Volunteer in Your Community

From ringing bells during the holiday season to distributing supplies in the wake of a local disaster or serving food to the hungry, volunteers are the backbone of The Salvation Army's efforts to help those in need in the Omaha metro.

By offering your time and skills, you can make a significant contribution to your community. Your positive influence will help to transform lives, give hope to families and strengthen our community.

The following is a description of some of the ongoing volunteer opportunities available with The Salvation Army. For more information or to sign up, please call our Volunteer Services department at 402-898-6000.

• Kids Cruisin’ Kitchen
  The Salvation Army partners with Food Bank for the Heartland to offer Kids Cruisin’ Kitchen when schools are out of session. This mobile food distribution service visits parks, playgrounds, libraries and apartment complexes five days a week from June through mid-August to ensure that kids age 18 and under get the nutrition they need. Approximately 81,000 meals are distributed by Kids Cruisin’ Kitchen to children each summer. Volunteers are needed to staff the mobile food distribution trucks and distribute meals.
   
• The Food Pantry at the Burrows Center for Help and Hope
  Food insecurity is a heartbreaking struggle that affects 14% of our neighbors in the Omaha metro alone. The Burrows Center food pantry fills approximately 8,000 grocery orders each year, ensuring that individuals and families get the nutritious food they need to survive and thrive. Volunteers can sign up to help stock the shelves or assist visitors with shopping.
   
• Stuff the Bus School Supplies Drive
  The Salvation Army partners with Walmart in early August for Stuff the Bus, a one-day event held at Walmart locations across the metro to collect backpacks and school supplies for children in need. Volunteers can sign up to collect donated items at local Walmart locations or to help sort the donated school supplies and prepare items for distribution at the corps. Last year more than 2,000 Omaha metro families in need received backpacks and school supplies to help their kids start the school year off right. 
   
• Winter Night Watch
  Our mobile food distribution trucks patrol Omaha’s streets from early December through the end of February, making multiple stops in areas where homeless people congregate to offer hot meals and winter outerwear to anyone in need. Shifts are approximately three hours, during which volunteers drive the trucks or distribute hot meals, beverages and winter clothing to those who come by. Volunteers must be older than age 18 and able to lift 20 pounds and stand for 40 minutes at a time (Youth ages 14-18 can participate if accompanied by a parent or guardian at all times; the parent/guardian must sign up for a volunteer slot as well.). Volunteer drivers must complete an MVR form and a one-hour driving course and be approved by The Salvation Army.
   
• Christmas Assistance
  Christmastime can bring added financial and emotional stress to families living in poverty. Our Christmas assistance programs – including Adopt-A-Family and Toyland – ensure that families in need have gifts under the tree and food on the table. Volunteers help families sign up for Christmas assistance, sort donated gifts and staff Toyland, where families “shop” for gifts for their children. Volunteers can also “adopt” an older adult or a family in need by committing to shop for and deliver gifts to them during the holiday season. 
   
• Red Kettle Bell Ringing
  The Salvation Army depends on bell-ringing revenue to support our critically important year-round services, including food and housing programs, help for those suffering from mental illness, youth development opportunities, older adult services and more. Consider signing up with your family, co-workers or friends to volunteer together as Salvation Army bell ringers.
   
• Emergency Disaster Services (EDS)
  From house fires to tornadoes to flooding, when it comes to local disasters, The Salvation Army is often the first on the scene and the last to depart. Sometimes the work is completed within hours, but often relief operations can continue for months – as was the case during the Flood of 2019. The next time a local disaster hits, consider signing up to volunteer a few hours with The Salvation Army to help hand out food, beverages, clothing and other supplies.

Interested in volunteering?

Please contact our volunteer coordinator at 402-898-6000 or Shawn.Bonge@usc.salvationarmy.org to learn more about our volunteer opportunities.