by John Sorce
john.sorce@theleaven.org
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas is looking for volunteers.
And whether you like to answer phones, sort clothes, load trucks or drive them, have they got a gig for you!
The need is primarily in their Family Support Centers, as well as with their Hy-Vee food drives.
“At our agency, we believe in helping our volunteers be the hands and feet of Jesus, providing opportunities for everybody to join us in our work and encounter Christ in those that are coming to us,” said Camille Pickhinke, director of community engagement for Catholic Charities.
“Our volunteers are a major part of our work force model,” she added, “and that is why we are seeking more volunteers to join us in our work.”
Family Support Center volunteers help with daily operations, such as keeping the pantry clean and the shelves well-stocked. Volunteers also walk guests through the pantry, ensuring that they select the designated amount of food or to help them make healthy choices.
Catholic Charities has Family Support Centers located in Atchison, Leavenworth, Lawrence, Overland Park, Olathe and Wyandotte County. Their main location is within the Hope Distribution Center in Wyandotte County, located at 600 Minnesota Ave.
Food pantries are open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Front desk volunteers will be tasked with answering phone calls, data entry and assisting with check-in. Training will be provided.
Some Family Support Centers also have clothing closets where volunteers help sort donations, organize the closet and assist guests as they get the clothing they need.
The Hy-Vee Food Drive empowers shoppers to actively help address food insecurity within the community. Volunteers help distribute donation slips to customers and collect donations.
Store captains will be responsible for driving a transit van to and from the Overland Park Family Support Center located at 9720 W. 87th St. and their respective Hy-Vee location.
Other responsibilities include table setup, loading donations into the transit van at the end of the day and working with other volunteers to collect donations and hand out flyers.
Volunteers must have a clean driving record as they will be driving an agency vehicle.
Catholic Charities is specifically in need of a store captain at the 7620 State Line Road location in Prairie Village. Pickhinke said it is a monthly commitment and can be shared as a group (for example, if a Knights of Columbus council wanted to adopt the store).
Core volunteers help Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas keep funds within programming by performing tasks that would normally be completed by a paid staff member.
And Catholic Charities has a variety of volunteer opportunities for those who can make an intentional weekly, biweekly or monthly commitment.
The process to get started as a core volunteer includes submitting an application, passing a background check and completing or transferring current Virtus training.
A volunteer application can be found online at: catholiccharitiesks.org/volunteer/core-volunteering.
In the fiscal year of 2024-25, 8,624 volunteers helped carry out the mission of Catholic Charities, generously donating 147,000 hours.
“It’s really about being a friendly face and an extension of our mission, which is to provide help, hope and hospitality,” Pickhinke said.
People can also reach the volunteer engagement team via email at: ccnekvolunteers@catholiccharitiesks.org or by calling their main line at (913) 433-2100 and asking for the volunteer engagement team.
More information can be found online at: https://catholiccharitiesks.org/volunteer.
