Volunteer with Ascencia

Join Our Community of Volunteers

At Ascencia, our volunteers help us with an assortment of projects, from providing our clients with nutritious and delicious meals to administrative and organizational support. We offer a variety of opportunities, both on-site and from home, so you can help however you feel comfortable.

Ascencia augments its client-centered work with community volunteers who provide meals, enrichment activities, and more. The highly popular Guest Chef program ensures that Ascencia shelter residents receives hot, nutritious meals, and gives the volunteers and shelter residents an opportunity for social interaction.

Please email volunteer@ascenciaca.org to get in touch with our Volunteer Coordinator. We are so grateful to our volunteers for their dedication and service!

Guest Chef Program

Guest Chef Program

Volunteer Projects

Volunteer Projects

Host a Donation Drive

Host a Donation Drive

Partnerships

Partnerships

Volunteer Application

Volunteer Application

 

“It’s not just a shelter, it’s a hand up to get out of the cycle of homelessness and poverty. I have witnessed how each resident is treated with respect and dignity.”

– Anush Avejic, Guest Chef Volunteer

Group of Guest Chef Volunteers

Guest Chef Volunteer Program

Every day at Ascencia’s shelter, volunteers prepare and serve hot meals for homeless families and adults in our Emergency Housing program. For breakfast, lunch, or dinner, our “Guest Chefs” give their time and energy, generously donating food and a great deal of compassion with each plate. We serve 50,000 individual meals every year, and we always need a helping hand!

Provide Meals for our Residents

The Guest Chef program is central to the resources we provide our residents on a daily basis; and removes the worry about where their next meal is coming from. Volunteers in our Guest Chef Program commit to providing meals for 40-45 people. Chefs will plan the menu, purchase and prepe the ingredients, then cook and serve the meal to our shelter residents. We’ve also have many Guest Chefs get food delivered, or pick up food from local restaurants and drop-off!

Our Guest Chefs maintain a sanitary kitchen environment, complying with health regulations in the handling of food, including washing of hands and wearing gloves before preparing and serving food.

Guest Chef Teams

Volunteers typically create a Guest Chef team comprised of fellow members of a congregation, service organization, co-workers, family members, or friends. We have some teams that have been serving monthly for over a decade!!

We do not require a recurring commitment from our Guest Chef teams, but many volunteers will sign up for multiple meals per month, while others choose one meal occasionally. We notice that some level of consistency helps the Guest Chef teams mobilize their volunteers more effectively—and we always need more help!

We Need You

We need Guest Chef Volunteers now more than ever because of the impact that rising food costs has had on our organization. We lost 50% of our Volunteer base after the pandemic, and we are still recovering. We currently get an average of 50-60% of our meals covered by volunteers, and we are so grateful. If we could increase coverage, we could dedicate even more funds to our life-saving programs.

If you are interested in signing up, please be sure to review our safety protocols for on-site volunteering and visit our Sign Up Genius.

Please consider getting a group together and committing to a monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly schedule! For example, you can commit to providing lunch on the 1st Friday of every month, or commit to dinner on the 1st Monday of every other month. To schedule recurring dates and times, please email volunteer@ascenciaca.org.

Sign Up to be a Guest Chef

Volunteer Projects

Give back to your community by donating your time to Ascencia! We have many volunteer opportunities which all lend a hand towards our hard-working staff and help Ascencia lift more people out of homelessness.

We do have opportunities available to youth ages 14-18 who wish to volunteer on-site, but please fill out the Minor Release Form and send to volunteer@ascenciaca.org before you sign up.

Email volunteer@ascenciaca.org for more information on the variety of opportunities listed below.

Click to Fill Out Our Volunteer Application!

Hygiene Kit Project

Purchase and assemble hygiene kits for our Outreach Case Managers to hand out while out in the field! You can host a donation drive to collect items, or purchase travel sized hygiene materials. Assemble them into Ziploc bags at home and schedule a drop-off!

Snack Bag Assembly

Purchase and assemble snack bags for our Outreach Case Managers to hand out while out in the field! Collect non-perishable snacks and drinks like protein bars, chips, water, sports drinks, etc., pack them into Ziploc bags, and donate them to Ascencia! Snack bags go quick, so the more the merrier.

Brown Bag Lunch Program

We are asking for volunteers to make brown bag lunches for clients in the shelter to supplement meals not covered by guest chef, or for street outreach to pass out to individuals on the streets. Lunches can include PB&J sandwiches, fruit, chips, protein bars, water, etc.

Administrative/Organizational Support

Support Ascencia by providing administrative or organizational support. Work in our admin office to complete tasks such as data entry, filing, writing thank you cards, organizing the donation closet and food pantry, and more.

Maintenance, Cleaning, and Handiwork

We are always looking for folks to help with light maintenance, cleaning, or handiwork at our access center or at the homes of our housed clients. Let us know you are willing and able to help with this, and we will reach out when the need arises.

Birthday Fundraiser

Host an online fundraiser for your birthday! Facebook and Instagram fundraisers are very easy to set up and 100% of funds raised go towards our programs and services.

Social Media Ambassador

Like, comment, share, and subscribe to increase our engagement and grow our community!

Volunteer Projects

Host a Donation Drive

Grab your friends, classmates or co-workers and host a donation drive! Collect highly-requested items for the people we serve.

Clothing and Undergarment Drive

Often when new clients arrive to our Access Center, the only clothes they own are what they are wearing. We’d love to welcome our clients with a fresh new set of clothes to wear while they wash their clothes and to make them feel more comfortable. Currently, we have high need for underwear. New items only please.

Hygiene Kits and Snack Bags

An integral part of Ascencia’s mission is our Street Outreach! While our Outreach Case Managers are out helping our unhoused neighbors, we provide them with hygiene kits and snack packs to pass out. Help us by doing a drive with your community to gather some essentials for our clients, or purchase and donate the items. You can donate the items on their own, or assemble them into kits to donate. New, toiletry-sized hygiene items, and non-perishable, unopened snacks only please.

Welcome Home Drive

Welcome our clients as they move into their new homes by providing them with a home starter kit.

Supplies for home starter kits can include plates, utensils, cups (dining); toilet paper, bathroom cleaning supplies, soap, shampoo, conditioner, towels (bathroom); laundry detergent, laundry basket, fabric softener (laundry); pots and pans, dishwashing soap, sponges, cooking utensils (kitchen).

Food Pantry Drive

Donate dry goods, canned food, and breakfast items for our food pantry in our Access Center. This food helps to supplement meals in our emergency shelter and help our housed clients with immediate needs. Items must be unexpired and unopened.

Blanket Drive

No matter the weather, blankets are an essential item to give to our clients and for our Outreach Team to pass out to individuals living on the street. You can collect new bed sheets, comforters, throws, quilts, etc. Some volunteers even buy fabric and make their own tie blankets!

Corporate Partnerships

Volunteerism within a business or organization brings colleagues together. Research even shows that when employees come together to help others, they help themselves by developing strong work relationships.

We have worked with many different organizations in the Glendale area, from Disney to local restaurants. Corporate projects have included Holiday Adopt-a-Family, Takeda Cares Week, XOS Community Action Program, Caruso Cares Service Days, and more.

We have team-building opportunities, including: Assembling hygiene kits and snack packs, collecting food pantry supplies, donating clothing or shelter supplies, and various Wintertime/Holiday opportunities!

If your company is interested in participating in group volunteer sessions or having a staff member come to your organization to speak about Ascencia, please contact volunteer@ascenciaca.org.

Nonprofit Partnerships

Ascencia works with amazing nonprofit partners that help us grow in many ways. Our partners contribute volunteers, in kind support and more to help build stronger communities. Click here to see a list of our current partners.

If you are interested in collaborating with Ascencia please contact volunteer@ascenciaca.org or call (818) 246-7900 Ext 113.

 

Seasonal and One-Time Volunteer Opportunities

Check out our list of seasonal volunteer opportunities. Check back here frequently as this list is updated as needs arise.

If you’d like to volunteer with us or have any other ideas for how you can dedicate your time to supporting our mission, let us know! Just email volunteer@ascenciaca.org.

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Event Support

Ascencia hosts multiple events throughout the year and can always use volunteer assistance with registration, set-up, and break-down. If you are interested in supporting us with an event, please fill out the volunteer form and include “Events” in your interests. You can also sign up for our Volunteering Email List below and staff will send emails about volunteer opportunities at Ascencia’s upcoming events.

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Adopt-A-Family

Make the Holidays Brighter for a Family in Need

Sign up to bring some holiday cheer to our clients this season. Client names are kept anonymous, but you can see how many individuals (adults and children) are in each household as well as a short story about them. Once you sign up, you will receive the wish list for each household and instructions so you can get started with your shopping right away! (Our 2024 Program has ended. Check back in Fall of 2025!)

More General Volunteer Info

If you are interested in volunteering with Ascencia please contact volunteer@ascenciaca.org or fill out our application on Google Forms. You can also join our General Volunteering email list. Thank you!