Needs From: United Way of the National Capital Area

Volunteers will engage with students in a series of short, focused conversations designed to help strengthen their interpersonal and professional communication skills. Each conversation will last 3–5 minutes, with groups rotating so students can connect with multiple professionals over the course of the session.

Education is essential to unlocking a student’s potential and achieving financial success. However, for many families in DC and surrounding areas, the cost of buying school supplies can be a significant burden, especially with the economic impact. United Way NCA’s Stuff the Bus campaign aims to provide backpacks filled with grade-appropriate school supplies to students who need them most. This year, we will be packing to support students at our community schools. 

Our Warehouse Wizards are the first in a series of inventory and quality managers who are responsible for ensuring we have all of the supplies we need for a successful event. Individuals who serve in this role will support the break down of pallets worth of backpack supplies, so should be comfortable lifting boxes of up to 50 pounds, either unassisted or with another volunteer. During this shift, we will move all of our supplies from the storage area in the print shop to the event space at United Way Worldwide then do a thorough inventory of all supplies. 

This is a great opportunity to be part of the initiative in a role that is vital to providing support and resources to our community school partners. 

Shift Details

This volunteer opportunity will occur at United Way Worldwide's headquarters in Alexandria, VA. Limited parking is available in their surface lot as well as on the street and there is a bus stop right out front. If possible, we highly recommend carpooling or utilizing public transportation. When you arrive, you will be asked to sign-in at their reception area. We will begin promptly at 10 am with an orientation to the tasks and goals for the volunteer shift. 

Please wear closed-toe shoes and comfortable clothes appropriate for a warehouse-type environment. We will be sorting and moving boxes, so you may get dirty and dusty. We recommend bringing water or refreshments as needed. There are bottle refill stations available to refill your water bottle. 

Education is essential to unlocking a student’s potential and achieving financial success. However, for many families in DC and surrounding areas, the cost of buying school supplies can be a significant burden, especially with the economic impact. United Way NCA’s Stuff the Bus campaign aims to provide backpacks filled with grade-appropriate school supplies to students who need them most. This year, we will be packing over 400 backpacks to support students at our community schools. 

Materials Masters are the key to ensuring a smooth and efficient kit pack - after all, packing supplies in less than two hours is no easy feat! This volunteer role is perfect for those who love opening packages, sorting and packing. Our goal in this volunteer shift is to get all of the supplies ready and kit pack on Wednesday. 

For this role, volunteers should be comfortable carrying boxes up to 50 pounds alone or in a team-lift. You will be a vital step in the event preparation, playing a necessary role in ensuring we can get the backpacks packed and distributed efficiently. 

Shift Details

This volunteer opportunity will occur at United Way Worldwide's headquarters in Alexandria, VA. Limited parking is available in their surface lot as well as on the street and there is a bus stop right out front. If possible, we highly recommend carpooling or utilizing public transportation. When you arrive, you may be asked to sign-in at their reception area. We will begin the activity once everyone has checked-in for the opportunity. Save time and check-in to record your time via the Causer app.  

Please wear closed-toe shoes and comfortable clothes appropriate for a warehouse-type environment. We will be sorting and moving boxes, so you may get dirty and dusty. We will have scissors, box cutters, and other supplies necessary for sorting and unboxing. We recommend bringing water or refreshments as needed. There are bottle refill stations available to refill your water bottle. 

Education is essential to unlocking a student’s potential and achieving financial success. However, for many families in DC and surrounding areas, the cost of buying school supplies can be a significant burden. United Way NCA’s Stuff the Bus campaign aims to provide backpacks filled with grade-appropriate school supplies to students who need them most. 

Our Backpack Dispersal Squad has one of the greatest roles of the event, not only do you help us put the Mary Gates Learning Center back together again, but you also get to be the one to meet our Community School Coordinators as they come to pick-up the completed backpacks allocated to their schools. This role involves some heavy lifting and loading, so volunteers should be comfortable lifting and walking with up to 30 pounds unassisted. It's a great way to make a difference and get your day's workout in at the same time. 

Shift Details

This volunteer opportunity will occur at United Way Worldwide's headquarters in Alexandria, VA. Limited parking is available in their surface lot as well as on the street and there is a bus stop right out front. If possible, we highly recommend carpooling or utilizing public transportation. When you arrive, you may be asked to sign-in at their reception area.

Please wear closed-toe shoes and comfortable clothes appropriate for the event. Volunteers in this role will generally be standing for the entire shift and should be comfortable bending and lifting up to 30 pounds unassisted. We recommend bringing water or refreshments as needed. There are bottle refill stations available to refill your water bottle.  If you require accommodations, please reach out to volunteer@uwnca.org prior to the event. 

Network Up is a short-term mentoring program offered by Britepaths and the Financial Empowerment Center at South County that matches under- or unemployed men or women with a volunteer mentor. Mentors and mentees meet virtually two to five times for a conversation focused on helping the mentee create or expand his/her professional network; and establish a career strategy and job search plan. We especially need mentors who work or have worked in the fields of technology/IT, nonprofits, and accounting, but we welcome professionals in all fields in Northern Virginia/DMV. This has traditionally been an in-person activity, but mentors and mentees are meeting via phone and zoom or other virtual platforms while Covid-19 protocols are in place.

Mentors provide a wealth of experience, knowledge, and networking connections to help mentees land - and succeed in - the right job for them!

Are You Eligible to be a Mentor? You Must Be:

Contact Muhanad Alobaidi at malobaidi@britepaths.org

Britepaths is seeking volunteers who are experienced with Federal and/or non-federal resume writing and would be willing to work with our clients to provide edits, reviews, and feedback for their resumes, as well as with cover letter writing assistance. Volunteers should have strong writing skills and attention to detail and be knowledgeable about resume formatting and styling, use of keywords, bullets, and language so that clients' strengths will be highlighted. Clients receiving either support are enrolled in a Workforce Development Program and are committed to working with our staff and volunteers to improve their career outlook through gaining resume skills and improving their employment prospects. Volunteers' time is flexible, and help may be given via phone calls and/or Zoom meetings.  This would be a flexible, ongoing, as-needed volunteer position with Britepaths.

Contact: Muhanad Alobaidi at malobaidi@britepaths.org

Britepaths is seeking volunteers to work with our Workforce Development clients in two capacities. The first opportunity is working with clients to create and/or edit LinkedIn profiles. Volunteers need to have strong writing skills and be LinkedIn users. The second opportunity is working with clients on mock interviews. Volunteers should have experience hiring candidates for jobs, strong interpersonal skills, and are willing to meet virtually with clients to provide immediate feedback and tips for connecting with interviewers. Clients receiving either support are enrolled in a Workforce Development Program and are committed to working with our staff and volunteers to improve their career outlook through gaining interview skills and developing LinkedIn profiles. We welcome professionals in all fields. Volunteers' time is flexible, and meetings occur on video-chat platforms. This would be a flexible, ongoing, as-needed volunteer position with Britepaths.

Contact: Muhanad Alobaidi at malobaidi@britepaths.org 

Sometimes a small act of receiving a thoughtful note could make someone's day. Each card could take up to 20 minutes to create.

This “virtual” volunteer event provides YOU the ability to inspire and support those in our community most in need of a positive message. All creative skills are welcome! Volunteers will use their creativity to bring encouragement to our ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) individuals and families. These notecards will be added to our essential needs kits to provide a positive and personal message to the recipient.

Steps to complete notecards:

For any questions, reach out to us at volunteer@uwnca.org.

At this time, we are unable to verify service learning hours for notecards of encouragement. 

United Way of the National Capital Area works to improve the health, education and economic opportunity of every person in the National Capital community.  WHEN NONE ARE IGNORED, ALL WILL THRIVE.

United Way NCA’s essential need kits are vital to supporting our communities, building resiliency, and preparing individuals for success. Our healthy snack kits are thoughtfully created to provide students with nutritious, easily-prepared snack items for children and their families.

Collect or purchase the following items to assemble healthy snack kits that United Way NCA will distribute to our partners, including community schools, after-school programs, and shelters. Whether you purchase the items from the store or set up a collection drive amongst your friends, colleagues, or family, every kit you contribute will impact a student and their family, providing some essential need items that can help them build resiliency. 

Our healthy snack kits contain each of the following snack items (quantity). United Way NCA has created an Amazon shopping list to aid in your ordering process and are optional for you to use to order your supplies. Should you choose to use a vendor other than Amazon, please ensure the following items and quantities are in each kit. Completed kits should be placed into large, clear trash bags in sets of no more than 10.

Healthy Snack Kit Items

Download full instructions here. 

Let us know you're packing kits by responding to this opportunity! In the notes section, let us know about how many kits you plan to pack and when you plan to pack them. A team member will reach out to you soon after you respond to confirm this information and schedule your kit drop-off date. 

Once your kits are dropped off, let us know how many hours this project took you by tracking your hours. We estimate that procuring the supplies and packing 20 kits would take around 2 hours. 

Questions? Email volunteer@uwnca.org. 

United Way of the National Capital Area works to improve the health, education and economic opportunity of every person in the National Capital community.  WHEN NONE ARE IGNORED, ALL WILL THRIVE.

United Way NCA’s essential need kits are vital to supporting our communities, building resiliency, and preparing individuals for success. Our general hygiene kits are thoughtfully created to provide individuals with necessary personal care items that will support up to one month of regular hygiene. 

Collect or purchase the following items to assemble hygiene kits that United Way NCA will distribute to our partners, including shelters, community schools, and health-based organizations. Whether you purchase the items from the store or set up a collection drive amongst your friends, colleagues, or family, every kit you contribute will impact an individual and their family, providing some essential need items that can help them build resiliency. 

Our hygiene kits contain one of each of the following products. United Way NCA has created an Amazon shopping list to aid in your ordering process and are optional for you to use to order your supplies. Should you choose to use a vendor other than Amazon, please ensure the following items and quantities are in each kit. Completed kits should be placed into large, clear trash bags in sets of no more than 10.

Hygiene Kit Items

Download full instructions here. 

Let us know you're packing kits by responding to this opportunity! In the notes section, let us know about how many kits you plan to pack and when you plan to pack them. A team member will reach out to you soon after you respond to confirm this information and schedule your kit drop-off date. 

Once your kits are dropped off, let us know how many hours this project took you by tracking your hours. We estimate that procuring the supplies and packing 24 kits would take around 2 hours. 

Questions? Email volunteer@uwnca.org. 

United Way of the National Capital Area is dedicated to improving the lives of every person in our community by removing barriers to better health, education, and economic opportunity.

Use your passion for graphic design to make a difference and join our volunteer team as a Graphic Designer! Become an integral part of our organization by producing enriching and engaging content on a variety of topics to increase awareness of our mission and the ALICE population (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) we serve.   

If you have a passion for visually capturing the mission of the organization and graphically translating that into action – then this is the volunteer role for you! You will work directly with our Senior Director of Marketing and Communications to create a variety of content based on organizational needs and translate data into compelling visuals. Projects could vary in size and scope from the creation of flyers and event materials to more detailed infographics. Volunteers in this role will serve an average 2-6 hours per month and projects are assigned depending on your individual capacity.

Volunteers serving in this role should:

We will ask for you to submit a brief resume and graphic design samples as part of your application.

Questions? Email volunteer@uwnca.org

Note: all content created through this volunteer role will remain property of and be published under the United Way NCA brand name.

United Way of the National Capital Area is dedicated to improving the lives of every person in our community by removing barriers to better health, education, and economic opportunity.

Use your passion for writing to make a difference and join our volunteer team as a Community Photographer! Become an integral part of our organization by producing enriching and engaging photography content on a variety of topics that inspires social change and tells the story of United Way NCA, the work we do, and the ALICE population (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) we serve.   

If you are excited about exploring new parts of the National Capital Area and love telling a compelling story through photos, then this role is for you! You will work directly with our Senior Director of Marketing and Communication to pro-actively identify appropriate opportunities to capture images that tell our story all with the goal of building out an extensive content library to support our marketing efforts.

Volunteers in this role should:

We will ask for you to submit photo samples and/or a link to your online portfolio as part of your application. 

Questions? Email volunteer@uwnca.org

The Fine Print

All photos provided to United Way NCA through this volunteer service opportunity will be considered as the intellectual property of United Way NCA for use as necessary for our marketing, social media, and communications campaigns. United Way NCA will provide the photographer volunteer with the appropriate photo release waivers to be signed by any and all subjects of your photography.

United Way of the National Capital Area is dedicated to improving the lives of every person in our community by removing barriers to better health, education, and economic opportunity.

Use your passion for writing to make a difference and join our volunteer team as a Community Videographer! Become an integral part of our organization by producing enriching and engaging video content on a variety of topics that inspires social change and tells the story of United Way NCA, the work we do, and the ALICE population (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) we serve.   

If you are excited about exploring new parts of the National Capital Area and love telling a compelling story through video, then this role is for you! You will work directly with our Senior Director of Marketing and Communication to pro-actively identify appropriate opportunities to capture b-roll videography that tell our story all with the goal of building out an extensive content library to support our marketing efforts.

Volunteers in this role should:

We will ask for you to submit video samples and/or a link to your online portfolio as part of your application. 

Questions? Email volunteer@uwnca.org

The Fine Print

All videos provided to United Way NCA through this volunteer service opportunity will be considered as the intellectual property of United Way NCA for use as necessary for our marketing, social media, and communications campaigns. United Way NCA will provide the videographer volunteer with the appropriate photo release waivers to be signed by any and all subjects of your videos.

United Way of the National Capital Area works to improve the health, education and economic opportunity of every person in the National Capital community.  WHEN NONE ARE IGNORED, ALL WILL THRIVE.

United Way NCA’s essential need kits are vital to supporting our communities, building resiliency, and preparing individuals for success. Our cold weather kits are thoughtfully created to provide adults and children with vital gear and products necessary for staying warm in DMV winter.

Collect or purchase the following items to assemble financial education kits that United Way NCA will distribute to our economic opportunity partners. Whether you purchase the items from the store or set up a collection drive amongst your friends, colleagues, or family, every kit you contribute will impact an individual and their family, providing some essential need items that can help them build resiliency. 

Our cold weather kits contain each of the following items. United Way NCA has created an optional Amazon shopping list to aid in your ordering process. Should you choose to use a vendor other than Amazon, please ensure the following items and quantities are in each kit. Completed kits should be placed into large, clear trash bags in sets of 5.

Cold Weather Kit Items

Download full instructions here. 

Let us know you're packing kits by responding to this opportunity! In the notes section, let us know about how many kits you plan to pack and when you plan to pack them. A team member will reach out to you soon after you respond to confirm this information and schedule your kit drop-off date. 

Once your kits are dropped off, let us know how many hours this project took you by tracking your hours. We estimate that procuring the supplies and packing 20 kits would take one individual around 2 hours. 

Questions? Email volunteer@uwnca.org. 

United Way of the National Capital Area is dedicated to improving the lives of every person in our community by removing barriers to better health, education, and economic opportunity.

Use your passion for writing to make a difference and join our volunteer team as a Content Writer! Become an integral part of our organization by producing enriching and engaging content on a variety of topics to increase awareness of our mission and the ALICE population (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) we serve.    

Volunteer Content Writer Details and Requirements

Volunteers interested in this role should be passionate about furthering the United Way NCA mission through content creation on a variety of curated topics including health, education, economic opportunity, equity and more. Draft materials include (but are not limited to):

With support of the Senior Director of Marketing and Communications, you will research, draft, and finalize written content that connects important global, national, and local issues with the United Way NCA mission.

Volunteers interested in supporting this role should expect to serve a minimum of 2-6 hours per month researching and writing 1-2 blog posts that will be published on the United Way NCA website.

Volunteers should also have the following minimum experience and skills:

Click on the blue respond button to get started!

We will ask for you to submit a brief resume and writing sample as part of your application. View samples of our blog posts on our website. 

Questions? Email volunteer@uwnca.org.

Note: all content written through this volunteer role will remain property of and be published under the United Way NCA brand name.

United Way of the National Capital Area works to improve the health, education and economic opportunity of every person in the National Capital community.  WHEN NONE ARE IGNORED, ALL WILL THRIVE.

United Way NCA’s essential need kits are vital to supporting our communities, building resiliency, and preparing individuals for success. Our menstrual equity kits are thoughtfully created to provide enough, quality supplies to support an individual through an average one-month menstrual cycle. 

Collect or purchase the following items to assemble menstrual equity kits that United Way NCA will distribute to our partners, including shelters, community schools, and health-based organizations. Whether you purchase the items from the store or set up a collection drive amongst your friends, colleagues, or family, every kit you contribute will impact an individual and their family, providing some essential need items that can help them build resiliency. 

Our menstrual equity kits contain each of the following products and quantities. United Way NCA has created an Amazon shopping list to aid in your ordering process and are optional for you to use to order your supplies. Should you choose to use a vendor other than Amazon, please ensure the following items and quantities are in each kit. Completed kits should be placed into large, clear trash bags in sets of no more than 10.

Menstrual Equity Kit Items

Download full instructions here. 

Let us know you're packing kits by responding to this opportunity! In the notes section, let us know about how many kits you plan to pack and when you plan to pack them. A team member will reach out to you soon after you respond to confirm this information and schedule your kit drop-off date. 

Once your kits are dropped off, let us know how many hours this project took you by tracking your hours. We estimate that procuring the supplies and packing 24 kits would take around 2 hours. 

Questions? Email volunteer@uwnca.org. 

Volunteers are vital in supporting our fundraising initiatives across the DMV! Join us in assisting with event planning, note card writing, soliciting prizes and much more. Can be virtual or at our location.