Volunteer at Sunshine Place
Volunteers are vital to providing hope and help through our programs. We have many ongoing and one-time opportunities available, including stocking food pantry shelves, sorting donations, prepping snack bags for kids, helping clients shop, and serving as a friendly face at our lobby reception desk.
Volunteers should be 16 or older and interested in helping others with respect and compassion. We seek people from all backgrounds. Bilingual skills, particularly Spanish and Hmong, are especially needed!
Whether you’re a people person or your prefer to stay behind the scenes, we have a job for you! Check out opportunities and sign up info below.
Sign up to Volunteer
Interested in volunteering? Sign up using the link that describes your volunteer role below. Scroll down to to see descriptions of current volunteer opportunities.
To become a NEW volunteer at Sunshine Place and to receive updates on volunteer opportunities, please fill out this application form. This application is for adults only. If you are under 18 years old, please see the youth volunteer application below.
If you are a registered volunteer at Sunshine Place, please log in to your VicNet account to sign up for volunteer shifts. Thank you for your continued support.
To become a YOUTH volunteer at Sunshine Place, please fill out this application form. All youth volunteers must be at least 16+ years old. They must also have a signed Parent/Guardian consent form before they can begin volunteering at Sunshine Place.
Want to volunteer as a GROUP with your church, student group, organization, or company? Please email Leticia at volunteer@sunshineplace.org or call 608-977-2592 with your group size and available dates you are interested in volunteering.
Sunshine Place does not facilitate Community Service hours. If you are looking for these opportunities, you will find them here: https://www.
Volunteer Opportunities
See below for a list of current volunteer opportunities. Needs change throughout the year based on program and seasonal needs. Sign up as new volunteer to receive email updates about volunteer opportunities.
Food Pantry – Client Shopping
Two positions work during open pantry hours to assist clients while shopping: Host and Bagger. Help is needed 6 days a week. ¿Hablas español? ¡Te necesitamos! | Koj hais lus Hmoob? Peb xav tau koj!
Hosts work primarily indoors greeting our clients, answering questions, and guiding them through the pantry as they shop. Volunteers should be familiar with the layout of the pantry; the shopper guidelines, and a general sense of what products are available. Clients will receive easy-to-follow guidelines on the amount of food and personal care items available to them based on their family size. Role involves frequent standing and walking.
Baggers assist clients in bagging their groceries, weighing their groceries, and may help load their groceries into their vehicle. Should be able to lift at least 25 lbs.
Essential Duties, Responsibilities, and Requirements:
- Bending, lifting, reaching, grabbing, pushing, walking, standing
- Comfortable interacting with pantry guests and answering questions
- Customer service mentality
- Must be dependable and punctual
- Be courteous and personable when dealing with the public
- Be self-directed
- Lift 25 pounds
- Comfortable working in a warehouse environment and outdoors in various weather
Food Pantry – Food Recovery & Stocking
Food Recovery and Stocking is crucial for ensuring our pantry guests have access to the food they need.
Help is needed 8:00 AM – 11:00 AM, Mondays, Wednesdays, or Fridays. Duties include:
- Stocking shelves on our dry goods shelves, or in the cooler and freezer,
- Help receive donations
- Sort donated produce, dry goods, and frozen products
Essential Duties, Responsibilities, and Requirements:
- Bending, lifting, reaching, grabbing, pushing, stepping up (on step ladder), standing
- Ability to visually read Best-By dates on products and sort food by date
- Visually inspect product for quality and safety and discard unsafe donations
- Be courteous and personable when dealing with the public
- Be self-directed and detail-oriented
- Lift 40 pounds
- Comfortable working in a variety of environments, including cooler and freezer
Food Pantry – Home Delivery
We work to make sure that no one in our community goes hungry, whether they are able to get to the pantry or not. Our Home Delivery program assists clients who cannot reach the pantry or use a proxy shopper to get groceries. We need volunteer help delivering directly to clients. Due to the sensitive nature of these positions, volunteers must understand the importance of client confidentiality.
Delivery Drivers and Assistants use an agency vehicle or their own vehicle to deliver groceries directly to clients. Drivers must have a valid license and clean driving record, and be comfortable using a larger van (if using an agency vehicle). Drivers and Assistants should be comfortable lifting up to 30 pounds, and using a hand truck. Thursdays 12:45 PM – 3:00 PM.
- Using provided directions, drive (or assist driver in) delivery van to clients’ homes
- Carry (using hands or hand-truck) boxes and bags of groceries to client’s homes
- Ensure client is home to receive groceries
- Sitting, standing, walking, lifting/carrying (up to 35 pounds), pushing/pulling (a hand truck), driving, climbing ramps or stairs
- Sometimes must walk on ice/snow, or other slippery conditions
Food Pantry – Food for Kids
Our Food for Kids programs meet kids and families where they are, working to ensure that no child goes hungry in Sun Prairie! Our consistent need is help with Fun Friday, but across the school year we’ll need help building Break Bags and Weekend Bags for Northside.
Join us in preparing Fun Friday Snack Bags! In this role, you will be filling 200+ paper lunch bags with snack items. These hearty snack bags are distributed Friday afternoons. Fridays 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
- Bending, lifting, reaching, grabbing, pushing, walking, standing
- Be self-directed
- Lift 25 pounds
- Comfortable working in warehouse environment
Lobby Resource Center
Are you a people-person? Put your talents to work welcoming customers, donors, and the public to Sunshine Place.
Help is needed on Mondays through Fridays during open lobby hours. Duties include:
- Greeting everyone who walks through the door
- Answering questions about Sunshine Place services, and where to find help
- Answering calls
- Receiving in-kind donations
Essential Duties, Responsibilities, and Requirements:
- Answering the phone
- Typing and using the internet
- Be courteous and personable when dealing with the public
- Be self-directed and detail-oriented
- This job is typically done sitting down
Other Volunteer Needs
We have other various and seasonal volunteer needs throughout the year. Click on the “Become a Volunteer” button to sign up as a potential volunteer and to receive regular updates on opportunities.
Start Volunteering Today!
Shoppers take prefilled orders and pick groceries from pantry shelves. Shoppers should be comfortable with average grocery shopping tasks like pushing a cart and lifting light groceries. Thursdays 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM.
- Fulfill client orders by shopping pantry shelves from a list.
- Standing, walking, pushing (a shopping cart), reaching for and grasping groceries, lifting (grocery bags and boxes into and out of cart, and into van), writing with marker.
Home Delivery Coordinator will reach out to clients either by email or agency phone to take orders for delivery. The Home Delivery Coordinator should be comfortable speaking on the phone, and with Gmail, Google Forms, and Excel. Tuesdays 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM.
- Contacts clients by email to remind them to submit order via Google Forms.
- Contacts clients by phone who have no access to email and assists in filling out order via Google Forms.
- Print shopping lists for volunteer shoppers.
- Using Google Maps, create and print a route for delivery drivers.
- Using Excel, maintain delivery records.
- Sitting, typing, looking at a computer screen, speaking and listening (into a phone).