Christian Appalachian Project is seeking a long-term (12 month commitment) volunteer to serve in our food pantry in eastern Kentucky. This position is available in April and the usual admissions timeline and application dates for long-term volunteers do not apply. This volunteer may begin in April or as soon as available.
The Grateful Bread food pantry, located in Rockcastle County, Kentucky, serves more than 2,000 people a month, reaching more than 70% of those in poverty in Rockcastle County. Grateful Bread distributes both government commodities to the elderly and donated and purchased food for low-income families that suffer from food insecurity. Participants may visit Grateful Bread once a month to receive supplemental food supplies.
Grateful Bread also provides participants in CAP’s Substance Abuse Recovery program with a place to develop job skills. Participants serve at the pantry as volunteers, learning skills they can transfer to a job upon graduating from the program.
Volunteers at Grateful Bread may receive, pick up and organize donated food, do intake on new participants, staff the pantry during operating hours and coordinate community volunteers for the monthly commodities program.
Benefits of Long-term Volunteering
Long-term volunteers receive a multitude of benefits from their service time, including, but not limited to, the following:
- Immersion in a new culture
- Living in intentional Christian community
- Valuable job-related experience
Even though volunteers receive many intangible benefits, it is important to note that making a long-term commitment can be a significant financial sacrifice. We ask our volunteers to make sacrifices, but we also provide our volunteers the support they need to provide the best service they can. CAP offers the following benefits to long-term volunteers to help make volunteering more affordable and to ease the concerns that you or your family may have:
- Room and board
- Monthly stipend
- Health insurance
- Travel reimbursement
- Potential student loan deferment
- Time off to visit friends and family
Requirements
To become a long-term Food Pantry volunteer, you must meet the following requirements:
- Minimum age of 21 years old
- Complete a volunteer application, including a complete driving records check, three personal references and a national background check
- Be personally interviewed by CAP Volunteer Program staff
- Pass a drug screening upon arrival at CAP
- Have a good driving record and pass a driving test upon arrival
We are looking for volunteers who are dependable, flexible, emotionally mature, self-starting, sensitive to other cultures, religions, etc., able to live in community, have a sense of humor and have a desire to serve others. We can teach the particular skills needed to perform in your service position, what we can’t teach is a compassionate heart and a passion for our mission.
Please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions page for more information about long-term volunteering.
Pillars of CAP Volunteer Life
At Commissioning, long-term volunteers sigh a covenant representing their commitment to service, community and spirituality. Follow the links below to learn how each value contributes to the volunteer experience.
Service
CAP volunteers serve in various CAP and local programs that benefit children, the elderly and persons with disabilities.
Community
Whether a volunteer lives in one of CAP’s volunteer communities or independently, each volunteer makes a commitment to community life by sharing in the joys, challenges and growth that comes with being a short-term or long-term CAP volunteer.
Spirituality
CAP is an interdenominational organization that encourages people to share their faith and express it through their actions. Personal spiritual growth is an integral part of the CAP volunteer experience. To foster a spiritual environment, volunteers gather for prayer and reflection after weekday dinners.
