Opportunities From: United Way of Dane County

Currently in need of grounds help at the CMC Beld St location for Fall 2025!

Help make the Center a welcoming place for all! Keep the grounds well-maintained so the Center can have a positive image for our neighborhood and be a dignified place for people to come and get services.

The CMC is in need of some extra help with the care and keeping of our grounds in the Spring through Fall months. We have many flowerbeds and a rain garden that need watering and tending too, so if you have a green thumb or just want to spend some extra time outside we would love to have your help! 

This opportunity takes place weekday mornings, preferably twice a month. Activities include pulling weeds, planting flowers, trimming plants and bushes, picking up litter, mowing the lawn, watering plants. Qualifications include enjoying working outside; ability to bend and do light to moderate lifting; comfortable working with basic yard tools; ability to work independently; basic knowledge of yard care or native plants is a plus.

Please contact sarah@cmcmadison.org for registration.

We are now recruiting for morning shifts for Fall 2025 school year! Currently in need of drivers most mornings! 

Help deliver fresh and healthy food to local schools! The Culinary Creations Catering enterprise delivers catering orders prepared by trainees and staff to four area schools each weekday and to other locations around Madison throughout the week, and we depend largely on volunteer help to make these deliveries happen!

Scheduling

Volunteers are asked to sign up for a weekly shift, one weekday morning delivering catering orders for area school lunch programs. Shifts are 1.5 or 2.5 hours long. 

Qualifications

Possess a valid driver’s license Be age 21 or over Pass a driving record background check Ability to do moderate lifting (15 to 20 pounds) and bending Good people and customer service skills

You do not need a commercial driver's license or even experience driving a van...as long as you have good driving skills, we'll gladly train you! You will be driving our catering van, so it is not necessary to have your own vehicle.

Your work as van driver will help strengthen the social enterprise and contributes to the mission of providing meaningful training and work experience to individuals facing barriers to employment!

Please message us if you would like to volunteer with the homework club Fall 2025!

Help make sure the children in our community succeed in school! The CMC homework club afterschool tutoring program meets Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:00 to 5:00pm to offer students homework help and extra practice in subjects such as reading, writing, math, Spanish, and more. Volunteer tutors work one-on-one or in small groups with students grades 1 through 8. Students must register, so the group of students is consistent throughout the school year.

The homework club is in need of additional volunteer tutors for Fall 2025.  Volunteers will work under the direction of the volunteer homework club leaders to go over homework assignments with students and give them extra practice in various subjects. Volunteers must be able to manage kids in an informal classroom setting, assist with planning grade-level appropriate activities for kids, and oversee other volunteers in conducting the activities with the kids.

Past teaching or tutoring experience, experience working with children, and being able to speak Spanish is helpful for this position. All volunteers working with children at the CMC are required to go through an online background check and child abuse prevention training.

 

We are now accepting new volunteers for this position for the summer of 2025! Childcare needed during English classes Monday and Wednesday 11-12:30. 

Give young children a safe, fun place to grow and learn while their parents attend adult education classes or events! Hang out in our child care room to play games, read stories, and do art activities with a small group of children ages 3 to 12. Childcare is on an as needed basis, and every 2nd Saturday of the month for the FUNNE program 9:30-11:30am.

Volunteers will work in the child care room, where we have a variety of books, games, and toys. Volunteers should enjoy spending time with children, especially younger children, and be able to keep kids engaged with various activities. Typically one to five children come to morning child care. Some children may speak a limited amount of English, but as long as you know how to have fun you need not speak any other language!  

A background check and one-time training is required before working with kids.

Currently in need of help Tuesdays 1:30-3:30 pm and Thursdays 10-12 am for food pantry distribution!

Accepting help stocking other weekdays as well. 

Help provide food to more than 80 families in need each week! The CMC is in need of volunteers to help in the food pantry various days and times of the week, please contact us to find out our current schedule needs. Pantry volunteers help with getting ready for the pantry to open and then with distributing food to guests. Tasks include greeting guests, assisting guests with getting pantry items, and weighing/bagging items.

Great customer service skills, a friendly attitude, reliability and patience are all crucial qualities for this position. The ability to do moderate lifting (15 to 40 pounds) is also very useful, along with the ability to speak Spanish or another language (though not required). Days to help available outside of hours listed above.

Please contact us if you would like to join our food pantry team!

 

We are currently looking for help in the garden as we start the 2025 gardening season! Please contact us if you want to be on our volunteer list! 

Want to help solve hunger? Assist us in growing food for those in need! Through a partnership with Madison Area Food Pantry Gardens, the Catholic Multicultural Center has a .75 acre garden (Emmett Schulte Garden) to grow fresh produce to provide our food pantry guests with all the produce they can use as well as provide fresh, local ingredients for our meal program.

From May through October many volunteers are needed to help with planting, weeding, and maintaining the garden and harvest produce to be brought directly to the CMC. No experience necessary; a garden coordinator will always be on-site to show you what to do and how to do it. This is a great opportunity to learn more about large-scale gardening and growing produce. We provide all necessary tools and supplies.

The time commitment is flexible. Volunteer sessions are regularly scheduled for Monday 4-7 pm and Wednesday 5-7pm, though sessions are periodically scheduled at other times. While volunteers can come as often or as little as they want, we do ask that people sign up before showing up to a work session. Contact us to be put on the garden volunteer list and receive work session updates.

Volunteers are also needed at other locations through Madison Area Food Pantry Gardens. Learn more here: http://foodpantrygardens.org/

The CMC has many Spanish speaking only clients, so in order to serve all our guests, bilingual volunteer speakers are needed!

Volunteers are needed in both the job search office and for as needed events/immigration assistance. Help is generally needed between the hours of 9am -5pm Monday through Friday. Volunteers can provide assistance for a minimum of 1 hour a week up to as many as is needed, whatever works with your schedule! 

Please email or call us if you are interested, thank you!

Currently in need of help for the Summer of 2025!

Looking for a fun, easy opportunity to help the community? Help serve the free daily meal at the Catholic Multicultural Center!

Groups or individuals are welcome to sign up to help serve the meal on a one-time basis as openings are available. Occasionally, opportunities to help once a month occur, if a group would like to help on a more regular basis. Volunteers help with setting the food out, serve food as people pass through the serving line, wash dishes, and help with clean-up at the end.

Open shifts occur on different weekdays, with a 3:30 to 5:30pm volunteer timeframe (the meal is served 4 to 5pm) with the meal cooked by volunteers at the CMC before 3pm. To help, a group can send 2 to 6 volunteers, or you can come as an individual. Volunteers of all ages are welcome, though for youth groups consisting of all youth or primarily youth, the age limit is 12 and up.

Contact Sarah by email or phone to find the next available date for you or your group to come serve a meal!

 

The CMC is currently in need of volunteers to work as assistants in the jobs office. This position includes giving one-on-one help to guests by:

Connecting with employers who are hiring and following job leads Contacting employers about open positions Filling out applications Resume development Cover Letters Using the computer to search and apply for jobs Setting up an e-mail account for job searching Help following up with employers after applying Job fairs hosted periodically by employers at the CMC

Volunteer schedules may vary, but the jobs office is open Tuesday through Friday. Volunteers can help out anywhere from 1 hour to a full day. Spanish and English speaking skills are helpful. If interested in this opportunity, please respond to this post or email us with any questions or if you are interested!

Currently in need of assistants for Spring/Summer 2025!

Change students' lives by helping educate individuals in English as a Second Language! The CMC offers free ESL classes open to all adults who want to attend, taught by volunteer teachers. Under the guidance of volunteer teachers, ESL Assistants work with students one-on-one or in small groups. No previous teaching or tutoring experience required, though prior experience is helpful.

Classes are Monday-Thursday (Beginner M,T, & W 11-12:30, Intermediate T & Th 10-11:30 at CMC Beld St location, Beginner class M & W 6-7:30pm at CMC Fitchburg location), volunteering a minimum of one day a week required. 

Responsibilities include going over workbook exercises, practicing conversation and spelling, and working on grammar. ESL assistants are crucial in making sure students are getting the attention that they need to succeed. ESL assistants work with people from many different language, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds, so volunteers learn new things in class too!

Requirements: Strong English skills are necessary. Prior educational/teaching experience is not required, but previous experience is helpful. A background check and online abuse-prevention training are required. 

Currently in need of a Fall 2024 lead teacher Monday and Wednesday evenings 6-7:30pm!

Change students' lives by helping educate individuals in English as a Second Language! The Center offers free ESL classes open to all adults who want to attend, taught completely by volunteer teachers. We have positions open to teach a class "full-time" and also to be a substitute teacher to teach occasionally.

Classes are for adult students from a variety of different countries, first languages, and educational backgrounds, with a class size of up to 10 students. The ESL teacher is responsible for planning and leading all lessons, with support from the ESL Program Coordinator and using books and materials provided. Teachers are expected to work with a volunteer classroom assistant who can help with exercises, one-on-one or small group work, as well as set up and clean-up.

Classes are Monday-Thursday (Beginner M & W 11-12:30, Intermediate T & Th 10-11:30 at CMC Beld St location, Beginner class M & W 6-7:30pm at CMC Fitchburg location), volunteering a minimum of one day a week required. 

Requirements: Previous teaching experience (any subject) OR extensive experience teaching or tutoring ESL OR certification in teaching ESL or EFL. Strong interpersonal skills and cultural sensitivity are also important. A background check and abuse prevention training are also required. The CMC also provides a two-hour instructor training.

What our students say...

“I like the ESL class at CMC because I can learn a lot of words in here and how to speak anything in English."

"I get more conversation practice here than at other schools.”

"[I like this class because] the teachers speak slowly and when I don’t understand they repeat one or two times.”

"I like the ESL class at CMC because there are a lot of volunteers at CMC.  They are full of love for the ESL students"

 

Currently need help for the summer of 2024! 

The Catholic Multicultural Center offers a free community meal every weekday, and we depend completely on volunteers like you to do so!

Volunteers are needed to take regular, once a month shifts to help with cooking the meal (i.e. every 1st Monday of the month, etc). Volunteers will work alongside the staff meal program coordinator. CMC plans the menu and provides all ingredients for cooking unless the volunteers wish to provide food. There is no need to be a master chef to be able to help, but having basic kitchen skills and the ability to do things like chop veggies, steam rice, and operate an oven and a gas stove are essential.

This opportunity can be done as an individual or small group (2 to 4 people). Contact us via email or phone if you are interested in helping or would like more information!

Use your computer design skills and creativity to help up create flyers for our programs and events! 

We are in need of a volunteer to help create flyers that can be posted on our social media, websites, and on a paper copy so we can advertise our programs better. We will be able to provide the information for each flyer to make its assembly easier. This can be a virtual opportunity and we will only need 1-2 flyers a month maximum. Please reach out if you are interested! 

The CMC has many events throughout the year and has a big need for help preparing them! Event planning will be a "help as needed" type of opportunity, perfect for those with a busy or irregular schedule. 

Tasks include but are not limited to:

Organizing guest list Outreach  Making donor calls Decorating Creating flyers/invites Delivering posters to area businesses Data entry Sharing ideas!

Please send us a message if you are interested or would like more information!