Volunteer Opportunities

Not sure which volunteer opportunity is right for you? Tell us a little about yourself in our application form and we will contact you to learn about your volunteering interests and skills.

Childcare

Come spend quality time with children in our day care program. At East Side Neighborhood Services, we are seeking volunteers to come spend time with the children, whether it is rocking babies to sleep, doing arts and crafts, reading and doing enrichment activities with children, there are various ways to get involved in our day care program. Come play and spread the joy with children in our newly refurbished space.

Monday to Friday between 9:00- 4:00 at 1700 2nd St. NE

Assist Older Adults in our Food Shelf

Be part of a team that is dedicated to providing food security to older adults at our food shelf programs in Hennepin County. Volunteer assist clients by welcoming them in, assisting them shop for food, stocking groceries and helping with client intake.

We are seeking volunteers who can volunteer weekly or twice a month.

Monday- Friday 9:30-11:30 or 12:00-2:30 at 1801 Central Ave NE

Volunteer Your Skills

Do you have special skills you want to share? Volunteers in the past have helped teach financial classes, did puppetry with our children, taught martial arts to youth or assisted adults find employment. We have lots of ways for you to get involved at East Side.

Monday-Friday at 1700 2nd St. NE

Vital Living Volunteer Opportunities

Contact Jennifer at 612-787-4104 or jgrilliot@esns.org to learn more about these intergenerational volunteer opportunities!

Preschool Activity Leader

Are you a Baby Boomer? Do you have any Generation Z friends? If not, we are preschoolers and we would like to spend time with you.

East Side Neighborhood Services is proud to provide children with a learning environment that is safe, welcoming, educational and fun. As your schedule allows, join us for an hour in our bright and newly remodeled learning center to share art, music or science activities and experiences with children ages 3-5. With classroom staff supervising, our students will supply enthusiasm and lots of questions for your activity. We will also provide the materials you may need. Days and times are flexible.

We are committed to creating connections between generations. If you are 65+ and enjoy being with young learners, don't miss this joyful opportunity to connect.

NE Day Spot Friend

Your compassion and sense of community has a new place to shine at the NE Day Spot-a weekly respite program for people experiencing memory loss and their care partners.

Safe and engaging respite is vital for caregivers and the people they care for. Working with East Side staff, volunteers help create a community of care by being a NE Day Spot Friend. Your day will be spent engaged in a wide variety of activities with participants. Training for this position will be provided with a focus on working with people experiencing memory loss and their care partners. Shifts are from 9-3 on Fridays. We ask that volunteers commit to 2 shifts a month so they become a familiar face to participants.

If you have experience as a caregiver, you can appreciate how sharing your support and understanding will impact their day-don’t hesitate to be this special person. This position would also be beneficial for people training in medical or social service fields who want to gain more experience working with people experiencing memory loss and their care partners. No hands-on care required.

Financial Coach

Do you have personal finance expertise and a desire to help others live a healthy financial life?

The Employment and Training program at East Side works with low-income, unemployed, or underemployed job seekers 18 and over. Participants receive support to build upon skills needed to secure and retain full-time permanent employment. Financial Coaches lead single topic 1-hour workshops and help participants in their desire to learn more about living a healthy financial life. Topics that would be of interest to our participants may include: payday loans, advantages to banking, how to re-bank, credit repair, avoiding scams or controlling credit card debt. Days and times are flexible.