Giving the Gift of Time
As one of the nation’s largest hospitality houses, The Doorways relies on the time and talents of our volunteers to serve our mission. We could not create a home away from home for our guests without the support of each and every volunteer.
Explore Opportunities
Want to volunteer, but aren’t sure how? Check out our available opportunities below.
Please note: we have limited weekend volunteer opportunities available. Please contact our Volunteer Manager directly to discuss possibilities.
Each day The Doorways hosts around 150 guests from around the world. Help us brighten their day and ease their stress by providing and/or serving a meal with us! All ages are welcome for this volunteer activity, but we do have some policies if your group includes volunteers under the age of 18. We require one adult chaperone for every three underage volunteers. Underage volunteers are not allowed to handle any heat or sharp objects in our kitchen.
Provide and Serve a Meal
We are looking for volunteers who are willing to help us provide home cooked meals to families staying with us. Serving meals is more crucial now than ever before to The Doorways and our guests. As more families return to use our services, they are relying on your generosity to ensure they have a warm meal at the end of the night.
Gather friends, family, or colleagues to plan a menu, go grocery shopping, and cook up your meal in our kitchens for our guests!
Guest Chef
Interested in providing a meal, but can’t make the meal times? Volunteer groups of up to 10 people, or individual volunteers, can provide to-go meals for our guests. Volunteers have access to our large pantry and refrigerator of donated goods and do not need to provide their own ingredients. The meals can be for breakfast, lunch or dinner, but must be prepared at The Doorways. Meals must be placed into individual containers, dated, and put in our walk-in refrigerator for guests to enjoy. This opportunity allows us to cut down on food waste and allows our volunteer cooks to get creative in the kitchen!
Sponsor a Meal
Help us cover a night of dinner for our guests by paying to have a meal delivered! Individually packaged meals are preferred and can be for 20-50 guests. Double your impact by ordering from a local RVA restaurant!
Windex Parties are held March – October and are perfect for groups or families.
Volunteers will help us by cleaning out our outdoor spaces including guest balconies and the garden area.
Tasks include:
- Sweeping
- Washing windows
- Wiping down railings, tables, and chairs
All cleaning supplies will be provided by The Doorways along with gloves and water. You are welcome to bring your own supplies if you prefer.
Activities will take place outside and can be socially distanced. All ages are welcome for this volunteer activity, but we require one adult chaperone for every three underage volunteers.
Please wear weather appropriate attire including close toed shoes and clothes you don’t mind getting dirty. This work requires you to be outside at various levels of our building on secure balconies up to 8 stories. Please indicate if this is a concern for your group when you sign up.
Want to set up a Party for your business or group?
Perfect for businesses, schools, neighborhoods, civic associations, friends, and families looking for a way to give back remotely. Contact us for more details and before starting any of the activities listed below.
Host a Collection Drive
Check out our needed items and recruit your family, friends, and co-workers to send in items to keep our pantries and shelves stocked. We can also provide flyers of currently-needed items. Make it a competition or try to hit a certain value amount as a group!
Care Packages and Bagged Lunches
Become an active part of our community of healing by helping out around the house! This opportunity is best for individuals looking for a longer term commitment, typically weekly or biweekly.
If you are interested in any of these activities please fill out the Interest Form.
Evening Entertainment
Volunteers can use their talents to provide some entertainment to our guests. Options can include game nights, movie nights, music nights, and more! Activities can be virtual or take place in our facility.
Light Cleaning
We always need people willing to get their hands a little dirty to make our home look spotless and inviting! Expect to dust, mop, sweep, and do other light cleaning.
Organize, Organize, Organize
We are lucky to receive donations of food, books, games, and other items for our guests, and volunteers can help us be better stewards of these donations by sorting them away properly.
We have pantries, a lounge with movies and games, multiple kitchen spaces, and a library that we try to keep organized so our guests can easily access them.
Ready to Volunteer?
We’d love to have you! Please note our minimum age for volunteering without a parent / guardian present is 18 and we are not currently able to accept volunteers meeting court-ordered or attorney-suggested community service at this time. After reviewing our list of volunteering opportunities here, be sure to complete the individual or group volunteer interest form!
NOTE: To ensure we have the availability, your sign-up via interest form or email will not be complete until email confirmation from our Volunteer Manager.
Have a Question?
To contact the Volunteer Manager, Alyssa Castronuovo, please email or call 804-828-6901, ext 150.
The Gratitude Gazette
Sign up for our volunteer newsletter — the Gratitude Gazette! You’ll receive updates on upcoming events, donation requests, and volunteering opportunities.
View Our Latest Edition
Can’t wait for the next update? Check out our most recent Gratitude Gazette in our Stories section!
Share Your Experience
Your words and experiences are invaluable to our organization. Not only would we love a share and tag on social media, we’d also love to receive your story directly to use in our communications to recruit other partners and volunteers to keep our mission going!