Group Volunteering

Women’s Center & Shelter offers different opportunities depending on the size of your group.

Large Group

Women’s Center & Shelter often has big projects that need lots of volunteers to complete. To avoid any disruptions to residents who are staying in our emergency shelter, it’s important that we thoughtfully plan each opportunity for your group.

If you have a large group (12 or more people) who would like to volunteer at WC&S, we have opportunities that include:

• Gardening and landscaping
• Cleaning in the shelter’s community spaces
• Organizing in our storage closets

To discuss how your large group can make a difference at WC&S, please contact us at community@wcspittsburgh.org.

Small Group

Most volunteers who give their time to Women’s Center & Shelter come as part of a small group (3-11 people) cooking meals in our shelter kitchen, helping us beautify and maintain our building and outdoor spaces, or hosting parties for the shelter residents and their children.

Preparing a Meal

Making a meal for the shelter residents is the most popular opportunity we offer, as well as one of our biggest needs. Volunteers plan the menu, purchase the ingredients, and then work together in WC&S’ fully equipped industrial kitchen to prepare lunch or dinner for everyone in our emergency shelter.

Read our Meal Preparation Guide for answers to commonly asked questions and more information about planning a perfect meal.

Beautifying and Maintaining the Shelter

Often, WC&S’ shelter, storage and meeting spaces, and outdoor common areas are bustling with activity. With volunteers assisting our maintenance staff to keep our building beautiful and organized, we are able to offer survivors of domestic violence a safe and inviting place to stay. These are some of the most meaningful opportunities we have.

• Cleaning in the shelter, Children’s Advocacy Program, meeting rooms, and common areas
• Sorting donations
• Organizing supplies in our storage closets
• Weeding, sweeping, and cleaning in our outdoor spaces

Hosting a Party

It takes a lot of work to start over. The residents staying in WC&S’ shelter are busy every day making sure they can be confident in their safety when they leave. Volunteer-hosted parties give them a welcome break from the stress and struggle of beginning anew.

Parties can be planned for all residents or just the children. Some party ideas include:

• Arts and crafts nights
• Ice cream socials
• Board game nights
• Bingo
• Holiday parties

To learn more about volunteering at WC&S, please contact us at community@wcspittsburgh.org.

Individual Volunteering

Note: Individual volunteering slots at WC&S are currently filled. We will update this page when it is re-opened. Thank you for your understanding.

WC&S has a very limited number of opportunities for individual volunteers, typically during work hours Monday through Friday (we unfortunately do not have availability on weekends due to limited staffing). Individual volunteers do an array of jobs at Women’s Center & Shelter. Some individuals, called WC&S Helpers, take on special projects that are crucial to our operations.

WC&S Helpers

Helpers are individuals who work directly with a member of our staff on projects around the building that may include:

• Organizing storage spaces
• Sorting donations
• Gardening or weeding
• Assembling mailings
• Cleaning in shelter common areas

Helpers are typically scheduled for shifts during business hours. Opportunities are limited by need. Please contact community@wcspittsburgh.org to learn more.