Volunteer and Internship Opportunities
YWCA Central Virginia sincerely appreciates our dedicated and reliable volunteers. Volunteers are critical in helping us achieve our mission. YW needs volunteers and interns to help deliver our services. Most time requirements are flexible and the opportunities are diverse. Current opportunities are listed below.
If you are interested in volunteering for YWCA, please complete the form linked below or reach out to our Community Outreach Coordinator at outreach@ywcacva.org
Domestic Violence Prevention Program and Sexual Assault Response Program Volunteer Opportunities
Level I volunteers require little training. Opportunities include
- Pantry Organizer (Level I): Organize the foods and non-perishable items; check dates and discard expired foods
- Clothing Closet Organizer (Level I): Organize the clothing and separate by sizes and/or seasons; go through clothing and discard any that are stained or damaged.
- Assistant to Service Coordinator (Level I): Work with Service Coordinator in managing the office; help with services coordinator complete data entry; answer phones, file, and general office duties
Level II volunteers must complete 24 Hours of training provided by the Volunteer Coordinator. Opportunities include:
- Child Care Provider (Level II): Provide safe, responsible child care; monitor child’s behavior, report concerns to parent and/or staff; intervene if the child becomes violent — notify the parent and/or staff immediately
- Children’s Support Group Assistant (Level II): Provide additional support to the Kids group facilitator; provide additional child care when needed
- Homework Helper (Level II): Meet children after school to help with homework; provide additional child care when needed
- Bedtime Story Readers(Level II): Assist mothers in getting the kids ready for bed; facilitate story time before bed; provide additional child care when needed
Level III volunteers must complete 24 hours of training provided by the Volunteer Coordinator as well as 8 hours of mentoring. Level III volunteers also must attend at least 2 of the 4 In-Service trainings offered annually. Opportunities include:
- Children’s Support Group Facilitator (Level III): Create and plan a lesson/craft/activity for the children’s support groups in the shelter; communicate with the Children’s Case Manager about ideas and plan prior to the group
- Adult Support Group Facilitator (Level III): Create and plan a lesson for the adult support groups (attendees may be residents and/or community members; communicate with the Children’s Case Manager about ideas and plan prior to the group
- Hotline Specialist (Level III): Answer the hotline in a professional and courteous manner; document all data on to the appropriate forms
- Advocate (Level III): Complete requested research and reporting; provide adult tutoring; shadow court advocates
- SARP Volunteer ER Companion (Level III):Tasked with providing direct Victim Services; respond to all requests for crisis intervention services during on-call shifts which could include weekends and over-night shifts if available; complete all ER paperwork at the completion of the ER call and leave in a secure location; follow up with the Victim Services Coordinator the next business day following an ER call to debrief
- DVPP/SARP Volunteer Training: Be a guest speaker at DVPP or SARP Volunteer Trainings; assist with SARP/DVPC Volunteer Trainings; assist and/or develop and implement in-service training for SARP/DVPC Volunteers; mentor new volunteer trainees
- DVPP/SARP Volunteer Recruitment: Aid the Volunteer Coordinator in distributing information concerning DVPP/SARP recruitment at churches, higher learning institutions, clubs, and other organizations in Lynchburg and surrounding areas; travel with the Volunteer Coordinator to speak at recruitment events
Supervised Visitation Center Volunteer Opportunities
- Clean, sanitize, and organize our Supervised Visitation Center toys and common spaces
- Replenish supplies as needed
Town Center Residential Housing Program Volunteer Opportunities
- Paint, clean, perform minor maintenance for our Town Center residential rooms
- Perform minor maintenance and cleaning the outdoor spaces at our Town Center location
- Organization and cleaning of closest and common spaces at Town Center
Church Street Bridal Volunteer Opportunities
- Sanitizing gowns between appointments to ensure safety for all brides
- Cleaning and tidying — sweeping, cleaning windows, dusting, cleaning bathrooms, and vacuuming
- Greeting and checking in customers when they arrive
- General merchandizing help — organizing dresses and helping with displays and mannequins
- Answering phones and customer questions
General Administrative Volunteer Opportunities
- Event Volunteering:
- Cataloging items for raffles, auctions, door prizes, and other fundraising events
- Setting up/taking down event assets (tables, chairs, decorations, media equipment), and general assistance with event logistics
- Development Volunteering:
- Assisting with stuffing & addressing envelopes during large mailings
- Finance Office Volunteering:
- Making copies of financial records needed for grant reporting
- Entering financial data into spreadsheets/QB if experienced
- General Administration Volunteering:
- Filing documents and making copies as needed by admin team
- Addressing & mailing out letters as needed by admin team
- Help AMEND Coordinator and facilitators at area schools with AMEND Together program needs
Board of Directors
YWCA Board of Directors
The Board of Directors, both as individuals and as a group, ensures that policies, planning, and services remain fully aligned with the organization’s stated charitable purpose; assets are ably managed and steadily increased, including not only physical property and financial assets, but also the organization’s reputation, relationships, staff capabilities and each other’s capabilities on the board; ethical and overall leadership and stability standards are upheld; and that all legal and agreement obligations are met.
Interested in Joining the Board of Directors?
YWCA Central Virginia is always looking for stellar candidates for the Board of Directors. Please note that at this time YWCA’s Board remains a single-gender Board that welcomes women age 18+ to join. Our Board of Directors meets every fourth Tuesday of the month (from August-June) at 4pm. Committees meet at various times throughout the year, and most committees meet monthly or semi-monthly.
You can review a job description for the Board of Directors by clicking the PDF link below.
If you are interested in joining the Board of Directors please click the link below to submit an application or go to https://www.ywcacva.org/board-of-directors-application/.