Volunteer Opportunities

Promote Diversity & Inclusion of Adults with Disabilities!

Description: Marin County is full of fun and interesting activities that our clients would love to participate in: Walk to a local restaurant to have lunch with someone. Accompany someone to a movie. Help someone learn to take a new bus route. Tutor someone is basic reading or writing skills. Teach someone how to use the Internet, create his or her own web site or use email. Assist our office staff and participants in creating adaptation, such as laminated emergency cards and photo communication books. Work closely with our clients to create a video about the strengths of individuals with developmental disabilities. Teach a young man from Vietnam to use American Sign Language and/or accompany him to a sign language class in Marin County. Accompany someone to a yoga, Tai Chi or dance class, and/or create a workout routine to help them participate in some form of exercise. Help someone use Facebook or Internet dating sites for people with disabilities. Help someone use their laptop computer or iPad to email, use Facebook or teach them how to use their phone to text or take pictures.

Requirements: You should have a good heart and a sense of humor. Good driving record (no DUIs) and reliable car if you will be driving. We do background checks.

Teach Functional Reading to Adults who Cannot Read

Description: People with Disabilities Succeeding has about 3 wonderful individuals who need to brush up on their functional reading. They will not be able to learn to read phonetically but could benefit from practicing sight word recognition of important words they see everyday on signs, in menus and on the bus etc. We would love to have a volunteer work with these guys for an hour once or twice a week. We will provide the class materials (i.e. workbooks) and refreshments. This will be a rewarding and incredibly valuable experience and you will make a real difference in the lives of our clients.

Requirements: You should have a good heart and a sense of humor. Good driving record (no DUIs) and reliable car if you will be driving. We do background checks.
 

Host a Party for Fun Adults with Disabilities

Description: Host a party for a great group of hardworking, fun, friendly adults with developmental disabilities!  

 

Our clients are tons of fun and love to dance, sing Karaoke, play games and sports and eat good food.

We will give you the money to buy all the party supplies and food. We ask you to purchase the refreshments, decorations and to decorate the space, prepare/serve food, organize activities and enjoy yourselves. A group of students from Dominican college hosted our Halloween parties several years in a row, and it was wonderful for the volunteers and us too!

We guarantee our clients will be grateful, and that you will leave this experience feeling satisfied and inspired.

Requirements: Volunteers can arrange meetings and "getting to know you" sessions with our clients. You should have a good heart and a sense of humor. Good driving record (no DUIs) and reliable car if you will be driving. We do background checks.

Tax Preparation

Description: Low-income PDS participants who have disabilities are eligible for unearned income tax credit. We have Turbo Tax and all of our clients W-2s in our office, but very little time to help our clients get their refunds. By preparing these tax returns for our clients, you would be helping them get refund checks that they can use to buy something special for themselves. For example Eric, who works at Costco, wants to go to Las Vegas. Another participants, Mike, who works at Rolling Hills Club, would love to take a long weekend in the wine country. You can make these dreams come though for them, just by preparing their taxes so they can get these unearned income tax credits back from the IRS! Then they would finally have the extra money they need to treat themselves to a much needed and well-deserved mini-vacation...

Requirements: Our office is cramped but friendly and cheerful. We are located in downtown San Rafael. Our clients with disabilities are always around, and they make the day more fun and interesting. But you could also work from home or your own office, if you prefer. We do need self-starters and you must have experience doing this type of work. We do background checks.

Photographer/Videographer

Description: PDS needs someone to take action shots of our clients with developmental disabilities in the community as they work, recreate and integrate in Marin County. We will use these photos/videos in our marketing and educational materials. We are also interested in artistic portraits of our clients that we could use for gifts for parents, for our holiday cards and for marketing. 
 

Requirements: You would need to visit our clients at work and around Marin County to complete this work. You would learn a lot while doing this work and would be rewarded by getting to know some really cool, fun and inspiring folks who happen to be developmentally disabled. Our office is located in downtown San Rafael.

Fundraiser/Grant Writer

Description: People with Disabilities Succeeding is seeking a volunteer with experience in fundraising / grant development or willingness to learn on the job. We need help finding appropriate foundations to apply to for grants. PDS can help you gain some great skills to use in the fundraising field. Any of the typical support functions in fundraising, research, and grant writing are needed as well and you can learn on the job if you are smart and can work independently. Our office is relaxed and friendly and our clients often visit and remind us all of the important and valuable work we are doing.

Requirements: Our office is cramped but friendly and cheerful. We are located in downtown San Rafael. Our clients with disabilities are always around, and they make the day more fun and interesting. But you could also work from home or your own office, if you prefer. We do need self-starters and you must have experience doing this type of work. We do background checks.