Roll Up Your Sleeves And Create Positive Change
No Effort’s Too Small
SOME welcomes both adult and youth volunteers who are willing to commit time in support of our mission. Opportunities include youth initiatives, holiday events, family and meal services, and more. No level of commitment is too small and all are encouraged to take a more active role in our organization. While our dining room is currently under construction, we still have a variety of volunteer opportunities.
Volunteer Roles
Volunteers play an essential role in SOME’s work. If you are interested in volunteering, sign up via SOME’s Volunteer Portal where you will find a robust list of volunteer opportunities. If you have questions or would like to set up a group volunteer opportunity, contact our Volunteer Services Team at volunteer@some.org.
Addiction Recovery
Advocacy
Center for Employment Training
Development and Communications
Emergency Services
Mental Health
Professional Services
Senior Services (day program and residential program)
Single Adult and Family Housing
“The least I can give to someone is working through problems with them.”
Most Thursdays, you can find Daniel Collopy set up outside of 71 O St. NW in DC at a table with a pen and a notebook. Across from him sits one of the many SOME clients he works with to offer legal advice. Daniel explains the court and justice system to SOME’s clients and gives an opinion on whether they have cases to take to court.
Daniel was introduced to SOME through Catholic Charities.
“I didn’t work directly for SOME, but I worked for Catholic Charities leading that work, and part of their outreach program was going to the SOME day program for a couple of hours each day. In my time helping at SOME, I have helped over 100 people so far. It’s incredibly hard for people with less resources to make an appointment with a lawyer, make a court appearance, and then make the scheduled court date. I’m lucky to be able to give short -term legal advice, but mainly I just talk to people and give them my time and resources.”
Daniel has had an incredible impact on SOME clients. Thank you, Daniel, for your outstanding service to our clients.
Frequently Asked Questions
Prior to participating in any volunteer activity, please read our Code of Conduct Form.
Registering to Volunteer
Yes, we’re unable to accommodate walk-in volunteers. Please sign up at www.some.volunteerportal.org.
Yes, youth aged 13 and older are permitted to volunteer.
Yes, please contact volunteer@some.org to learn more.
When you create a volunteer account on the volunteer portal, you’ll be able to indicate your skills and interests on your profile under the member information and Skills/Experience section. If you already have an account, log in and click “Update Your Skills” or go to My Profile.
Group Reservations
Visit SOME’s Volunteer Portal to create an account for yourself, if you don’t have one already. There’s no need to create a separate account for your group. Next, log in and sign up for any event with space available. Before you’re finished, you’ll be prompted to choose your group size. If you can’t choose a size large enough to accommodate everyone in your group, please search for a different day. Please keep in mind our dining room is currently undergoing renovations and is temporarily closed.
Once you complete sign-up, within 48 hours, you’ll receive both confirmation email and a custom group sign-up link with a deadline. Every individual in your group then must add themselves to your reservation using the link by the deadline.
To serve a weekday meal, we welcome groups of up to 12 people. To serve a weekend meal, we request groups of up to 10 people. For most material donations shifts, groups of five to eight are welcome, with some exceptions. Please keep in mind our dining room is currently undergoing renovations and is temporarily closed.
Occasionally we’re able to accommodate groups larger than 15 to help serve in our dining room or assist with other, special projects that require many hands.
Unless instructed otherwise by a SOME coordinator, all group members need to add themselves to the event roster under your group’s reservation via the custom link provided at the time of reservation.
Volunteering in SOME’s Dining Room
While most meals in our main dining room already are sponsored and/or provided by our current Provide-a-Meal groups, there are a handful of meals that are still available to be sponsored/provided each month. Provide-a-Meal groups may donate the cost of the meal, purchase and donate the food for us to prepare, or donate, prepare, and serve the meal onsite. The cost of one meal ranges from $600 to $800 and should include about 350 to 500 servings.
Volunteers are welcome to provide or sponsor meals provided for other SOME programs, either one time or on a regular basis.
Baked goods, granola, snack bars, chips, fruit, meat-and-cheese sandwiches, and peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches are all welcome additions to our daily meal. Please prepare approximately 300 servings of any of these “treats.” We place no restrictions on allergens, but ask that you wear gloves while handling any food. Servings may be wrapped individually, assembled into snack bags, or collected into large batches prior to donation. Donations are welcome between 8:00 am and 3:00 pm daily at 61 O St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001.
Youth under 13 years old may help make our dining room more festive by decorating our bulletin board (45 x 96”) onsite or by supplying pre-made decorations. Email volunteer@some.org to learn more. Please keep in mind our dining room is currently undergoing renovations and is temporarily closed.
Children also may coordinate a non-perishable food drive to collect donations for our pantry or a clothing drive to collect donations for our Clothing Room. Please click here for information on needed items.
Youth between the ages of 13-16 years old must be accompanied by a chaperone who must also sign-up for the same volunteer shift.
General Volunteer Questions
Please wear comfortable, durable, and non-revealing clothing, including close-toed shoes with no significant heel, and minimal jewelry. Read our Dress Code.
SOME serves breakfast and lunch every day, year-round, regardless of inclement weather or canceled school/work. As with any volunteer opportunity at SOME, volunteers may choose not to serve on days of inclement weather or if work/school is canceled.
If you provided prior notice, your absence will be “excused.” If you did not provide prior notice, your absence will be considered a “no-call, no-show.” In some cases, such as emergencies, illnesses, etc., notice of a missed shift given after the shift begins will be acceptable notice for an “excused” absence.
If you miss three or more shifts within a 30-day period, or you exhibit a pattern of excessive no-call, no shows, your account will be locked (you will not be able to log in) and you’ll be removed from all future events for which you’ve registered.
Yes, but only in spaces where there are absolutely no guests or clients present, especially the dining room.
The SOME Dining Room and Material Donations Department is a 10-minute walk from the NoMa/Gallaudet/New York Avenue stop on the Metro Red Line and a 20-minute walk from the Mt. Vernon Square/7th Street/Convention Center stop on the Metro Green/Yellow Lines.
The building also is within walking distance of stops on the following bus lines: 80, P6, 90, 92, X3, 96, D51, G2.
There are 10 parking spaces available on a first-come, first-served basis to volunteers in the SOME parking lot, which is adjacent to the dining room. Street parking is free for two hours (unlimited for Zone 5 permit holders) in most of the neighborhood between 7:00 am and 8:30 pm, Monday through Friday, and not on holidays. Street cleaning on one side of the street occurs on Wednesday and Thursday, from 9:30 – 11:30 am, in March through October, excluding holidays.
Volunteers are required to sign a waiver to volunteer at all SOME properties. An additional form may be required based on the volunteer site (Ie: family services).
Yes! We have a team of ambassadors who will represent SOME and provide information about our various volunteer opportunities at your next event. Please email volunteer@some.org to request a speaker.
Holiday-specific opportunities are posted in October to our Donate Goods page.
Volunteers with court-ordered community service hours may serve in the dining room or material donations department if they aren’t serving due to infractions related to at-risk populations, violence, or drug or alcohol use/abuse. SOME will provide documentation of court-ordered service.
Any current SOME client — or person who’s been a client within six months — who receives any service other than emergency services IS NOT eligible to volunteer in any department. If an individual is receiving emergency services or has received those services within 30 days, they may be able to volunteer in emergency services per approval by our director of volunteer services.
Yes! Inclusion and employment readiness groups should reach out to our volunteer coordinator at volunteer@some.org to schedule regular service to help ensure a meaningful and reliable volunteer experience.
Log in to your Volunteer Portal account. You will see a box titled “ My Calendar”. This will show all shifts you have signed up for. Select the shift you would like to cancel and click “cancel reservation”.
Log in to your Volunteer Portal account. You will see a box titled “My Calendar” on your home page.
SOME's Volunteer Portal
Yes. All SOME volunteers need to create an account on SOME’s Volunteer Portal. There is no cost to register and you need to create an account only once.
If you do not have an account, you can select “volunteer opportunities on the log in screen to view all the available opportunities across SOME. If you wish to register for an opportunity, select the shift. You will then be prompted to create an account to officially sign up for the opportunity.
If you have an account, click the “opportunities” tab at the top of the page and select “view all”. This will show all available opportunities. You may view groups of opportunities (e.g., clothing room) using the drop-down menu under the opportunities tab. If you wish to register, click the specific shift and select “register” at the bottom of the screen. You’ll know you have successfully registered for an opportunity when you receive a confirmation email.
First, try to reset the password by clicking “Forgot password?” If that doesn’t work, email volunteer@some.org for assistance.