VOLUNTEERS are the helping hands that make everything we do at ACO possible. Without the 15,000 hours given each year by more than 800 volunteers, services and programs offered to families in need would not be possible. Volunteers may give as much or as few hours of their time as their schedule allows.
Volunteering is easy! Just download, read and complete the volunteer application and return the original to us by mail or in person at 801 E Main St, Allen, TX 75002. To insure everyone’s safety, all volunteers are required to pass a background check.
Volunteer Info- Service Hours for School
Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Allen Community Outreach. Students are encouraged to perform community service with ACO.
College and High School students may work independently at the ACO Resale Shop and the ACO Food Pantry. To apply, complete an application which is available to download from the ACO website at www.acocares.org. under the Volunteer Button.
Students 18 years of age and older must complete all pages of the application and are subject to a criminal ONLY background check. This may take up to a week to complete to please submit the application well in advance.
High School Students under the age of 18 may complete only the first 2 pages of the ACO Volunteer application and submit it with a parent’s signature on page 2.
Once the application is received and cleared by the Director of Volunteer Services, scheduling for service hours may be made.
The ACO Resale Shop is open Monday- Saturday. Mondays 10am-6pm, Tuesdays- Saturdays 10am-6pm. The shop schedules their own volunteers so the student his or her self must make the call in advance to get on their volunteer calendar. The phone number is 972-727-4751, ask to speak to a manager. Parents may not call and schedule for their child.
The ACO Food Pantry is open for student volunteers on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month. The Director of Volunteer Services can schedule students for this. Call 972-727-9131 or email Marjorie@acocares.org.
Students with a valid application may also volunteer for special events and projects throughout the year. Check the ACO website for current volunteer opportunities.
Students in Middle School (12-13 years of age) are required to work with a parent and are eligible to work at the ACO Resale Shop, the ACO Food Pantry, and special events or projects. Students may complete only the first 2 pages of the ACO Volunteer application and submit it with a parent’s signature on page 2.
Service Projects Ideas Held Outside of the ACO Center- Have a parent or adult verify your total hours spent on your project and the Director of Volunteer Services will sign off on your project.
- Food Drive for ACO Food Pantry (see list of items needed on ACO website)
- Clothing Drive for ACO Resale Shop (keep it broad or make it specific such as a blue jean drive, coat drive, used book drive, - visit the shop for more ideas)
- Make small treasures for Meals-On-Wheels Recipients (Up to 75 greeting cards, holiday ornaments, tray favors, napkin rings, anything handmade!)
- Participate in a group event in ACO’s name to raise funds, such as the ACO FALL FEST 5K FunRun and 1 Mile Walk, or other area event and donate the proceeds to ACO.
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Here are some of the many different ways you can get involved:
- Meals-On-Wheels are delivered five days a week between 10:30-12:00 noon. Volunteers can choose which route and which day they want to deliver. The volunteer(s) are given hot and cool containers to keep meals fresh. The route is mapped and localized where stops are close and convenient and most routes take about an hour. Many stay-at-home parents, retired people, as well as working men and women drive during the lunch hour. Companies send teams to deliver and friends and neighbors schedule to drive together. Summertime is an opportunity for students to earn community service hours when delivering meals with an adult and children to enjoy social time with seniors.
- The Resale Shop provides a service to the community by providing clothing for families in need, a collection point for residents to donate gently used items, and a money generating store to fund vital programs. Adult Volunteers are critical to the store’s operations. Sorting clothing and items donated in the back of the store, preparing displays and items in the front of the store, and helping customers are all vital volunteer positions.
- Special events are short term projects to raise funds for ACO and are volunteer intensive. The Wine Tasting, SpringFest FunRun, Golf Tournament, and other events are fun and provide major fund raising opportunities for ACO. They also provide a variety of ways for volunteers to help out.
- Holiday Programs require many helping hands from volunteers.
Thanksgiving Food Drive: Boxes are filled with all of the food items needed for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Several hundred cardboard boxes are first decorated by children in the community. The cardboard boxes suddenly become works of art with paint, glue and colorful paper. Scout groups, school groups, and individuals all join in the fun of decorating the boxes with a Thanksgiving theme. Decorating boxes is a good time for students to earn service hours. As the decorated boxes are dropped off at ACO’s collection site, so are cans and dry good items collected from businesses, churches, and community groups. When the boxes are filled, hundreds of families come to collect their complimentary turkey and food for their own family dinner.
Christmas Toy and Gift Drive: Just as the food goes out to needy families, the gifts come in to prepare for Christmas. Children, teens and seniors are adopted by area families, individuals and businesses at Christmastime to "play Santa" and buy items from their wish lists. The new and unwrapped gifts are returned to ACO, sorted by volunteers and given out the week before Christmas. It takes many volunteers to make the adoption program work- from those adopting a child, to those on hand to accept gifts, log them in and sort them!
- Care and Share Collections are items kept at the ACO office for emergencies. Many families come to ACO when they have exhausted all of their resources and their needs are basic. While ACO can send them to the Allen Food Pantry for groceries, the Care and Share Collections provides paper products and toiletries such as toilet tissue, diapers, shampoo, toothpaste, snack food items and more. While ACO stores these items at the office, it relies on the community to help to keep these items in stock. Volunteers hold collections in their schools and churches, within their neighborhoods, scout troops, civic clubs and organizations or just on their own. For a complete list of items needed, contact the ACO office at 972-727-9131.
- FILL THE BUS! School Supplies Collections help each summer to provide the many supplies needed for several hundred students whose parents come to ACO for assistance. Supplies can add up quickly and families who face financial crisis welcome the help. Local businesses and individuals participate to help fill a school bus with donated new school supplies which will then be sorted and bagged by grades to be distributed. This is a huge undertaking for volunteers who spend many hours preparing the supplies in time for the first day of school. This is an opportunity for students needing volunteer services hours to work with their parents in the sorting process.
- Office Assistance/ Mail Preparation Throughout the year thousands of pieces of mail are labeled and prepped for mailing to ACO friends and donors. Volunteers put in many hours to make this process happen. During special times of the year such as holidays or before big events volunteers are also vital to the office staff to provide the extra helping hands to take care of the paper work, phone calling, and organization.
- Fix Up/Clean Up Projects ACO Volunteers join together for small clean up or fix-up property projects in the community. Minor repairs and maintenance on a neighbor’s home or yardwork is easily done when volunteers work with each other to paint, trim trees and bushes, mow lawns, etc. Homebound seniors are a favorite when it comes to helping others!
ONGOING Volunteer Needs …..
Sorting Clothes/General Assistance at the ACO Resale Store Volunteers are always needed to sort through donated items, help hang clothing on the sales floor, set displays, keep the store clean, and assist shoppers.
ACO Resale Store Pick-up and Delivery- Volunteers are needed to help with pick-ups of used furniture and household items. You'll be helping the store staff and riding along in the store delivery truck.
Care & Share Closet at ACO Office- ACO Offices on Boyd Drive house supplies for families in need such as snack foods, paper goods and personal hygiene products. If you are an organizer, we need you! You can volunteer your time to help in the closet anytime the office is open.
IF YOU CAN HELP EMAIL Marjorie@acocares.org OR CALL 972-727-9131 for the ACO Office, and Del@acocares.org or 972-727-4751 at the Resale Shop.
| ACO Volunteer Application |
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| The ACO Board of Directors |
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| The ACO Advisory Council |
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| Holiday Volunteer Programs |
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