
About
What Is It?
A “Christ-centered community dedicated to meeting the needs of homeless men and women and their children. Positive life changes are encouraged through structured programs which focus on spiritual growth, education, employment, life management and recovery from substance abuse.”
Help Needed:
Volunteers may help serve meals, provide evening snacks to women and children, collect school supplies and other needed items, write notes of encouragement, and help with other projects. Please contact the Star of Hope for COVID-related updates.
Details
Minimum Age to Volunteer
Kitchen volunteers must be high school age (with chaperone); all ages may serve snacks or write encouraging notes.
Time Commitment
2-hour or 2.5 hour shifts for kitchen volunteers; 1-2 hours for snack volunteers
Training Needed
The Star of Hope will provide an orientation / training as needed.
Help Needed

HELP SERVE MEALS
“We serve three meals a day, 365 days each year, at three facilities, and always need volunteers! What an opportunity to encourage and uplift as you hand meal trays to our clients.” Kitchen volunteers help set up, serve, and clean up after each meal. No more than 6 volunteers may serve in each kitchen per meal. High School students must have at least one chaperone per kitchen. (This program currently suspended due to COVID.)

SERVE SNACKS TO WOMEN & FAMILIES
For volunteers of all ages. “It can be a long time between dinner and breakfast when you can’t raid the fridge for a snack. Thanks to the snacks you provide and serve, our clients end the day with a delicious blessing.” Volunteers arrive at 7:45 PM to set up. Clients are invited to come by for a snack beginning at 8:00. Snack time is over at 8:30 and volunteers are asked to sweep up. Please prepare for approximately 125 guests. Monday – Sunday evenings.
Volunteers are asked to adhere to a specific menu. Monday: popcorn, pretzels, or goldfish, Tuesday: peanut butter & jelly finger sandwiches, Wednesday: cookies, Thursday: fruit or veggie trays, Friday: cookies, Saturday: pudding cups, Jell-O cups, or fruit cups, Sunday: Rice Krispie treats or granola bars.
More information is here. (Currently volunteers only drop off snacks (no client contact) due to COVID.)

ORGANIZE DONATED ITEMS
“Behind-the-scenes and far from glamorous, but vital in getting donated supplies into the hands of those in need. Donated items must be sorted, boxed, labeled, and palletized for distribution.” Projects for small groups of volunteers may be scheduled during the week and on some Saturdays. (This project is temporarily suspended due to COVID.)

EAGLE SCOUT / GOLD AWARD PROJECTS
One-time projects have included constructing new storage units, collecting bed pillows and towels, collecting children’s books, making fleece blankets, renovating a gazebo and painting a fence and picnic tables, constructing new benches and seating areas, and many other contributions.

COLLECT NEEDED ITEMS
Critical Needs include deodorant for men and women, diapers (sizes 5 & 6), bath towels, razors.
Urgent Needs include diapers, disposable pull-ups (sizes 4 & 5), baby powder, baby wipes, toiletries, shaving cream, razors, travel-size soap & shampoo, bottled water.
Ongoing Needs include new underwear for men, women, and children; socks (for children); women’s clothing size 22 & up (appropriate for job interviews); pillows; blankets; towels; toilet paper; strollers (no umbrella strollers please); flashlights and batteries.
Some donations cannot be accepted. Please visit the website for more details and for a list of urgent needs.

COLLECT SCHOOL SUPPLIES (IN SUMMER)
Before school begins, the Star of Hope distributes school supplies: pencils, binders, crayons, heavy-duty backpacks, pencil sharpeners, plastic rulers, and many other items.
School supplies must be dropped off before the second week in August; in the summer the Star of Hope website includes details about exactly what is needed.

WRITE NOTES OF ENCOURAGEMENT
“We all love cards and special greetings, but our clients don’t usually receive mail that is positive and uplifting. Your notes will be placed in client mailboxes or on bunk beds to bless, uplift, and raise the self-esteem of who are homeless. You can use any type of card you prefer. Plain cardstock cut into fourths works great. You can simply pen a note or decorate the cards with markers, colored pencils, and/or stickers. In other words, you can unleash your creativity and compassion. Notes can be all occasion or seasonal, but should not contain any personal information, such as names or phone numbers. This project is done at your convenience and at your location. We ask that you track and send us the hours you spend on this project. Since we have new people coming to our shelters every day needing help, the need for Notes of Encouragement is ongoing!”
(Please contact Star of Hope to see if they are currently accepting notes.)

MAKE HYGIENE KITS
Star of Hope distributes more than 1,000 hygiene kits per month through our Love-in-Action Van Ministry. These kits meet the most basic needs of those living out on the streets. There is no minimum or maximum number of hygiene kits we will accept – we are grateful for each kit and the volunteer who made it!
Please place the following items inside of a 1-gallon ziplock bag: 1 Pair of White Socks, Face Towel, Razor, Wet Wipes, Hand Sanitizer, Travel Size Shampoo/Conditioner, Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Crackers, Granola Bar &/or Raisins, 1 Pudding Cup, Lunch-to-Go Tuna Kit or 1 Can of Vienna Sausage, 1 Fruit Cup, & a Note of Encouragement with a Bible Verse. More information is here.

MAKE BLANKETS
Many of the children at Star of Hope arrive at the shelter anxious & afraid. Your blankets provide comfort & security as our children snuggle up in the soft, warm fabric giving hope that tomorrow will indeed be a better day! Blankets can be machine-stitched, fleece no-sew, knitted or crocheted. Both child-size blankets & full-size, adult blankets are needed & greatly appreciated. (Please contact the Star of Hope to see if they are currently accepting blankets.)
Contact Details
Contact
Register to volunteer at www.sohmission.org/volunteer.
Website
https://www.sohmission.org/Location
STAR OF HOPE
Houston, Texas 77003
Location Details
Houston, Texas 77003
The Donation & Distribution Center is at 2320 Lamar.
Additional Information
Star of Hope Mission Video (2016) (3 minutes 30 seconds)
Star of Hope Kitchen Volunteer Video (3 minutes):
Examples of past Scout projects
Travis Elementary Girl Scouts collected new toys for the Star of Hope “Christmas Toy Store”; they went on a caroling hayride and picked up donations from porches. (2019)
Bronze Award: Troop 21052 collected new and gently used towels and blankets. (2017)
Eagle: Christopher R. made 250 blankets. (2017)
A Junior Girl Scout Troop donated baby supplies, 400 pull-ups, 120 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies, and more than 2,000 diapers. (2016)
Eagle: Jered R. hosted two book and toy drives. (2015)
Gold Award: Three scouts from Troop 21261 put on a play and asked for donations of supplies as an entrance fee. They also used cash donations to buy a stroller. (2015)
Eagle: Fielden B. renovated the basketball court at the Men’s Development Center. (2015)
Girl Scout Troop 18283 collected baby items for the Day Care Center. (2015)
Eagle: Paul R. (Troop 13) enhanced the children’s play area. (2015)
Eagle: Brian P. collected almost 700 towels, hand towels and wash cloths. (2014)
Eagle: Cameron T. assembled 50 care packages for teen boys & girls. (2014)
Eagle: Drew organized a donation drive for hygiene kits and collected 9,273 items. (2014)
Gold Award: Natalie C. made dozens of blankets and collected several bags of blankets from a donation drive she hosted with her church and friends. (2013)
Eagle: Kendall B. built benches for the Women & Family Emergency Shelter. (2011)
Eagle: Kevin S. (Troop 642) designed and built a playground seating area and walkway for the Transitional Living Center. (2011)
Eagle: Mark C. (Troop 642) built large storage units for Women & Family Emergency Shelter and collected 1,408 children’s books. (2011)
Eagle: David R. designed and built 15 outdoor benches for the TLC cafeteria courtyard. (2011)
Eagle: Thomas P. organized a party for children at the TLC with Bible stories, crafts, and refreshments. (2011)
Eagle: Alex C. collected more than 800 books for 5-13 year olds. (2011)
Eagle: David R. (Troop 924) and his team made 11 benches for the outdoor play area at the Transitional Living Center.(2011)
Eagle: Renovated a gazebo and painted a fence and picnic tables.
Eagle: Brian H. designed a bench seating area for the Yellowstone side of the TLC campus. (2011)
Gold Award: Audrey D. gathered donations and made 50 gift bags for clients, and also made fleece blankets. (2011)
I’ve really loved working at the Star of Hope! When I volunteer here, it’s through the Birthday Party Project, which celebrates the kids’ birthdays at monthly parties. It’s a great way for them to have fun. These kids are great, and I’m sure all of the opportunities here are wonderful.
My 14 year old son and I recently volunteered at Star of Hope homeless shelter. You don’t need to be 18 to serve “evening snacks” to the clients. Someone over 18 must be with them. It it easy. You supply the snack and show up at 7:45, snack time starts at 8:00 and is over at 8:30. My son ended up staying 45 more minutes playing basketball with some other kids there. It was a great experience for him. He also collects toiletries for the shelter.