Volunteer Engagement Associate

POSITION SUMMARY 

Opportunity: Full-time Position at Cradles to Crayons 

Department: Operations  

Title: Volunteer Engagement Associate 

Hours: Non-Exempt 

Reports to: Senior Manager of Production Planning & Volunteer Engagement  

Location: Newton, MA  

ABOUT CRADLES TO CRAYONS: 

Cradles to Crayons (C2C), founded in 2002, provides children from birth through age 12, living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essential items they need to thrive—at home, at school, and at play. We supply clothing, shoes, diapers, school supplies, and more, free of charge. Our vision is that one day all children will have the essentials they need to thrive.  

Two in 5 kids in the United States are currently facing Clothing Insecurity, going without basic essentials like pants, shoes, diapers, and school supplies during their critical development years. Three of the top 10 reasons kids miss school are rooted in Clothing Insecurity—just one example of the significant short- and long-term social and economic costs when these needs go unmet. Cradles to Crayons keeps Clothing Insecurity at the core of our mission and is the only large-scale nonprofit organization to focus on this resource gap. Since its founding, Cradles to Crayons has distributed more than three million customized packages of essentials to children in Massachusetts, Greater Philadelphia, Chicagoland, NYC, and nationally, through Giving Factory Direct—a first-in-kind online product donation platform launched in 2021.  

Cradles to Crayons takes a three-pronged approach to mitigating Clothing Insecurity:  

1. In-person Engagement—through tens of thousands of children and adults volunteering at our Giving Factory warehouses to sort and package high volumes of new and like-new donations from our communities for our Service Partners to distribute to the children they serve.  
2. Online Product Donations—Giving Factory Direct matches product donors directly to children who need the items they have to donate. GFD is currently available in a growing number of communities as we expand our reach nationally.  
3. Advocacy and Awareness—Cradles to Crayons is uniquely positioned to raise Clothing Insecurity as a national issue through awareness campaigns, data/evaluation, and legislative outreach.   

Cradles to Crayons has earned the highest possible rating from Charity Navigator since 2009. Only 2% of charities nationwide have received this distinction. C2C has a budget of $16.5M for FY24.  

POSITION OVERVIEW: 

Volunteers are the engine that power Cradles to Crayons, from the acquisition of product at community drives and at the “Giving Factory”, through the processing of product donations, to the packaging of orders. Providing an exceptional volunteer experience, before, during and following the volunteer visit, to individuals and groups alike, is necessary to ensure the inflow of product, funds and volunteer labor to fulfill our mission. The Volunteer Engagement Associate (the Associate) will serve a critical role in helping develop strategies for building a large Champion Corps and engaging our Enrichment groups.  

Reporting to the Senior Manager of Production Planning and Volunteer Engagement, the Associate will demonstrate superior written and verbal communication skills, be comfortable in serving as a public face for the organization and collaborate effectively with both internal and external constituencies.  

The schedule for this role is Monday-Friday with 1-2 Saturdays per month.  

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES: 

• Model and lead a positive “One Cradles” culture, underpinned by Cradles’ Cultural Values and related behaviors. 
• Responsible for providing a high level of customer service during all stages of the volunteer experience, including: 
• Ensuring stations are safe, clean and “volunteer ready” 
• Assist in the station training of Champion volunteers, staff, and interns. 
• Following assigned volunteer shift responsibilities regarding pre-shift, shift engagement, and post-shift. 
• Continually evaluate the volunteer experience to ensure a Quality Volunteer Experience is offered to volunteers. 
• Manage C2C’s “Champion Program:” a group of 40 committed, regular volunteers.  
• This includes managing the administration, recruiting, training, and acting as a liaison between staff and Champion volunteers.  
• Serve as the primary liaison for “Enrichment Groups,” other nonprofit organizations who complete specific tasks in our Giving Factory each week.  
• This includes managing the scheduling, working with the Production Manager to ensure they have meaningful activities, completing check-ins with group leaders, and working to provide station improvements, ensuring accessibility for all  
• Utilize Salesforce and shared Outlook calendars to accurately record volunteer visits. 
• Collaborate with Volunteer Engagement Team to meet annual goals. 
• Assist with the general cleanliness, efficiency, operations, and Giving Factory production. 
• Work with the Operations Team to ensure successful preparation for C2C events both on and off site. 
• Complete weekly assigned projects. 

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE/KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES: 

• 2 years of work experience, Bachelor’s degree preferred.  
• Previous volunteer engagement or customer service experience with ability to communicate with co-workers, volunteers, and all visitors to the “Giving Factory” in a courteous and professional manner  
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite (strong Excel and Word skills) required; SF/CRM experience strongly preferred 
• Demonstrated excellence with attention to detail, organization, project management, customer service and written and verbal communication skills 
• Work proactively, both independently and under supervision, on a high energy, team-based and goal-oriented environment 
• Easily walk up and down stairs, bend down, reach, push, pull, and lift up to 30lbs 

DIVERSITY IS OUR STRENGTH: 

Diversity and Inclusiveness are core values at Cradles to Crayons, and we continuously strive to be a team where everyone feels welcome and supported. It is the policy of Cradles to Crayons to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information and/or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. Individuals from underrepresented groups are especially encouraged to apply. 

WORKING CONDITIONS: 

This is a warehouse environment and normal changes in temperature are to be expected while working inside the warehouse or outside, on or around the loading dock. There are no hazardous or significantly unpleasant conditions.  

ACCOMMODATION:  

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is possible that requirements may be modified to reasonably accommodate disabled individuals. However, no accommodations will be made by Cradles to Crayons which may pose serious health or safety risks to the employee or others, or which impose undue hardships on the organization.  

TO APPLY:  

Please send a cover letter and resume with relevant experience to https://www.cradlestocrayons.org/what-we-do/careers/