For all of our 39 years of existence, there has been one constant that makes this ministry what it is. It is the number of volunteers who come to the Little Store and offer help. Kathy and I are always overwhelmed when we see the individuals and families and groups of friends passing through our doorway. They are full of energy, and laughter is their sign. It moves the soul!
We tell everyone about our volunteers. They are our heroes. the dictionary defines a hero as, “a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.”
We define heroes as, “Saints in training.”
We have seen them come in freezing winter snows, torrential summer thunderstorms, blazing summer heat and humidity to do whatever we need done. In fact, whenever we ask, “What would you like to do?”, their answer is most often, “Whatever needs to be done.” Their willingness to help others amazes us, especially when the “whatever needs to be done” means, heavy, dirty, hot/cold/freezing, high up or way down in the basement, with or without lighting or heat, and sometimes even in ankle deep water! It doesn’t matter, they just keep going until the job is done, and in our book we admire them for their courage, achievements, and outstanding qualities.
If you are interested in joining our heroes, we still need volunteers in the following areas:
Computer Management – Currently, we manage eight windows-based machines, 2 point-of-sale machines, and 5 additional windows-based machines for 3 months in our Christmas program. We use a variety of software in the day-to-day running of our operation. We need a volunteer to maintain these systems, and work with our management team to introduce updates to our systems.
Building Maintenance – We are responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of our 18,000 sq. ft. facility and parking area. We need volunteers who
can perform routine maintenance such as repairs, minor additions, and cleaning as well as working with management to identify and plan all major
improvement projects.
Foodies – Join our energetic volunteers who pick up food from local supermarkets, the Worcester county Food bank, or who work a Saint Paul’s outreach – Food pantry shift, passing out food to families.
Clerical/Data Entry – Work with our office staff helping to maintain our databases and various office functions.
Sr. Alice Petty, r.S.m. Vocational Training and Immigration Program- We need mentors to help clients with English and citizenship test preparation.
Little Store/Just new!/the Flea – We also need volunteers to help our retail programs. You will work with our warehouse staff to hang clothes, organize the store, price merchandise, and pack incoming donations.
If any one of these volunteer needs has caught your eye give us a call at 508-831-7455 or email us at mailbox@urbanmissionaries.com and we can have a conversation about what interests you and customize a schedule that will work for you, so you can help us serve, “the Least, the Last, and the
Left out.”
