Interested Volunteers

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteering at Transition House gives you the chance to meet new friends, give back to the community, and make a difference in the lives of Santa Barbara families in need.

There are a variety of volunteer opportunities and Transition House’s volunteer coordinator will help match you with a position that best suits your interests, skills and availability.

Opportunities to volunteer in the shelter:

Meal Provider Program – Groups of volunteers provide dinner for the families in the emergency shelter. This volunteer opportunity involves menu planning, grocery shopping, cooking, and serving the meal.

Hours: Recurring and fill-in schedule available, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Evening Shelter Facilitator – Volunteers assist at the shelter with evening operations, facilitate the preparation of the dining room for dinner service, and provide support to Volunteer Dinner Providers and Shelter Operations Staff.

Hours: One evening a week from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Shelter Client Screener – Bilingual (Spanish/English) volunteers assist in case management by meeting with residents at our emergency shelter to communicate important messages and simply lend a friendly compassionate ear.
Duties/Requirements: Training in confidentiality, boundaries, note-taking, file management, and a minimum six-month commitment.

Hours: One evening a week from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Opportunities to volunteer with kids:

Children’s Evening Enrichment– Volunteers work alongside our Children’s Program staff to create a fun and enriching evening program for our child residents. Activities include homework help/tutoring, reading books, creative projects, and outdoor activities. The children range from 4 years old to teens.
Hours: One evening per week from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Family Support Center Childcare – Work directly with children engaging them in games, activities, and art projects while their parents attend anti-poverty education classes at our Family Support Center. The children’s ages range from infants to teenagers.
Hours: One evening a week from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Administrative and Fundraising Volunteer Support:

Administrative Volunteer Assistance – Help staff with a variety of office duties such as making reminder calls to meal providers, organizing files, stapling/scanning/shredding, or other administrative projects.

Client Support – Volunteers with special skills, training, experience, or licensing meet with clients individually or in a small group to assist with difficult tasks, encourage skill development, or promote the mental and physical well-being of our clients.

*Volunteers provide any required materials for clients; i.e. yarn, art supplies, books, etc. Examples: yoga, meditation, resume review, mock job interviews, translation, tech skills, filling out forms and applications, nutrition education, art, book club, knitting, etc.

Evening Class Leader – Volunteers with special skills, training, experience, or licensing lead a small educational class or support group in our Family Support Center to encourage skill-development or promote mental and physical wellbeing of Transition House clients. Volunteers provide all required materials for participants.

Examples: Yoga, meditation, art, tech-skills, dance, nutrition, book club, knitting.

Join the Transition House Auxiliary – Find out more about joining the Auxiliary, a group that raises critical funds for on-going programs and direct assistance to clients. They host Transition House’s only large scale in person fundraising event of the year—The Mad Hatter Luncheon!

For more information about Volunteer Opportunities, please contact Rissa Gross, our Volunteer Coordinator at (805) 966-9668 ext. 129 or by email to learn how you can make a difference.