland

Day Shelter is a 30 minute commute from campus via bus. Most other sites are transit accessible. 

Schedule Available: The preferred hours would be between 10 am and 5 pm Monday through Friday but we are flexible.  There may be occasional special events that would be beneficial for the volunteer to attend, but most will not be required.