Volunteer or Intern with St. Mary’s Center

The gift of time inspires and expands the hearts and minds of more than 1,000 volunteers at St. Mary’s every year. Our volunteers come from schools, parishes, corporations and service groups who bring, prepare and serve thousands of meals each year for our winter shelter and Sunday Dinner programs. Volunteers staff our reception desk, or assist in the garden, kitchen, and preschool.

School, Corporate and Service Groups

We welcome larger groups for special projects like painting, simple repairs, gardening and landscaping. Our staff and participants can be available to share program goals and operations.  Two to three weeks of planning time helps us have a special project and materials ready for you. We ask that you make meal arrangements for your group.

Internships

St. Mary’s Center maintains relationships with more than a dozen internship partners and welcomes short- and long-term engagements. We have certified staff in Clinical Social Work, Public Policy, Community Organizing, and Early Childhood Education who can support and supervise your educational progress. If interested, send an inquiry to: kwong@stmaryscenter.org.

Sunday Dinner Program

Groups are encouraged to join us to serve a Sunday afternoon meal for Seniors at our Community Center at 925 Brockhurst Street, Oakland. You can see availability and sign up at this link.

Friday Lunch Program

For Friday lunches, we request donation and prep for 30 servings of soup and sandwiches for serving at noon on Friday. You can prepare off-site and drop off ahead of time so we can rewarm the soup for Friday, or you can prepare on-site using our commercial kitchen – it’s up to you. You can see availability and sign up at this link.

Application

St. Mary’s Center requests a volunteer application from all volunteers so we have emergency contact and interest information. Please submit the volunteer application form.

California law protects preschool children by requiring a short background check to enter classrooms and we can help complete this quickly and easily. For updated information about Sunday Dinner and Winter Shelter Dinners, contact our volunteer coordinator at: volunteer@stmaryscenter.org.