Volunteer
Volunteering at Vermont Youth Conservation Corps community gardens
The five Dismas Houses in Vermont could not exist without volunteers. Founded and sustained by a dedicated and enthusiastic group of individuals committed to providing a positive alternative living situation for newly released prisoners, Dismas House has continued to benefit from the time and talents of hundreds of Vermont residents.
The daily presence of volunteers in the house is a living link between the residents and the greater community from which they have been separated. Through volunteers, their interest, encouragement, and acceptance, come affirmation, reconciliation, and reintegration of residents within our community.
How this is achieved is as varied as the volunteers themselves. Love and care are expressed through homemade meals prepared and served Monday through Friday, in painting parties, landscaping efforts, and donated construction materials. Residents, staff, and volunteers work side by side at annual fundraisers, including the annual celebrations and auctions in Hartford, Burlington, and Rutland. Other volunteers lend professional expertise such as legal advice to policy-making, computer programming skills to organize mailing lists and other information, vocational counseling to direct job-hunting efforts or grant writing experience to attract much-needed funding.
But above all, Dismas volunteers are friends: friends who believe in the worth of each individual, who support the belief through their faithful presence in the house, and who share the Dismas mission with others in the community and beyond.
Dismas volunteers are people like you!
To volunteer, please contact:
Burlington House: Anera Fočo, anera@dismasofvt.org, (802) 658-0381
Hartford House: Gale Nadeau, gale@dismasofvt.org, (802) 698-8661
Rutland House: Joleen Durfee, joleen@dismasofvt.org, (802) 775-5539
Women's House: Kaylee Rankin, kaylee@dismasofvt.org, (802) 855-8740
If you are an international volunteer, don't hesitate to email incoming@vfp.org for an application or visit the Volunteer For Peace website www.vfp.org.
