Join our volunteer team

We honour that we do our work on the unceded ancestral homelands of the Səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil Waututh), Xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), & Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) peoples.

We are recruiting new Board Directors for our non-profit organization, First United Church Community Services Society, in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (“DTES”). We welcome and encourage applicants of all religions, racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, and with varying life experiences.

We envision a neighbourhood where every person’s worth is celebrated, and all people thrive and for nearly 140 years, we’ve been on a mission to seek a just society by nurturing each person’s spirit through ministry, housing, advocacy, and community service.

About Us:

FIRST UNITED offers responsive low-barrier programs that serve low-income, underhoused and homeless individuals in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

As a registered charity, FIRST UNITED provides essential 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. FIRST UNITED also engages in systems change work to reduce homelessness, break the cycle of poverty, and address the racialization of poverty. For over 135 years, we’ve been on a mission to seek a just society by nurturing each person’s spirit through ministry, housing, advocacy, and community service.

We’re redeveloping our site into an 11-storey building purpose-built to suit the needs and interests of the community. The first four floors, operated by FIRST, will provide safe and inclusive community amenities with three times more space for our low-barrier services and programming. The seven floors above will offer safe, secure homes for Indigenous peoples operated by the Lu’ma Native Housing Society.

Regardless of circumstance, all people deserve the dignity and care that a safe, purpose-built space can provide. FIRST’s continuing services and programs include meals; shelter; help with taxes, personal hygiene items, and clothing; spiritual care; advocacy; warmth and caring; and much more.

About the Director Position

Board of Directors: there are a maximum of 15 directors, currently 10. The Board is a Policy Governance Board that works closely with the Executive Director and senior leadership team.

Status: temporary, with the possibility of renewal – assignments are on a three-year basis, through an appointment/nomination-based system.

Days of Work/Times of Work: varied, but include:

• Regularly Scheduled Board meetings are held bi-monthly on the third Thursday of each other month (January, March, May, July, September, and November). Each meeting is approximately 1.5 hours. Total regular monthly time ~ 5-7 hours

• Pre-reading for each Board meeting (reports, executives summaries, etc.)

• Board members are expected to join one or more of the following committees of the Board: Governance, Nominations, Personnel, Redevelopment, Finance, Social Justice.

• Additional time spent in this role is generally email correspondence with other Board Directors, First United Staff, and signing of relevant resolutions and other documents as necessary.

• Quarterly full day events held (i.e., Strategic Planning session – in person, etc.).

• Special events (i.e., redevelopment milestone events, recognition events, community events, etc.)

Compensation: this is a voluntary role.

The role offers the opportunity to meaningfully contribute to the oversight of a low barrier, non-profit organization in ensuring social justice is sought for all in the DTES Vancouver area.

Please send your Expressions of Interest to:

Amber Tugwood Senior Operations Coordinator

First United Church Community Ministry Society

368 Powell Street, Vancouver, BC, V6A 1G4

atugwood@firstunited.ca

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. Reporting to the Tax Clinic Coordinator, volunteers meet with community members to assist them in the preparation and submission of income tax returns.

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.

Connectors are a friendly, welcoming face and, in many cases, the first point of contact for new folks and visitors. Tasks may include conducting short errands and guiding clients and visitors throughout our space. You'll direct folks to the correct area for their event or appointment and answer basic queries about the events and opportunities on site each day.

Reporting to the Program Manager, volunteers greet community members at the help desk, organize and distribute hygiene, harm-reduction, and other supplies as well as providing information about and referrals to other community services and additional tasks as needed.

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.