As a ministry of churches, we provide opportunities, support, and training for the Body of Christ to get involved in caring for families. We partner with local churches who recruit and support volunteers to serve as part of their Alongside Families ministry. Our volunteers are Christ-followers who want to love their neighbors without strings attached. Interested in one of our volunteer roles? Fill out an interest form below! If you have a skill you would like to use to serve but aren’t sure where to connect, we’d love to discuss additional options!
Our Host Families care for children in the home while also building a relationship with the parent(s). Motivated by compassion, each Host Family is screened, trained, and approved and serves without compensation. Alongside Families serves children of all ages, but each individual Host Family determines the profile of the children they are able to host in their home. In many cases, Host Families develop an ongoing relationship with the family served that continues after children return home, providing the family with a long-term network of support. Host Families can meet both overnight hosting needs (hostings range from a few days to several months) or day hosting needs to support a parent who does not need an overnight hosting. Fill out our volunteer interest form today to learn more.
These volunteers provide wrap-around support for parents and Host Families. This can include transporting parents to an appointment or interview, transporting hosted children to school or visits, making meals, providing babysitting in the host family or parent home, meeting a mom for coffee, or offering prayer support. Think of this role as simply being a friend! Community Friends can befriend and serve a parent whether or not their child is being hosted. Some parents simply need a friend to add to their support system during a difficult time. Fill out our volunteer interest form today to learn more.
Our Parent Allies partner with parents who are going through a challenging time to support them in setting and reaching their goals by offering mentorship, encouragement, and connection to community resources. We train Parent Allies on how to support a parent with goal setting and regular connection. Parent Allies meet in-person with the parent every other week and commit to a video or phone meeting on the off-week. This is a discipleship role that asks the volunteer to commit to both helping a parent achieve goals, and also to maintaining a gospel-centered emphasis as they pour into the parent. Parent Allies can expect to serve approximately 2-3 hours per week when mentoring a parent. Parent Allies receive support and supervision from our Family Care Manager to ensure they are well-equipped in their role and that they have support connecting parents to community resources. Fill out our volunteer interest form today to learn more.
Family Coach volunteers guide Host Families on their journey by providing support, a listening ear, and connection to resources. Family Coaches conduct weekly home visits in Host Family homes to ensure the well-being of hosted children. They mentor Host Families, helping to troubleshoot difficulties and brainstorm solutions as children adjust to being in the Host home. This is a discipleship role that asks the volunteer to commit to both supporting the Host Family and child well and to maintaining a gospel-centered emphasis as they pour into the volunteers. Family Coaches can expect to serve 2-3 hours per week when supporting a Host Family. Family Coaches receive support and supervision from our Family Care Manager to ensure they are well-equipped in their role. Fill out our volunteer interest form today to learn more.
At each partner church, a ministry coordinator becomes a point-person for people in the church to learn about Alongside Families, get involved, and receive support. A ministry coordinator connects Alongside Families staff with potential volunteers in the church, provides regular support for those volunteers as they serve, and builds awareness in the church of opportunities to get involved. Fill out our volunteer interest form today to learn more.
Alongside Families
2217 Matthews Township Pkwy
STE D-261
Matthews, NC 28105
© 2023 Alongside Families. All rights reserved.
