We welcome volunteers at Jose's Closet. In fact, our resource center operates with mainly volunteer staff, so your assistance is vital!
We work with individuals and with large groups. We can arrange to speak to your large group, company, church, scouting group. We love to tell the story of Jose and of Jose's Closet. Whether volunteering as a large group or a party of one, every person is essential. Some of the ways you can help are listed below, but we are always open to new ideas!
2020-21 Notes: During the pandemic, we have limited the number of people who can be in our building, which has limited our volunteer opportunities. Please click the link below to share your contact info - we'll be in touch when volunteer opportunities are available.
We receive donations all year long. These need to be sorted by size and gender, and placed in our "retail rooms".
Our current rooms are:
- Baby Room (for baby gear and clothing 0-12 months)
- Summer Room (warm weather clothing sizes 12m - youth 14, plus swimwear and other summer accessories)
- Winter Room (cold weather clothing sizes 12m - youth 14, plus jackets and winter accessories)
- Teen Boutique (clothing in teen/adult sizes, plus accessories)
- Equipment Room (sports gear, boosters, high chairs, and other large items)
- Food Pantry / Diaper & Formula Bank
- Seasonal / Storage (school supplies, school uniforms, Halloween / Easter items, plus additional storage)
- Toy Room (toys, games, books, etc.)
Some of our donations need to be washed before being placed out for our member families. Would you be interested in assisting? We would love your help!
We are located in Apache Junction, but receive donations from all over the greater Phoenix area. Would you be able to serve as a donation drop-off point, and hold donations for us at your home or business?
Donations are offered from all over the Valley - would you like to be contacted if items are available for pickup near you? By bringing those items to Jose's Closet, you help get items to the people who need them.
We appreciate volunteers who can check that all the toys in our toy room have the needed pieces and parts, and to check our clothing displays to make sure items are placed in the correct size/seasonal areas. Most of our volunteers' time is used sorting and displaying items, but regular housekeeping like sweeping, and vacuuming need to be done too. We always appreciate extra hands to keep our facility clean.
Finding volunteers who would like to come for a routine "shift" at Jose's Closet is like winning the lottery! We would be so excited to add additional people to our dedicated team of volunteers who can be relied on come each week.
Sometimes we need help from our youth in particular. While youth can do almost any job available, we find that they really do a wonderful job reviewing our inventory. Our Toy Room needs constant review to make sure that all our toys and games have the necessary parts, and our adult volunteers aren't always as familiar with today's toys. Our Teen Boutique really benefits when examined by the teens themselves to help us keep our offerings current and desirable. With limited space, we want to make sure to keep our Teen items relevant - who better to help than teens themselves? We welcome youth volunteers on-site who are ages 10 and up, with their adult volunteers.
We love having children involved at Jose's Closet. In addition to bringing younger children to Jose's Closet, we can have a volunteer come speak to your children's group. We will explain, in age-appropriate ways, what foster care is, and why we want to help. Children are eager to help each other, and they get the chance to do that by sharing the items they no longer need at home. Children can ask other friends and relatives to gather donations. Children have such generous spirits, and we love to help them find ways to help others. Children are welcome to volunteer at Jose's Closet - we ask that your group / family bring their own supervisors, and that our littlest helpers have their own grown-up partner to work with them.
Many corporations encourage volunteering by their employees, and we are happy to arrange an event. We can schedule a volunteer opportunity specifically for your company. We are both a 501(c)3 non-profit and an Arizona Qualified Foster Care Organization.
In addition to our regular volunteer opportunities for groups and individuals, your organization may be able to serve as a "donation station" for Jose's Closet. Would your group or business be able to place a collection box in a secure location to collect donated items?
We have just moved from our Apache Junction location to our new home at the Power Square Mall, 2055 South Power Rd in Mesa. We're not fully open for business yet, but welcome volunteers to help us prepare for reopening. Watch our Facebook for updates and announcements!