Volunteer

 One of the most powerful lessons learned over the years is that providing a home literally saves lives and improves health. 

Individuals and Groups make a difference and improve lives by joining in the work of UNITY and our partners. 

We welcome community members to:

• Sort & Organize Donated Household Goods
• Prepare Move-In Packages
• Assist with Furniture Delivery
• Donate Gently Used Furnishings & Home Goods
• Put Your Fix-it Skills to Work Making Repairs
• Organize a Donation Drive

Congregations, service groups and individual volunteers are welcome. All volunteers will receive a brief orientation including an introduction to the homeless situation in New Orleans and the scope of UNITY of Greater New Orleans and our partners’ work.

WHY I LOVE TO VOLUNTEER AT THE UNITY WAREHOUSE

By Judy Walker, April 2024

The three hours or so I spend each week at the Unity of Greater New Orleans warehouse are a precious part of my life. There are many reasons why.

First, the people who run the warehouse are wonderful, endlessly kind and fun to be around, as are the other volunteers. (What old person doesn’t like to be around smart young people?)

Personally, I love to sort things. Add this to my lifelong love of old stuff (thrift stores, junk stores, antique stores, estate sales, all that.) The evolving donations are a continuous surprise. Time for Google Image search! No two days are the same.

 I also don’t mind getting my hands dirty. Scrubbing a serving dish or skillet so it can have a new life is much more satisfying than doing my own dishes. (The rubber dish gloves are in the car.)

Assembling kits made up of donations is the ultimate in upcycling. Instead of going to a landfill, these leftovers from a yard sale will help someone with a new life. If a towel or pillowcase has a stain bigger than a quarter, it goes to a different type of homeless shelter, the kind that takes in dogs.

As a volunteer, I don’t often see clients but when I do it’s very rewarding. The first time a mother with her child came in after a hurricane destroyed their home, I was astounded by her “these things happen” attitude.

A few times I’ve gotten to help clients “shop” in the random goods for decorations or other items not included in their basic kit. When an older woman told us she liked to bake, and we were able to give her a mixer, bowls, cookie cutters and baking pans, I felt like she had given ME a gift. Every time someone says yes, they could use a shower curtain or an iron, it makes me happy to hand it over.

The Unity Warehouse has been deeply fulfilling because I’m helping make a difference, as the cliché goes. In this case, it’s happening two coffee mugs, one bath mat, one tube of toothpaste at a time.