YSS

Strengthening Families Weekend | June 2025 | Ember Recovery Campus, Cambridge

Volunteers help in a variety of ways from food prep, supervising children's group, and clean-up. The Strengthening Families Weekend gives families tools to support their child on the journey of sobriety for clients of the YSS Ember Recovery program.

Impact volunteers have a genuine interest working with youth, are patient and positive, engage in activities, and help youth develop positive peer and adult relationships by being a positive role model.

Shifts: MTR: 3:30pm-5:00pm | W: 1:30pm-5:00pm
Locations: Collins-Maxwell School and Colo-Nesco School

Impact Teen Club is a youth-driven program that promotes leadership opportunities, youth voice & choice, skill building activities, reflection, and relationships for 6th-8th graders in Collins-Maxwell and Colo-Nesco schools. A typical day starts after school with homework and snack, group game, and TOP lesson or Community Service Learning project. 

Kids Club Volunteer

Kids Club volunteers are passionate about caring for children grades K-6^th. Volunteers spend time with children in an after-school setting, assisting with recreational activities, helping with homework, and other activities planned by the Kids Club staff (arts and crafts, board games, etc.) Volunteers are encouraged to share their talents and expertise.

Skills

• Passionate about children
• Enjoy playing games and leading activities
• Excellent communication skills to children

Details and Hours

• School year schedule (September – May)
  • Monday – Friday
  • Shifts are flexible (3:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.)
  • Possible Wednesday early out schedule (1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.)
  • Minimum commitment of 1 shift/week for 6 weeks
• Summer schedule (June – August)
  • Monday – Friday
  • Shifts are flexible (8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.)
  • Minimum commitment of 1 shift/week for 6 weeks

Location

Boone County Schools: Boone, Madrid, Ogden, and United
Story County Schools: Ballard, Gilbert (K-2^nd & 3^rd-6^th), and Story City

Volunteers at our donation center help organize apparel and shoes donations we receive. Put away new donations and rotate the old ones per season, helping us keep the space organized and better for our youth to access. 

Volunteer size: 1-10 volunteers
Volunteer hours: 2-4 hours (depending on need), mornings or afternoons

Work alongside our Meal Program Manager to prepare and serve meals at our Youth Opportunity Center - 612 Locust in Des Moines. Meals are served at 12:00PM for lunch and 5:00PM for dinner. 

Volunteer hours (flexible): 10:30AM - 12:30 PM or 3:30PM - 5:30PM Monday - Friday
Volunteer group size: 1-4 volunteers

Be a professional role model working 1:1 with young adults in our programs at Iowa Homeless Youth Centers, a YSS organization in downtown Des Moines. 

These volunteers will go on a list and as a few of our larger events are being planned & held. You will be contacted to see if you're available to help.  

This is an event held on a Saturday in July that requires different shifts of volunteers to assist with set-up at the store front (could be: WalMart/Fareway/Target/HyVee/Sam's Club), and then approaching customers as they enter the store and telling them we're with YSS and collecting much needed supply items for our many programs and would they help by purchasing something off our list- (a list is handed to them with the specific items)-and drop it off with us on their way out. Volunteers need to help with collecting the items, loading the items in vans, and bringing all the donations to the YSS Jacobson Building and unloading everything there. 

There are also hours available after the event to help sort and inventory all the supplies. 

Maybe you have an expertise in an area, maybe you have years of sobriety and want to help mentor youth get what you have, or you just want to help out our staff in keeping our new campus beautiful! Whatever it is, you have a genuine interest in helping mentor and coach our youth struggling with addiction! 

General application process to start an internship with the Ember Shelter/Crisis Management Program. Must complete additional paperwork process once background check has cleared. Schedule will be developed within the hiring process.