Volunteering with Low Entropy Foundation

Thrift & Fund Store Supporter

We are looking for enthusiastic and friendly volunteers to support us in person to operate our thrift store. You will perform a wide range of duties from customer service to sorting donations and organizing the store. 

Weekly Commitment: We ask volunteers to commit to a minimum of one 4-hour shift per week.

Position Commitment: We ask volunteers to commit to volunteering for a minimum of 6 months or 100 volunteer hours.

Location: Burquitlam Plaza #408 - 552 Clarke Road Coquitlam

SHIFTS AVAILABLE:

• Mondays 4:30-8:30pm
• Tuesdays 4:30-8:30pm
• Wednesdays 9:00am-1:00pm
• Wednesdays 12:30-4:30pm
• Wednesdays 4:30-8:30pm
• Thursdays 4:30-8:30pm
• Fridays 4:30-8:30pm

Responsibilities:

• Providing customer service
• Greeting customers when they arrive and support them
• Process payments via cash or our square terminal
• Receiving and sorting donations
• Checking merchandise for quality and condition
• Organizing, merchandising, and hanging clothing
• Taking pictures and pricing clothes and items 
• Support us with the promotion of the store and encourage donations

How Volunteering Can Help You:

• By making a difference in your community
• Meeting new people and making new friends
• Self-growth and boosting confidence
• Practicing and learning new skills
• Making you feel appreciated and needed
• Hands-on experience
• Networking
• Gain your volunteer hours for school
• Build your resume
• Connect to the community

Role: Homeless Outreach Supporter

Purpose: To extend a helping hand and an empathetic ear to the homeless community, fostering relationships built on trust and understanding.

Companions for Change: As part of a dedicated team of compassionate volunteers, engage directly with homeless individuals, establishing genuine connections. The primary objective is to build a foundation of trust, paving the way for open dialogues and a better understanding of the unique challenges faced by the homeless community.

Resource Support: Beyond just companionship, our outreach teams are equipped to offer immediate aid. This includes:

• Distributing food and water/hot drinks.
• Handing out hygiene kits.
• Providing information and guidance on local housing resources and services.
  

This two-pronged approach ensures we address both the immediate necessities and the long-term emotional and psychological needs of the homeless.

Unwavering Presence: As an Empower Home volunteer, your commitment goes beyond just a one-time interaction. We value consistency and dedication, ensuring that our volunteers are a regular presence in the lives of homeless individuals. Offering consistent support, friendship, and understanding when it's most crucial.

Qualifications:

• Compassionate and empathetic disposition
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• A commitment to understanding and alleviating the challenges faced by the homeless community.
• Ability to work well in a team.
• Willingness to commit for a minimum of 6 weeks and be a consistent presence.
  
  

Benefits:

• Make a tangible difference in the lives of homeless individuals.
• Gain valuable experience in community outreach and social work.
• Be part of a dedicated team driven by compassion and understanding.
• Opportunities for personal growth and development.
• Valuable training by experienced professionals in the field of homelessness
  
  

Join us in making a difference and be the change you wish to see in the world. Empower Home is dedicated to uplifting those in need, and with your help, we can make the journey a little easier for our homeless friends.

Three different options to apply:

• Send an email to info@lowentropy.org 
• Call Vanessa at 604-763-8576 
• Apply online here: Application
  
    

We look forward to receiving your application and helping you make a difference in someone's life. Thank you for your generous support!

What is The C.A.R.E. Program?

C.A.R.E. stands for Compassion, Acceptance, Respect, and Empathy. 

The C.A.R.E. Program is a family-centric program that goes beyond addressing the rampant needs of food insecurity in our community. At Low Entropy, we recognize that putting food on the table for families in need is just grazing the surface. Our goal is to come alongside the families in our community to build meaningful, compassionate connections to facilitate real, sustainable solutions to food insecurity.

The C.A.R.E Program is run by a passionate team of volunteers. Whether it’s food sorting, delivering food hampers, calling in for a weekly check-in with families, or coordinating our team’s efforts, C.A.R.E. volunteers make a real tangible impact in our community.

*The C.A.R.E Program in Maple Ridge is currently running bi-weekly on every other Saturday*

Volunteer Driver Requirements:

• Must have a reliable vehicle with Class 5 driver’s license or higher
• Pick up hampers from the CEED Centre in Maple Ridge on Saturdays (the program runs every other Saturday). You will be given a pick up time between 1:00-4:00pm
• Be able to carry heavy boxes and walk up multiple staircases
• Deliver to 5-10 households in the Maple Ridge area
• Weekly commitment of 1-3 hours
• Must commit to volunteering for at least 2 months

Qualifications and Skills for all positions:

• Compassionate, Accepting, Respectful, and Empathetic
• Maintain confidentiality and professional boundaries
• Friendly demeanor, positive attitude
• Responsive to emails and messages

Benefits of Volunteering:

• Improved communication and interpersonal skills
• The opportunity to make a difference in the lives of families
• Gain experience being part of a team and working independently 
• Become part of the C.A.R.E. team and Low Entropy community
• Reference Letter upon completion of minimum volunteer commitment

The C.A.R.E Program: Food Sorters (Maple Ridge)

What is The C.A.R.E. Program?

C.A.R.E. stands for Compassion, Acceptance, Respect, and Empathy. 

The C.A.R.E. Program is a family-centric program that goes beyond addressing the rampant needs of food insecurity in our community. At Low Entropy, we recognize that putting food on the table for families in need is just grazing the surface. Our goal is to come alongside the families in our community to build meaningful, compassionate connections to facilitate real, sustainable solutions to food insecurity.

The C.A.R.E Program is run by a passionate team of volunteers. Whether it’s food sorting, delivering food hampers, calling in for a weekly check-in with families, or coordinating our team’s efforts, C.A.R.E. volunteers make a real tangible impact in our community.

The C.A.R.E Program is currently running bi-weekly on every other Saturday.

Volunteer Sorter Requirements:

• On-site at the CEED Centre in Maple Ridge on Saturdays (~11am-3pm)

• Organize and pack food hampers according to size of family

• Must be able to stand during shift and lift heavy grocery hampers

• Reports to CARE Program Manager

• Weekly commitment of 3-5 hours

• Must commit to volunteering for at least 2 months

Qualifications and Skills:

• Compassionate, Accepting, Respectful, and Empathetic

• Maintain confidentiality and professional boundaries

• Friendly demeanor, positive attitude

• Responsive to emails and messages

Benefits of Volunteering:

• Improved communication and interpersonal skills

• The opportunity to make a difference in the lives of families

• Gain experience being part of a team and working independently 

• Become part of the C.A.R.E. team and Low Entropy community

• Reference Letter upon completion of minimum volunteer commitment

What is The C.A.R.E. Program?

C.A.R.E. stands for Compassion, Acceptance, Respect, and Empathy. 

The C.A.R.E. Program is a family-centric program that goes beyond addressing the rampant needs of food insecurity in our community. At Low Entropy, we recognize that putting food on the table for families in need is just grazing the surface. Our goal is to come alongside the families in our community to build meaningful, compassionate connections to facilitate real, sustainable solutions to food insecurity.

The C.A.R.E Program is run by a passionate team of volunteers. Whether it’s food sorting, delivering food hampers, calling in for a weekly check-in with families, or coordinating our team’s efforts, C.A.R.E. volunteers make a real tangible impact in our community.

What is The C.A.R.E. Program?

C.A.R.E. stands for Compassion, Acceptance, Respect, and Empathy.

The C.A.R.E. Program is a family-centric program that goes beyond addressing the rampant

needs of food insecurity in our community. At Low Entropy, we recognize that putting food on the table for families in need is just grazing the surface. Our goal is to come alongside the families in our community to build meaningful, compassionate connections to facilitate real, sustainable solutions to food insecurity.

The C.A.R.E Program is run by a passionate team of volunteers. Whether it’s food sorting, delivering food hampers, calling in for a weekly check-in with families, or coordinating our team’s efforts, C.A.R.E. volunteers make a real tangible impact in our community.

Food Sorter Requirements:

• Organize and pack food hampers according to size of family
• Must be able to stand during shift and lift heavy boxes
• Reports to our Operations Manager on-site
• Weekly commitment of 2-5 hours
• Must commit to volunteering for at least 2 months
• Sundays and Mondays at 552 Clark Road in front of (Low Entropy Thrift Store)

Qualifications and Skills for all positions:

• Compassionate, Accepting, Respectful, and Empathetic
• Maintain confidentiality and professional boundaries
• Friendly demeanor, positive attitude
• Responsive to emails and messages

Benefits of Volunteering:

• Improved communication and interpersonal skills
• The opportunity to make a difference in the lives of families
• Gain experience being part of a team and working independently 
• Become part of the C.A.R.E. team and Low Entropy community
• Reference Letter upon completion of minimum volunteer commitment

What is The C.A.R.E. Program?

At face value we provide food rescue and hamper delivery services to individuals and families who are struggling with food insecurity which is not having enough healthy food due to lack of access or resources. At Low Entropy, we recognize that putting food on the table for families in need is just grazing the surface. Our goal is to come alongside the families and individuals in our community to build meaningful, compassionate connections to facilitate real, sustainable solutions to food insecurity.

What are Community Connectors?

Our Community Connector volunteers use the core values of Compassion, Acceptance, Respect, and Empathy to address the root causes of our food hamper recipients by providing community resources as needed and engaging with them through our various free outreach programs.

Through this newly formed Community Connectors Outreach Program we are looking for skilled and experienced individuals to assist us in establishing a variety of community initiatives that include community sharing circles, youth outreach, art therapy, employment services, life coaching, etc.

Community Connector Responsibilities:

• Work with our programs managers to find a case load of clients that fits your schedule
• Interact with our clients virtually and in-person
• Develop positive rapport with the families, determine how they are doing, provide a listening ear, and provide resources where appropriate.
• Write confidential case notes for each client in our records.
• Communicate, debrief, and escalate any unresolved or complicated issues with our program managers.
• Attend a weekly team meeting to connect with other Community Connectors and leadership team members to learn about community resources, and support each other in this work.
• Weekly commitment of 5-10 hours
• Must commit to volunteering for a minimum of 3 months.

Qualifications and Skills:

• Compassionate, Accepting, Respectful, and Empathetic
• Supportive and non-judgmental
• Good listener
• Maintain confidentiality and professional boundaries
• Experience working with families from different backgrounds
• Knowledge or willingness to learn about community resources
• Responsive to emails and messages
• Familiar with Google Drive and associated applications (Sheets, Docs, etc)
• Confident speaking over the phone and creating connections with others
• Must be comfortable using your own phone to make phone calls
  
  

Benefits to Volunteering:

• Improved communication and interpersonal skills
• The opportunity to make a difference in the lives of families
• Gain experience being part of a team and working independently 
• Become part of the C.A.R.E. team and Low Entropy community
• Reference Letter upon completion of minimum volunteer commitment

Application and Screening Process

• Application form
• 2 step interview
• Reference checks
• Criminal record check with vulnerable sector search (free, online)
• Orientation and Training

Board Member

Status: Volunteer Opportunity
Commitment: 5-8 hours per month, 2-year term, option to renew
Location: Tri-Cities (Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody) and surrounding areas
Openings: 6

Would you like to volunteer your organizational and leadership skills to help us make personal development accessible to all? At Low Entropy, we understand that real change starts from within; when we seek compassion and emotional intelligence for ourselves, we extend this low entropy state to the wider world around us.

Low Entropy is a registered charity with a mission to elevate humanity through the power of compassionate, authentic communities. Our programs foster transformational impact by empowering people through personal growth and meaningful interpersonal connections. Our current offerings include providing employment services, events for seniors, supporting youth through Art Therapy, and providing food hampers to those struggling with food insecurity.

Located in the Tri-Cities, Low Entropy seeks to build connections and work with local stakeholders to create the future of our community. In 2023, we will be hosting collaborative community events to work towards this goal, as well as launching our Thrift & Fund store to support our programs. In addition, we are actively seeking to become a provider of affordable housing.

To maintain our growth and continue supporting adults, youth & children, we are looking for volunteers to govern our organization on our Board of Directors. The Board is responsible for developing, implementing, and monitoring strategies and policies that will enable Low Entropy to meet its goals and carry out its work.

What is the Opportunity?

We are seeking six committed individuals with a passion for our work to join as volunteer members of our Board of Directors for a 2-year term.

You are committed and have expertise in at least one of these priority skill areas:

• Government Relations
• Legal/Risk Management
• Public Relations
• Strategic Planning
• Nonprofit Management
• Governance
• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility
• Fundraising and Events
• Affordable Housing

Position Overview

In addition to serving on the Board of Directors and providing strategic governance to Low Entropy, a Director at Large promotes Low Entropy’s objectives and goals by providing leadership to assigned projects, committees, and activities.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide leadership for Low Entropy and assure that it maintains its focus on its primary • mission and objectives
• Prepare for, and attend, all Board meetings and participate independently and knowledgeably in all deliberations of the Board. Stays informed about committee matters, prepares themselves well for meetings, and reviews and comments on minutes and reports.
• Participate actively in at least one committee and in the development of terms of references for the committee
• Approve material business decisions
• Stay informed of and meet all legal and fiduciary responsibilities.
• Ensure that performance measures and targets are established that are both realistic and challenging and that they are monitored and delivered
• Develop collegial working relationships with other Board and committee members that contributes to consensus.
• Actively participate in the Board and committee's annual evaluation and planning efforts.
• Participate in fundraising and volunteer events for Low Entropy

Qualifications and Experiences Needed:

• Experience in leading organizations or cross-functional teams preferably with some experience in the non-profit sector.
• Demonstrated business acumen, knowledge, and experience in one or more key functional areas such as Fundraising, Communications/Public Relations, Human Resources, and Law.
• Board of Directors experience is a plus
• Able to navigate complex challenges and deal with ambiguity
• Strong interpersonal skills networking abilities able to create collaborative relationships with government and like-minded organizations
• Strong creative, strategic, analytical, organizational, and personal skills.
• Demonstrated change and project management skills and the ability to delegate
• Able to manage vision and purpose
• Action oriented
• Operates with integrity

Time Commitment:  5-8 hours per month for Board Meetings, committee meetings, and Low Entropy events. Some meetings will be held in-person and others remotely.

Interested? Email info@lowentropy.org with your resume 5 min Loom video.

Thrift & Fund: Social Media Manager

We are looking for an enthusiastic and creative volunteer to help our thrift store, Thrift & Fund, thrive on our social media platforms. This volunteer would be responsible for assisting our Store Manager with creating and posting content on our Instagram, Facebook, and possibly TikTok.

A minimum of 4-hours per week is required for this position, and the volunteer would need to support in person at our thrift store located at Burquitlam Plaza, #408 - 552 Clarke Rd Coquitlam. The hours would need to be during a weekday (Monday-Friday) between the hours of 9am - 4pm.

Responsibilities

• Connecting with our Store Manager on a weekly basis in person
• Taking photos and videos of our store and our items for sale
• Creating engaging content - posts, reels, stories, etc that would drive more foot traffic to the store
• Ensuring social media content is posted regularly
• Creating graphics and copy for the social media content
• Getting approval from the Store Manager for all content before posting

Requirements

• Familiarity and comfort using Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok
• Experience posting content on social media
• Creativity and flexibility
• Available to come in person to our thrift store once a week during a weekday
• Friendly to our customers, volunteers, and staff while in the store

How Volunteering Can Help You:

• By making a difference in your community
• Meeting new people and making new friends
• Self-growth and boosting confidence
• Practicing and learning new skills
• Making you feel appreciated and needed
• Hands-on experience
• Networking
• Gain your volunteer hours for school
• Build your resume
• Connect to the community