Each day the doors of Bread for the City open, we partner with community members like you to help us meet the need. Volunteers serve in every Bread for the City department (food, clothing, medical, legal, social services, and advocacy). Whether you can give two hours or two-hundred hours, we thank you for taking a step to help!
12001 Old Baltimore Pike
Beltsville, MD 20705
All volunteers should sign Bread for the City’s liability waiver and read the volunteer handbook. Admin volunteers and interns are required to submit all volunteer documents. We look forward to working with you!
Sort, hang, and arrange clothing donations. During open hours, offer customer service to Bread for the City’s client population.
FOOD PANTRY
Help bag and distribute food items. Offer hospitality to Bread for the City clients as they select groceries to take home!
GROCERY PLUS
On the third Tuesday of each month, about 40 seniors (60 years of age and over) pick up a special 30 lb box of food. Up to two volunteers are needed to assist with the distribution. Duties may include carrying a box to a car, signing new seniors up for the program, and collecting signatures.
Administrative volunteers help with filing, scanning, data entry, shredding, and other tasks. A background check, confidentiality agreement, and other paperwork are required for some roles. Administrative volunteers should complete all volunteer documents.
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NEW OPPORTUNITIES
• Advocacy Admin Support Volunteer – Bread for the City’s Advocacy Department seeks two volunteers to serve two days a week for four hours each. Most work will be executed at the Southeast Center (1640 Good Hope Road SE). Volunteers who are able to serve for an extended period (two or more months) preferred. Duties include: data entry, telephone monitoring, light client outreach at NW and/or SE centers, reminder and update calls, filing and organization, and administrative support for advocacy team. Interested candidates should complete all volunteer documents and submit a résumé on our volunteer interest form.
• Bulletin Board Display – Volunteers are needed at least once per season (four times per year) to update multiple bulletin boards at Bread for the City’s Southeast Center. Submissions should be creative and informative. Past topics have included information tied to psychological well-being, health, diet, local resources, financial savings, and more. If you’d like to prepare a bulletin board display, please review Bread for the City’s annual report to learn more about our client population, then submit your bulletin board idea to the Volunteer & In-Kind Manager. Displays remain visible to clients for approximately 3 months. Please note: Bulletin boards volunteers are expected to donate their own supplies.
DIAPER PROGRAM (SE CENTER)
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, two volunteers are needed at the Southeast Center from 9 am to 12:30 pm or 2 pm to 5 pm to support the diaper program. Responsibilities will include answering calls, restocking, and running on-site errands.
Limited volunteer slots are available for licensed health care professionals interested in volunteering in Bread for the City’s Medical Clinic. Medical volunteers undergo a required credential review and background check. (Additional details below.)
Bread for the City does not offer internships in our medical division. We have ongoing relationships with area schools for health care students looking for sites to do clinical rotations, but we do not accept applications from individuals.
APPLY FOR CREDENTIALS
Thank you so much for your interest in service as a medical provider with Bread for the City! Please take a moment to upload your CV, and we’ll be glad to share it with our medical director. If we have an existing need for your particular specialty, we’ll be in touch to help you complete the credentialing process.
Once you are approved to move forward, we’ll ask for the following (which will need to be updated every two years):
• Current contact information
• Curriculum Vitae (which includes education/training and board certifications)
• Current competence to practice (or CME’s if not board certified)
• Health/Fitness Information (immunization status, PPD status, ability to perform requested privileges)
• Copy of current medical license, DEA license, or other relevant licenses
• List of hospital admitting privileges (if applicable)
• Government-issued ID
• Copy of certificate from life support training (if applicable)
Bread for the City also asks you to complete the attached forms. Please anticipate that we’ll execute a query from the National Practitioner Data Bank and execute other background checks.
Thanks for your interest in service!
LEGAL
If you are a law student, recent law school graduate, or attorney barred in DC or able to practice under rule 49(c), please contact Danielle Moise to learn more about current volunteer opportunities in the Legal Clinic. No evening or weekend legal volunteer opportunities available.
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Note: Active professional volunteers should report their hours at least monthly through the comments field on the special project volunteer form. Please send your number of hours completed, timeframe, department, center, and supervisor when you submit. Completion of this form helps to ensure that Bread for the City always has a record of your service. Thank you!
BILINGUAL VOLUNTEERS
Bread for the City’s clients speak many more languages than found among the talents of our staff. If you are a bi- or multilingual speaker, we’d love to have you on our bilingual volunteer roster as a potential bridge over language barriers.
VOLUNTEER AMBASSADOR
Can you help us inspire more people to serve? The Volunteer Program is looking for volunteer ambassadors who’ll commit to learning more about the organization, then represent us at various volunteer fairs and community events. Participants are asked to learn and demonstrate organizational knowledge. To learn more, sign up here.
KNOWLEDGE SHARERS
Do you have business knowledge or a unique skill you can teach our clients? Bread for the City has multiple programs that occasionally need “knowledge sharers” who’ll better prepare our clients for the workplace and life in general. Please submit your résumé to let us know you’re interested!
VOLUNTEER DRIVERS
Volunteer drivers are occasionally needed to pick-up in-kind donations and to support other efforts. If you can help, let us know!
INTERNSHIPS
Click here to explore internships at Bread for the City.
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Note: Active skilled volunteers should report their hours at least monthly through the comments field on the special project volunteer form. Please send your number of hours completed, timeframe, department, center, and supervisor when you submit. Completion of this form helps to ensure that Bread for the City always has a record of your service. Thank you!
Looking for a community-minded office activity for your team? Consider an in-kind goods drive or care kit packaging event!
CARE KIT PREPARATION
(any number of items, any combination)
• Toiletries, such soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, lotion, shampoo, conditioner, lip balm, or deodorant.
• Personal care items, such as a small comb/brush, wet hand wipes, dry tissues, nail clippers, band-aids, lip balm, and cough drops.
• Nonperishable individual snacks, such as cereal bars, dried fruit snacks, or crackers.
• Spices and condiments, such as small packages of salt, pepper, ketchup, or sugar.
Consolidate your items in a plastic bag that zips or seals. Feel free to include inspiring quotes or other words of encouragement! Drop off your kits to either BFC Center. Just ask for the Volunteer & In-Kind Gifts Manager.
All volunteers are required to read the volunteer handbook and complete the Bread for the City liability waiver. Orchard volunteers must also complete the UDC liability waiver. Extended service volunteers (one month or more) and individuals completing court-mandated community service should complete all documents below, then scan and/or return them to a member of the Volunteer Program Staff.
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Background Check for Law Clerks, Interns, and Long-Term Volunteers | Download |
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Prevent Sexual Harassment | Download |
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BFC Anti-Harassment Policy | Download |
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All volunteers must sign before serving. | Download |
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For ongoing volunteers providing direct services. | Download |
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For extended service volunteers. | Download |
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For volunteers reporting hours to third parties. | Download |
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For admin volunteers and interns. | Download |
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For orchard volunteers. | Download |
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For all volunteers. | Download |
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For extended service volunteers. | Download |
[ ! ] Some documents listed in the Archive are in PDF form. Adobe Acrobat Reader is needed in order to view most documents. Download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Thank you for choosing to serve with Bread for the City!
Sonya D. Springfield leads Bread for the City's vibrant volunteer engagement program and its associated staff. She is also the manager over in-kind donations and various communications projects, including the BFC website. Springfield also serves as site lead for the Grocery Plus and Farmers Market programs.
Jessica Yarger joins Bread for the City for 2018-2019 as our NW Volunteer Coordinator. She is a member of the Lutheran Volunteer Corps.
Ask Jess about volunteering at the Northwest Center or City Orchard.
• 202-595-7865
• jyarger[at]breadforthecity.org
Kesara Brewster joins Bread for the City for 2018-2019 as our SE Volunteer Coordinator. She is a member of the Public Allies/Americorps.
Ask Kesara about volunteering at the Southeast Center.
• 202-587-5904
• kbrewster[at]breadforthecity.org