Volunteer with Thread

Volunteers commit to being part of a Thread Family for a minimum of 1 year, but many stick around longer because of the welcoming community and the lasting friendships they’ve made. During that year, volunteers engage in 1 touchpoint per week with the young person in their volunteer family. A touchpoint can be anything from doing homework together or grabbing a meal, to giving a ride to school. During COVID, many touchpoints have taken place over Zoom.

Contact: Maria Goodson
volunteer@thread.org

VOLUNTEER REQUIREMENTS

• All volunteers must be 18 years of age or older
• Must be able to physically travel to Baltimore once a week to connect with your Thread young person & volunteer Family (once COVID restrictions are lifted)
• Complete the following steps in our volunteer vetting and on-boarding process, including:
• Complete the Volunteer Sign-Up Form
• Sign the Thread Volunteer Handbook
• Complete a Maryland Background check with Bithgroup Technologies (free of charge), another approved vendor in Maryland, or an out-of-state option approved by Thread.
• Attend a 2-hour Volunteer Orientation

About Thread:

Thread harnesses the power of relationships to create a new social fabric of diverse individuals deeply engaged with young people facing the most significant opportunity and achievement gaps. Our community is committed to ending social isolation and building a more equitable culture in which everyone thrives. 

Thread Family Members (FMs) are part of a team, engaging with 2-5 other individuals (called a “Thread Family”) to support a young person in achieving their personal and professional goals. They accomplish this by “showing all the way up” and being there for their young person and fellow volunteers. This means FMs invest in building reciprocal friendships with a young person and other family members, brainstorm together how to navigate barriers, celebrate successes, and provide and accept feedback along the way. Basically, they live life together.  

Thread volunteers form deep, enduring, and emotionally sustaining relationships with young people and other volunteers, while growing individually from being part of the Thread community. As they get to know their young person, Thread volunteers quickly come to embrace a core Thread Value of “learning from all voices.” In addition, Thread volunteers are trained and coached, acquiring leadership skills and creating stronger ties to the larger Baltimore community.