FIRST UNITED - NEW YEAR - NEW BUILDING - NEW VOLUNTEER ROLES

320 E Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC, V6A 1P4 [map]

30 hours / monthly

6 months to ongoing

When our new building at 320 East Hastings opens in 2026, more than 200 caring and compassionate volunteers will be required every week to help us deliver essential services to the community of the Downtown Eastside. Dignity, belonging and justice are at the heart of everything we do. You can join us and be a part of change for the better in the DTES.

How you can help immediately:

Community Help Desk
Volunteer shifts are available Monday through Friday to help distribute hot chocolate in the afternoons as part of our outreach to the DTES community 

Meals
Volunteer to drive and pick up donated food for our kitchen bright and early every Friday morning
	Each Friday at 8am pick up three boxes of oranges from a downtown supplier and bring them to our kitchen staff close to the DTES
	You must have a valid driver’s license, access to an insured vehicle, and be able to lift 11.34 kgs (25 lbs.)

FIRST UNITED envisions a neighbourhood where the worth of every person is celebrated and all people thrive. For 140 years, its responsive low-barrier programs serve low-income, underhoused and homeless individuals in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. As a registered charity, it provides wrap-round 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 pursues 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.

More Details

Additional Details & Skills Required

Here is what you can expect from the application process:
1.	Submit an expression of interest to volunteer
2.	Schedule a short informal pre-screening telephone call within two weeks
3.	Come in for an in-person interview meeting
4.	Submit your criminal record check and sign required documentation
5.	Start volunteering!

Certification or Education Required

For the current volunteer role to assist with our Meals Program
	You must have a valid driver’s license, access to an insured vehicle, and be able to lift 11.34 kgs (25 lbs.)

Activities involved

Community Outreach

Requirements:

Interview
Other
Vulnerable Sector Search

Languages Needed:

Other languages are always welcome

Accessible by public transit