The Stop began as a volunteer-run organization in the 1970s, and to this day volunteers play a vital role in every facet of our operations. Without the dedication of our volunteers, we could not meet our goal of helping people stop the cycle of poverty.

Many of our volunteers have experience with issues facing the community: unemployment, poverty and homelessness. The connection between volunteers and participants in our programs creates a unique sense of community marked by a non-judgmental and empathetic environment.

Volunteer opportunities at 1884 Davenport

We are very fortunate to have many people interested in volunteering at The Stop but this means that we get many more applications than we have positions. As such we prioritize potential volunteers from the local community. There is a Volunteer Information Session once a month for the Drop In and Food Bank positions at 1884 Davenport Rd. If you're interested please email Jasmine at jasmine [at] thestop [dot] org to register for the next session.

Volunteer opportunities at The Stop’s Green Barn

The Stop's Farmers' Market is a year round market running every Saturday from 8AM-12PM.  We support local agriculture by encouraging our farmers to grow as sustainably as possible and many of our farms are certified organic. All of our non-farmer vendors shop for their ingredients from the market. What you'll find year-round is delicious food whose production causes as little environmental damage as possible and where everyone involved in its growing and distribution makes a living wage.  We are currently looking to fill volunteer roles on our Farmers' Market team and need a regular bi-weekly Saturday commitment:

1)      Market Opening Shift – Saturday mornings from 7-10:30AM.  Volunteers on this shift hand out vendor signs, set up tables & chairs, put up market signs, walk cars into or out of the space and set up The Stop table with information and products for sale. When the market opens volunteers work at The Stop table handing out information on programs and events and selling products.

2)     Market Closing Shift– Saturdays from 10:30AM-2:30PM.  Volunteers on this shift work at The Stop table handing out information on programs and events, selling products,  supporting the vendors with breaks or refreshments. Once the market closes volunteers take down all market signage, pack the tables and chairs away, disassemble The Stop table and store all market material in a neat and organized way for the next week.

Volunteer opportunities at events

We often have one-off fundraising or community events where we need a large number of volunteers for the day or half day. If you would like to be on our events list please email jasmine [at] thestop [dot] org including some information about yourself, your availability and any special skills or interests you have, e.g. cooking, customer service, serving, setting-up or taking down events.