Guadalupe Center of Immokalee: Breaking the Cycle of Poverty Through Education

Get Involved – Volunteer

The Guadalupe Center of Immokalee believes that it takes a community of concerned volunteers to transform the lives of less fortunate. Since the Guadalupe Center opened its doors in 1982, volunteers have been the lifeblood of our work. Our volunteers are local residents, busloads of retirees from residential communities, or college students from the Midwest who take a year off. They are young, middle-aged, or elderly and have a variety of skills and backgrounds, but share one important attribute. They care enough to devote their time.

The extraordinary people who volunteer with the Guadalupe Center help with every service, program and task from serving soup in the kitchen to serving on the board of trustees. Volunteers can choose to help by serving the poor of Immokalee, be a presence of the life of a child, or can take on more administrative role with the Guadalupe Center.

Below are some of the most common ways that volunteers can help the Guadalupe Center.

Tutor/Intern Corps Mentoring

This group of volunteers is directly involved with the high school tutors that work for the Guadalupe Center. The mentors provide assistance with the college application process, general life counsel, and serve as role models for our Immokalee high school students. The tutors and their mentors forge strong relationships of love and respect that often last well beyond the tutor’s high school years.

Office Work

Volunteers can help in a variety of ways including marketing, grant writing, volunteer coordination, and event planning. Volunteers have utilized their skills to various special projects such as work on the Guadalupe Center website or creating a lending library for the families of the Early Childhood Program.

Early Childhood Education Program

Volunteering in the Early Childhood Education program provides the opportunity to stay young at heart. These volunteers assist the children and teachers in activities that include reading books, rocking babies, and playing with the children on the playground.

Community Support

The Guadalupe Center has a growing number of residential communities in the Naples, Fort Myers, and Marco Island areas that routinely send volunteers, offer special programs to the children, recruit new volunteers, and substantially help to fund the Guadalupe Center through fund raisers and private donations.

High School and Colleges:

The Guadalupe Center encourages high school students and college students to volunteer, as they provide a unique perspective that helps to make a difference in lives of the people of Immokalee. By lending a helping hand, these students are able to serve as positive role models to help encourage the children of our various programs that education and attending college is not only fun, but essential. College students from John Carroll University of Cleveland, Washington and Lee, and Vanderbilt University come to spend their spring or winter breaks volunteering with the Guadalupe Center. Some of the areas that they help with are with the Early Education Program, the Soup Kitchen, Clothing Room, and After School program.

Teaching Assistance

Individuals with training in education and teaching experience are encouraged to help the Guadalupe Center by lending their skills to the After School Program, Holiday Camps, or STAR Educational Summer Camp. This is a unique way to spend a large amount of time with elementary school aged children as their teacher.

Resale Shop

The Guadalupe Center’s Resale Shop located in Naples is an opportunity to volunteer without driving into Immokalee. Volunteers participate in numerous activities at the shop including sorting clothing, staffing the shop, greeting customers, answering phones, and assisting customers with their purchases.

Soup Kitchen

Volunteers assist with the preparation of the food, the serving of the meals, cleaning up the dining hall, and sharing a smile with those who come in need.

Clothing Room and Showers Program

Volunteers assist by sorting clothes, helping people select proper sized clothing, and being a friendly presence.

Thanksgiving in the Park

This event is an opportunity to help serve a Thanksgiving meal to over 4,000 people. Volunteers spearhead this effort by cooking the turkey and the trimmings, setting up and serving food to the throngs of people coming for a pleasant Thanksgiving dinner.

Holiday Gift Shop

Volunteers gather toys, clothing, gifts, money, wrapping paper, ribbons and bows for use in the gift shop. During the actual shopping nights volunteers offer assistance to the parents as they select the gifts for their children. After the parents select gifts, volunteers wrap and tag items for the parents.

Please call us at (239) 658-1999 for more information about volunteering at the Guadalupe Center of Immokalee.