Volunteer at Emergency Winter Shelter (EWS)
Volunteering at the Arlington County Emergency Winter Shelter is a terrific direct service opportunity for volunteers aged 18 years or older. Volunteers hold significant responsibility and fulfill a variety of critical roles by working together as part of the shelter team. There are three volunteer shifts at the EWS: evening, overnight and morning. Volunteers must sign in at the beginning of their shift and wear a volunteer badge during their time at the shelter. Volunteers are expected to take their responsibilities seriously and treat every client with respect.
Evening Volunteer, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Join our team of dedicated staff to become an EWS Evening Volunteer. Four volunteers per shift are needed at the Shelter each evening from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. Sign up either as an individual or with a group and share the evening tasks. Volunteers will assist staff members by serving the evening meal, distributing bedding and hygiene items, monitoring the clothing room, watching the front door or completing a variety of other tasks to help the Shelter run smoothly.
Overnight Volunteer, 11:00 pm – 7 am
The EWS can use 1 to 2 overnight volunteers per night to assist the staff with lights out procedures, organizing donations and maintaining the clothing closet, re-stocking supplies, organizing storage areas and any other tasks that may arise. Because the overnight shift is eight hours long, it is a great way to get community service hours and to see the inner workings of the shelter environment.
Morning Volunteer, 5:45 am – 7 am
We love to have 1 to 2 volunteers join us in the mornings at the EWS to serve our clients a light breakfast of cereal or oatmeal, juice and fruit or coffee. Morning volunteers also assist with clean laundry distribution, bagged meal distribution and other daily close-out procedures. This is a great opportunity for all of you early-risers! *** Bagged meals distributed when available.
- Another great way to give to the EWS is to provide meals for our shelter guests. Volunteers may provide anything from snacks and fruit to a full evening meal. Also, providing bagged meals is a great service to shelter guests as they will be distributed for lunch.
The EWS is located at: 2049 N. 15th Street near the courthouse in Arlington. The number for the EWS is 703-228-7395. The EWS is open from 4 PM through 9 AM from November 1 through March 31.
There is no minimum requirement for volunteering at the Shelter. The EWS Volunteer Schedule below lists the volunteers scheduled on each day. “E” denotes an evening volunteer, “ON” denotes overnight and “AM” denotes morning. If there is a group listed on a certain day, that group will comprise enough volunteers to cover that shift.
For more information or to sign up as an EWS volunteer, contact Volunteer Coordinator Sarah Morse at smorse@a-span.org or call 703-842-0168.