Volunteer With Us
Volunteers are at the core
of our daily operations
Volunteers play a vital role in the functioning of St Mary’s House of Welcome, contributing their time and energy to various aspects of our programs and services. Their dedication encompasses a wide range of tasks, from running our reception area to preparing and serving meals. Volunteers ensure that St Mary’s House of Welcome continues to be a warm and welcoming space for Melbourne's community in need.
Volunteer Roles
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Dining Room & Kitchen Preparation
Monday - Friday
Breakfast - 8:00am-10:00am
Lunch - 10:30am-2:00pmSaturday
8:00am - 12:00pmResponsibilities:
- Assisting the Chef to prepare breakfast and lunch
- Setting tables, washing crockery and cutlery with dishwasher
- Ensuring service users have been offered and served a drink and a meal -
Reception
Monday - Friday
8:30am-1:00pmSaturday
8:00am - 12:00pmResponsibilities:
- Assist clients with mail checks and provision of toiletries
- Referring service users to the homeless management team
- Answering phone calls, and directing phone enquiries to the appropriate person
- Some simple data entry and administrative tasks may be required -
Donated Food Pick Ups & Deliveries
Monday and Thursday
8:00am-11:00am and 11:00am-2:00pmTuesday, Wednesday and Friday
8:00am-11:00amResponsibilities:
- Collect food donations from local shops and donors
- Occasional deliveries also requiredDriver to use St Mary’s House of Welcome van provided
How often do I need to be available to volunteer?
Volunteers are a vital part of the team at St Mary’s House of Welcome – your commitment to regular and reliable attendance enables us to deliver excellent services to marginalised, disadvantaged, socially isolated and homeless people in Melbourne. Most of our volunteers attend a weekly shift - we ask volunteers to be able to commit to one regular shift to ensure consistency of programs for our service users. On occasion, volunteers may be contacted by us regarding their availability to act as “relief volunteers” (e.g. If we need help when our regular volunteers are away).
How to become a volunteer
Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible for a volunteer role, applicants must be 18 years or older and consent to a National Police Check and a Working with Children Check.
Complete the Application
Download and complete the application form, Crimcheck form, and Working with Children Check form. Once you have completed the application form, please email to volunteers@smhow.org.au. Further details can be found in FAQs below.
Note: Please send us your completed Crimcheck form, so we can submit it on your behalf.
Response Timeline
After submitting your application, you can expect a response from our volunteer team within two weeks.
Next Steps
Once your application is processed, one of our team members will contact you via email with detailed information about the available role, your induction process, and your start date.
If you have any further questions about the application process, please email us by clicking the link below:
Who can volunteer?
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Community Volunteers
St Mary’s House of Welcome is very fortunate to have almost 200 regular volunteers who are actively involved in a variety of roles across the organisation. They have contributed around 8,000 hours per year in areas such as the Dining Room, art classes, social inclusion programs, collecting food donations and – of course – our wonderful receptionists who manage to create such a welcoming atmosphere for the people seeking our assistance or support.
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Corporate Volunteers
Each year, we have a number of corporate groups volunteering with St Mary’s House of Welcome via their Corporate Responsibility Programs. Usually, these groups get involved in hosting Community BBQs or excursions for our service users.
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School Volunteers
We currently have more than 20 schools which volunteer at St Mary’s House of Welcome throughout the year. We have also have numerous schools from regional Victoria visit us to learn more about what we do and help with things such as preparing and serving morning tea. St Mary's House of Welcome encourages interest shown by young adults in our work. Unfortunately, our Child Safe Policy does not allow us to welcome young adults under 18 years as volunteers, unless they form part of our school organised activities program.
