Northwest Arkansas Childrens Shelter

Volunteer

Volunteer

Volunteers Bring Heart to our Misson.

We wouldn’t succeed without our amazing volunteers – it’s just that simple. Corporate volunteers do everything from organizing our warehouse, changing the oil in our vans and decorating the shelter for holidays to playing kickball, basketball or arts and crafts with the kids.

Our individual volunteers play peek-a-boo with our toddlers, tutor our middle school students and teach important life skills to our teens. Our volunteers provide hope for the future by giving of their time and their hearts to the children who need them most.

The Children’s Shelter is always in need of committed, caring and compassionate volunteers to work directly with the children in our care at the Emergency Shelter and On-Site School. We are also seeking regular volunteers to assist at The Shelter Shop. Opportunities include: accepting and processing donations, prepping items for the sales floor, assisting customers with purchases and organizing shelves and clothing racks.

The Children’s Shelter offers a variety of service projects that can be achieved by an individual or group in all areas of The Children’s Shelter.

“It is an investment in the children who will one day be the adults of our community. They need somewhere safe and need to know that they have a choice in their own destiny.”

Melissa, Volunteer

“The Shelter is a presence, resource and influence to the most vulnerable in our society. These kids are victims of circumstance and find themselves in situations beyond their control. They need care and advocates so they know they are valued.”

Brian, Volunteer

Volunteer Process

All volunteers who work directly with our children must undergo an application and screening process that includes background checks. Also, all on-site volunteers must be at least 19 years old. Please contact Ellie Lindgren, Manager of Volunteer Services, at 479.795.2417 or volunteering@nwacs.org to begin the application process:

  • Schedule an informational interview with the Manager of Volunteer Services
  • Submit an application packet, which includes:
    • Personal reference checks
    • Child Maltreatment Background Check
    • Criminal Background Check
    • Signed confidentiality agreement
    • $11 fee for background checks
  • Attend a Volunteer Orientation Session

* Due to the possibility of conflicts of interest, individuals with open foster homes are not permitted to volunteer at the Children’s Shelter.

* Special Event Volunteers are not required to fill out any paperwork but can only volunteer at fundraisers and special events that occur off-site.

* Corporate groups please contact Ellie Lindgren for special on-site event opportunities – elindgren@nwacs.org or 479.795.2417 ext 312.

Current Volunteers Sign in here!

To sign up for volunteer opportunities at The Shelter Shop, click on the links below. If you are interested in bringing a volunteer group of 5 people or more to The Shelter Shop, please email Brandon at bbulen@nwacs.org.

February 2020
March 2020

Austin

by Paulette Nesbitt, Title I Aide, Bentonville Public Schools The effects of childhood trauma are vast and unique to each child. In the case of Austin*, an 11-year-old attending the on-site school at the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter, the physical, emotional, and social effects of trauma exposure impacted every aspect of his academic day. Initial […]

Read more about AustinImpact stories

Meet Austin

by Paulette Nesbitt, Title I Aide, Bentonville Public Schools

The effects of childhood trauma are vast and unique to each child. In the case of Austin*, an 11-year-old attending the on-site school at the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter, the physical, emotional, and social effects of trauma exposure impacted every aspect of his academic day. Initial reading and math assessments placed him two years below his fifth grade level. As our Education staff worked with Austin, evidence of an undiagnosed learning disability began to reveal itself. He shared with staff that he hated to read and that it triggered his fears. A great deal of his written work was illegible, with misspelled words that were constructed by a mixture of upper and lower case letters of various sizes floating across the page. Writing struggles flowed into math accuracy. Reading struggles flowed across the academic curriculum. As our staff uncovered his academic struggles, the polite, quiet and friendly Austin began to retreat under his ever-present red hoodie and sit with his head on his desk. He would fly into angry outbursts and refused to complete his school work.

Our amazing Education team was not deterred. They recognized Austin’s unlimited potential and let him know with each word and action that he was safe and cared for here at the Shelter. Through the tenets of trauma-informed education, Austin began to believe in himself make progress. When working with a child who has experienced trauma, all the lesson plans, diagnostics, intervention tools and targeted materials of the world are useless if the teacher cannot reach the student. Through the collaborative efforts of our education team, working together with our Youth Care Specialists, Austin has emerged from the hoodie and is actively participating in school activities.

We recognize his small and big successes.
We help him recognize the traumas of his childhood may have placed him where he is today but we hold a caring expectation that giving up, quitting, or hiding is not an option.
We listen to his conversations and discover his interests.
We design and construct targeted learning materials pertaining to his interests.
We helped him overcome his reading fears by providing time for him to listen to teachers read stories of interest. Then we gave him space to independently listen to audio books. He now readily comes to the resource room for reading and writing interventions.

These are just a few of the numerous trauma-informed techniques that have placed Austin on a learning path of success. He has improved his reading assessment to an average fourth grader at the beginning of the year and his math assessment to an average mid-year fourth grade student. More important than test scores, however, he ditched the hoodie, participates in classroom coursework and his handwriting is legible with the accommodation of Redi-Space transitional notebook paper. He is improving his decoding, fluency and comprehension skills as he reads aloud daily. Currently, he is reading and learning elements of real friendship through the book Bridge to Terabithia. Now, if he comes across a word he doesn’t know, his hand automatically reaches for the dictionary. He recognizes his own improvement in his written work as he confidently pointed out, “See how all my letters are on the line and all the letters are the same size?” We are so proud of Austin and his achievements. His next book of choice is Moby Dick!

*name and image changed to protect privacy

The Shelter has truly given me hope to pursue my life to the fullest, put my past behind me, and move on to bigger and better things in life. The staff members, who I think of as family, have brought me to realize that I am valuable, strong and able to conquer anything I set my mind on.

Chelsea, age 13

I went to the on-site school which I liked because it gave me one-on-one time and that’s what I needed to help get my grades up and catch up on all my credits so I can graduate. I would like to thank all of the staff at the Shelter for making me and my son feel safe and taken care of.

Teresa, age 17

The world’s not perfect, but people are there to help you. The Shelter was a good environment and people wanted the best for me, and it made me want to love myself more. If I had not gone to the Shelter, I don’t think I’d be in school and I would probably still be in a home when I’m the adult when I shouldn’t have to be.

Lauren, age 16