Meet our Volunteers
Our most prized asset is our hundreds of volunteers nationwide. Along with our core staff in our national office in Decatur, Georgia, they are at the heart of what we do. Many have been with us for 10 years or more. Some work behind the scenes as unsung heroes and others are out front, serving as counselors, mentors, or meeting kids on the streets.
We remain a nearly all-volunteer organization. Both our volunteers and our paid staff continue to be our biggest asset, dozens of years after our inception.
Those who find StandUp for Kids are looking to give back to their communities in meaningful ways. They understand that homelessness is a symptom of a much larger social problem and that it affects children and youth disproportionately and harshly. We are proud of our record of recruiting, training, and retaining people who donate their unique skill sets and kid-friendly authenticity to help us end the cycle of youth homelessness, one youth at a time.
Each of our locations differs in size and scope. Some of our newer programs have fewer than ten core volunteers whereas others have upwards of 100 volunteers. Each has a leadership team to maintain strategic direction, coordinate its programs, support volunteers, fundraise, liaise with other community organizations, and ensure we have the supplies to serve youth.
From every corner of the map, some simple truths are shared by all volunteers:
We are here to listen – not to work miracles.
We are here to help people discover what they are feeling – not to make the feelings go away.
We are here to help people identify their options – not to decide for them what they should do.
We are here to discuss steps with a person – not to take steps for them.
We are here to help people discover their own strength – not to rescue them and leave them still vulnerable.
We are here to help people discover they can help themselves—not to take responsibility for them.
We are here to help people learn to choose—not to make it unnecessary to make difficult decisions.
Meet more volunteers through spotlight features on our blog.