Giving the gift of time makes an important difference to the community we serve, FIRST UNITED, and the work we’re able to accomplish together.
As a volunteer, you’ll help make a direct difference in the lives of our community members while gaining valuable skills and building strong relationships.
Volunteers support many areas of our programs and operations including special events, legal advocacy, our meal program, community help desk, spiritual care, and fundraising.
I would like to volunteer
General Interests
Tax Clinic
FIRST UNITED, with the help of dedicated volunteers, processes thousands of income tax returns for low-income Downtown Eastside residents to enable them to access vital benefits. Volunteers may meet with community members to assist them in the preparation and submission of income tax returns.
Events
Getting involved in the community is a great way to show you share our values. Event volunteers are a friendly welcoming face and, in many cases, the first point of contact for the community at large. You will be an ambassador for FIRST UNITED at public facing events. Tasks include answering basic questions about FIRST UNITED and its work in the community, setting up tables and banners, assisting with wayfinding and handing out supplies or reference materials.
Wayfinding
Wayfinders are a friendly, welcoming face for community. You'll direct or lead folks to the correct area for their event or appointment and answer basic queries about events and opportunities on site each day.
Meals
Volunteers help our kitchen and program staff with cleaning and bussing tables, assisting with unloading food donations, and serving food in our community meal programs.
Dining Hall at 320 East Hastings
Volunteer to support our dedicated staff in the dining hall at our new home at 320 East Hastings!
| Activity | Shifts | Start | End | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orange run | 24 | 8/7/2026 | 1/29/2027 | |
Tax Program
First United processes thousands of income tax returns for low-income Downtown Eastside residents to enable them to access vital benefits. Tax Return Volunteers may meet with community members to assist them in the preparation and submission of income tax returns.
| Activity | Shifts | Start | End | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tax Clinic - Tax Return Volunteer - CVITP | 0 | 8/5/2026 | 9/24/2026 | |
We are on the frontlines
We envision a neighbourhood where every person’s worth is celebrated, and all people thrive.
For over 140 years, our responsive low-barrier programs have served low-income, underhoused and homeless individuals in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. As a registered charity, we provide wrap-around services including meals, legal advocacy, tax filing, spiritual care, mail and phone services, overdose response, essential items like clothing and toiletries, and shelter to residents in the community. We are guided by dignity, belonging, and justice to meet the daily needs of community members while engaging in systems change work to reduce homelessness, break cycles of poverty, and address the racialization of poverty.
We honour that we do our work on the unceded ancestral homelands of the Səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil Waututh), Xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), & Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) peoples.
