GIVE

Volunteer

Engage and Give Back

There are many ways to engage the community and give back at Primavera. As a volunteer, you can choose to work in direct contact with our program participants, behind the scenes, on a meal team, in community gardens or get involved in events and special projects. 

The first step to becoming a volunteer with Primavera is submitting a Volunteer Application Form below. 

Whatever your skills and passions are, we’ll do our best to find a place for you to contribute in a meaningful way. You’ll have the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of homelessness and poverty, make a difference in our community, and potentially transform your own life in the process.

To volunteer, please fill out a Volunteer Application Form by clicking the “Volunteer Application” button below. Contact (email / call) our Volunteer and Philanthropy Services Specialist Sophia Smith-Gatto with any questions.

Types of Volunteer Projects

Help support the Men’s Shelter by filling out intake forms on a participant’s first visit. Pass out hygiene kits and mail to clients at our Homelessness Intervention and Prevention Drop-In Center. Facilitate participant workshops for one of our programs.

Assist our staff with data entry, answering phones, filing, copying, assembling hygiene kits, sorting and doing inventory of clothes and donations, making calls to donors. 

Prepare and serve breakfast, lunch or dinner at our Men’s Shelter. Create sack lunches for program participants at our shelters and across our programs.

Events such as the annual Homeless Memorial, Golf Tournament, community cleanups and educational events rely on support from our dedicated volunteers. 

Submit your Volunteer Application Form at the button below and our Philanthropy team will reach out!

Volunteer Application

Open Volunteer Opportunities

Casa Paloma Women's Hospitality Center and Residence

Sack lunches

Groups
Monday-Friday – For 15-20 Women

This safe space is for unaccompanied women only who are experiencing homelessness. We offer hearty sack lunches to these women and we are in need of volunteers to purchase lunch materials, make sandwiches, compile sack lunches, and drop them off at Primavera. We will take any number of lunches you are willing to donate – we try to have 15-20 lunches daily.

  • A sack lunch should include:
    two (2) plain meat and cheese sandwiches (all condiments separated)
  • one (1) piece of fruit (oranges and apples hold up the best)
  • one (1) bag of chips, crackers, or pretzels
  • one (1) granola bar, cookie, or brownie, etc.
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Comprehensive Community Development

Community Gardens

Various locations, mostly near the South Tucson area.

Groups
Monday-Friday

Urban gardens help fight hunger, empower low-income residents, educate children, and give youth and adults access to healthful food right in their backyard or neighborhood. We are in need of volunteers who love to work outside, enjoy the company of other volunteers, don’t mind getting a little dirty, and enjoy helping make things bloom and blossom. Volunteer duties: composting, planting, building raised garden beds, helping to install irrigation systems, etc.

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Homelessness Intervention & Prevention Drop In Center

Daily Operations Assistance

Volunteers will directly impact 100-150 participants daily!

Our Homeless Intervention & Prevention Drop-In Center (HIP) is an outreach center that provides a mailing address, respite, telecommunications access, bathrooms, case management, resource navigation and free toiletries to individuals experiencing homelessness. We are in need of a volunteer to help distribute hygiene products, food boxes, mail, and help with other operational tasks. This volunteer position involves multi-tasking and direct one-on-one interaction with people experiencing homelessness.

Volunteer must be able to work well in an unpredictable fast paced environment.

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Men's Shelter

Breakfast meal teams | Lunch meal teams | Dinner meal teams

Groups (Breakfast)
Monday-Friday at 5:30 a.m. (arriving at 5 a.m.) / Saturday & Sunday at 7:30 a.m. (arriving at 7 a.m.) – For 50 Men

Sign up to purchase, prepare, and serve breakfast for the participants at our Men’s Shelter. Teams shop for the food, prepare it, and serve it. Are you not quite a morning person? You can drop off the food at the shelter the day before. Primavera provides all the plates, cups, and utensils – you provide the food and drink.

Groups (Lunch)
Daily at 11:30 a.m. (arriving at 11 a.m.) – For 60 Men

Sign up to be a lunch meal team for participants at our Men’s Shelter. You can do this weekly, monthly, yearly, whatever cadence you prefer. You and your team may purchase food items, prepare and serve them at the men’s shelter. Primavera provides all the plates, cups, and utensils – your team provides the food and drink. Please arrive at 11 a.m. for setting up, or earlier if you are cooking at the shelter.

Groups (Dinner)
Daily at 5:30 p.m. (arriving at 5 p.m.) – For 60 Men

Sign up to be a dinner meal team for the participants at our Men’s Shelter. You can choose from the following options:
  • Grocery Drop-Off: Drop off groceries for your intended meal by 11 a.m.
  • Cook and Drop-Off: Prepare the meal offsite and deliver it to the shelter.
  • Cook and Serve: Cook offsite or use the shelter’s kitchen, then serve the meal at the shelter.
Primavera provides plates, cups, and utensils – your team provides the food and drink. 

While we appreciate food donations, if your team is unable to provide the food, you may still come to the shelter to serve food that has been prepared by the shelter. Please call the volunteer coordinator to discuss. 
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Primavera Works

Sack lunches

Groups
Monday-Friday – For 15-20 Workers

Make sack lunches for our Primavera Works workers. Our social enterprise employment agency provides ethical day-labor opportunities for men and women. We provide an above-minimum wage, temporary employment options and temp-to-hire opportunities for people who are homeless and unemployed or under-employed. We offer hearty sack lunches to our workers going out to work and we are in need of volunteers to purchase lunch materials, make sandwiches, compile sack lunches, and drop them off at Primavera. We will take any number of lunches you are willing to donate – we try to have 15-20 lunches daily.

  • A sack lunch should include:
    two (2) plain meat and cheese sandwiches (all condiments separated)
  • one (1) piece of fruit (oranges and apples hold up the best)
  • one (1) bag of chips, crackers, or pretzels
  • one (1) granola bar, cookie, or brownie, etc.
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STAR Village

Volunteer Support Team Member | Breakfast Meal teams | Dinner meal teams

STAR Village Support Team Member

We are seeking compassionate and dependable volunteers to assist with daily operations at an outdoor safe sleeping space serving unhoused individuals. Volunteers will help ensure smooth intake processes, provide general assistance throughout the site, and help maintain a safe, clean environment through sanitation and sterilization efforts.

Shift Times: Monday through Sunday (3 shifts per day, 4 hours each)
•Morning: 8 AM – 12 PM
•Midday: 10 AM– 2 PM
•Evening: 2 PM – 6 PM
Volunteer Responsibilities May Include:
•Assisting with intake and welcoming individuals to the safe sleeping space
•Providing directions and helping with logistics on-site
•Distributing supplies and supporting staff with setup/cleanup
•Sanitizing communal areas, high-touch surfaces, and basic equipment
•Reporting safety or health concerns to staff
Requirements:
•Comfortable working outdoors in varying weather conditions
•Able to lift up to 25 pounds and stand for extended periods
•Friendly, non-judgmental, and respectful toward all individuals
•Reliable and punctual

Meal Donations (Daily Breakfast & Dinner)

We are in need of volunteers or organizations to provide 25 – 30 individually packaged breakfast and/or dinner meals each day for residents of an outdoor sleeping space serving unhoused individuals. We are seeking committed partners who can help with ongoing daily meal support for all days of the month (or any number of days you can commit to). An ideal commitment would be one day a month, recurring.

Meal Guidelines:
•Meals should be individually packaged (to-go style) for safe distribution
•Breakfasts can include items like fruit, granola bars, muffins, or breakfast sandwiches
•Dinners can include sandwiches, wraps, pasta dishes, rice bowls, or similar items
•Please include utensils and napkins when possible
•Meals must be fully prepared and ready for distribution
Drop-Off Location & Times: Location and exact drop-off window will be provided upon coordination (typically early morning for breakfast and late afternoon for dinner)

Together, we can make a difference for our neighbors in need.

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Read the Blooming Heart Newsletter!

Quarter One 2026

Quarter One 2026

Click to read the latest edition of the Blooming Heart Newsletter (Volunteer and In-Kind), and learn more about the exciting things happening at Primavera.
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Quarter 1

testimonial
“Life isn’t guaranteed, so get up and do; clean up, go to work, pay your bills, and always help people.”

Meet Beverly:
Six years ago, she served five years in prison, then lost six family members in four years, including her own daughter.

Now, with the help from Primavera Works, she works full-time for TUSD, is the guardian of her 16-year-old granddaughter, and supports two additional adult grandchildren.

She volunteers at Primavera and believes in her late mother Lula’s philosophy, “Life isn’t guaranteed, so get up and do; clean up, go to work, pay your bills, and always help people.”