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Rochester Hope - St. Rita Volunteer Opportunities

Thank you for your interest in volunteering at Rochester Hope.  The mission statement at St. Rita Parish calls on us to "welcome, worship, inspire, and serve with love".  Our partnership with Rochester Hope provides us with an opportunity to have a direct, positive impact on the lives of those living in one of the poorest sections of Rochester. 

The list below gives an overview of the areas where Rochester Hope is looking for help from St. Rita parishioners. Following this summary, you will find additional details about each opportunity. Please take time to read the General Information first.

General Information

• Rochester Hope is located at 869 N Clinton Ave Rochester, NY 14605.
• The main parking lot is small, but there is additional parking around the corner at 333 Clifford Avenue.
• On Saturdays, there is also parking at the Salvation Army on the north side of Clifford St., directly across from Rochester Hope.
  • Brown building with a black gate by the parking lot entrance.
  • There is a map attached to this e-mail that shows parking locations.
  • Our primary contact is Dawn Burdick with David or Norah as alternate contacts. 
    • Let them know if you have any physical limitations when you arrive.
    • Shift times are flexible – you do not have to be there the whole time. Come when you can.
      • Children (7+) may volunteer with an adult in the food pantry. They are not allowed to work with clients.
      • The Rochester Hope website is rochesterhope.org. You do not have to sign up on their website in order to volunteer.
      • Please fill out the Rochester Hope Volunteer Debrief after your shift so we know how we can better support our volunteers:  https://tinyurl.com/RocHopeDebrief

Details for Tuesday Morning

• Volunteers will restock Food Pantry shelves and provide other support to the staff from 10am - 2pm.
• When you arrive, check in with Dawn and let her know if you have a physical limitation.
• There are many jobs available that are not physically taxing, such as packaging diapers.
• Only Staff and Volunteers are present during these times.

Details for Tuesday Afternoon/Evening

• Clients can pick out items from the food pantry from 3pm – 7pm by appointment. This is because there are often too many people on Saturdays for everyone to get through the pantry during their open hours.  
• Volunteers escort clients through the food pantry, helping them with their food choices.
• Since clients on Tuesday nights come by appointment, it is less crowded than Saturday.
• When you arrive, check in with Dawn. 
• If you do not want to work with clients, let Dawn know that you would prefer to restock shelves while clients shop.

 Details for Thursday Morning

• Volunteers will help unload the Foodlink delivery truck, stock Food Pantry shelves and provide other support to the staff from 8 am – 2 pm. You can work as long or as short as you wish.
  • You may want to bring work gloves and/or back support belt if unloading the Foodlink truck.
  • At your first visit, you can talk to JoAnne Burdick if you want to receive a text when the Foodlink truck is scheduled to arrive
  • When you arrive, check in with Dawn and let her know if you have a physical limitation.
  • This can be physically demanding, but there are many jobs that are not taxing, such as sorting and packaging diapers.
  • Only Staff and Volunteers are present during this time.

Details for Saturday Food Pantry and Dining Room

• Saturday is the busiest day at Rochester Hope. There is a particular need for volunteers on the 3^rd & 4^th Saturday of the month, especially in the afternoon. You are welcome to go independently on any Saturday but initially carpools from St. Rita’s will only be on the 3^rd & 4^thSaturday of the month.
  • For carpools on the 3^rd Saturday, please contact Joanne Facci: joannefacci@gmail.com
  • For carpools on the 4^th Saturday, please contact Mike Ternent: mternent1234@yahoo.com
  • There are two Pantry shifts available: 9:00am - 12:30pm OR 12:00pm - 3:30pm.
  • Working with clients
    • You will be escorting clients through the food pantry, pushing their cart, and helping them with their food choices.
    • You do not have to be able to speak a different language.
    • Clients are allowed to take as much of a food item as they want, except for protein items. There are Rochester Hope volunteers posted at the restricted items locations, so as an escort, you are not responsible for how many of these items the clients take.
    • You will be on your feet and working with clients, but you can always request a break if you need one.
    • Stocking shelves:
      • You will be restocking the shelves while clients shop.
      • This requires both strength and dexterity as you will be carrying items and moving around in crowded spaces.
      • Help may also be needed in the Dining Room for lunch from 10am – 2pm.
        • Check in with Dawn, David or Norah, and let them know if you prefer stocking, escorting clients, or helping in the Dining Room.
        • Dining area:
          • Rochester Hope offers a buffet-style breakfast on Saturday morning and a hot lunch from 11am -1pm.
          • You may serve food or clean off tables.
          • Children as Volunteers
            • Volunteering children must work in the food pantry and be accompanied by an adult.
            • They are not allowed to work with clients but can help with preparing and stocking items.

Details for 5th Saturday of the month Lunch Prep 9:00am – 2pm

• On months with a 5th Saturday (January, March, May, August, November 2026) Rochester Hope needs 7 additional volunteers to prepare and serve a hot lunch.
  • Rochester Hope provides the ingredients and the recipe; volunteers would be prepping, cooking and cleaning up afterwards.
  • You must be able to stand for long periods.
  • 4 volunteers - 9am: Arrive and start prepping and cooking.
  • 3 volunteers - 10:30am: Help put the food out to be served buffet-style at 11am.
  • After lunch, wash pots and pans, wipe tables down and put them away.
  • If you are interested, please contact Princess Fame: pjfame@gmail.com

Other Areas where Support is Needed

Clothing Closet:

• Rochester Hope runs a clothing closet that accepts gently used clean clothing.
  • The 1st Saturday of each month is clothing distribution for the community.

▪   There is a high demand for children’s clothing.

▪   If you would like to donate, you can drop off clothes when Rochester Hope is open (Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays – but keep in mind Saturdays are very busy).

▪   You can also volunteer to help sort clothes at Rochester Hope during the Tuesday evening shift (3pm – 7pm).

• We would like to organize clothing donation drives for Rochester Hope at St. Rita’s.
• If you are interested in helping organize a clothing donation ministry at St. Rita’s, please contact Julie at the Parish Office: 585-671-1100.

Furniture Team:

• The Knights of Columbus pick up donated furniture from homes and deliver it to Rochester Hope.
• Furniture is delivered from Rochester Hope to clients on Sunday afternoons.
• We need strong volunteers who are willing to help the Knights pick up furniture from homes.
• Rochester Hope needs help delivering furniture to clients on Sunday afternoons.
• If you cannot help physically, we also need volunteers who can help the Knights coordinate these pickups.
• If you are interested in helping with the furniture ministry, please contact Julie at the Parish Office: 585-671-1100.

Support from St. Rita

St. Rita Communications/Marketing Team:

• To build an effective partnership, we need to keep Rochester Hope present in the parish.
• You will be creating visual and print media promoting this ministry: bulletin articles, slides, videos, updating the website, etc.
• If you are interested in helping with the Communications/Marketing Team, please contact Julie at the Parish Office: 585-671-1100.

Vision Team

• There are so many ways we can support Rochester Hope: coordinating efforts with other parishes, picking/collecting excess fruit and vegetables from local farms when their growing season is over, tech support, donation drives, etc.
• We need people who can envision both how we can grow this ministry and advise the leadership on how and when to implement their ideas.
• If you are interested in being part of a Vision Team, please contact Julie at the Parish Office: 585-671-11000.