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Empower Party 4/28/2026
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VOLUNTEERS DRIVE
THE MISSION
Join Our Volunteer Village, a community of care for our participants who are young adults transitioning out of foster care.
We view our participants as Creative, Resourceful, and Whole. They are former foster youth 18-26, living in San Diego County who have spent even one day in foster care. Our Alumni Community is 27-35 years old.
Have questions? Reach out to us at volunteer@jitfosteryouth.org
Ways you can VOLUNTEER
Coaching
Community Support
Expert Support
Team Volunteering
Coaching
If you enjoy building trusted, long-lasting relationships and would like to offer guidance, encouragement, and mentorship, consider becoming a Volunteer Coach. Our coaches create meaningful impact and supportive connections for participants on their journey to self-sufficiency and success.
The Coaching Role May Include:
- Learning & Career Development: Attend workshops, events, or learning sessions with participants. For example, career exploration, networking, resume review, interview prep, goal setting, money management coaching, and healthy relationship habits
- Practical Life Skills: Assist with studying for a driver’s permit/license, higher education, self-care practices, workplace dynamics and any additional adult life navigation
- Personal & Emotional Support: Offer encouragement, mentorship, or motivation, provide a supportive presence during transitions, challenges, and celebrations
Community Support
Lend your time and talents to strengthen our organization by assisting with essential projects and daily operations – helping JIT expand and better impact participant lives.
The Community Support Role May Include:
- Administrative & Office Support: Help with general organization, filing, data entry, or shredding, assist with mailings, and special office projects
- Event Preparation: Assemble gift baskets, giveaways, or materials, decorative create signage, build or set up displays
- Event-Day Support: Help with registration, check-in, or greeting guests, set-up, breakdown, or clean-up assistance, help participants, vendors, or presenters during the event
- Housing & Independent Living Support: Assist with moving into a home, apartment, or dorm, provide transportation (truck, SUV, or van for picking up or moving items). Help with household setup (basic repairs, furniture assembly)
Expert Support
Do you have a unique expertise that you can leverage to empower participants? Our volunteer experts support with tutoring, sharing resources, offering guidance, or providing direct services—so participants can grow with confidence and achieve their goals.
The Expert Support Role May Include:
- Education & Career Support: Assist with college or trade school applications, guidance on financial aid, scholarships, or student resources, review essays, resumes, or job applications, intern/shadowing, human resources/benefit preparation
- Financial & Legal Support: Credit repair or financial literacy guidance, pro bono legal support or advice, tenant/homeowner rights, tax prep, assistance with specific financial issues
- Personal & Community Support: Extend your personal/professional network and resources to participants, parenting skills, health, wellness, or mental health resources (if qualified), transportation assistance (appointments, errands, work/school)
Team Volunteering
If your company, civic, or faith group wants to make a positive impact in the community, support our mission by sharing your skills, time, or resources. Strengthen your teamwork and company culture through social responsibility while empowering JIT participants to grow, thrive, and imagine new possibilities.
The Team Volunteering Role May Include:
- Event Preparation: Assemble gift baskets, giveaways, or materials, to support JIT annual events
- Housing & Independent Living Support: Assist with moving into a home, apartment, or dorm, provide transportation (truck, SUV, or van for picking up moving items). Help with household setup (basic repairs, furniture assembly)
- Mini-Drive: Support by hosting a donation drive. Your team can provide essential items that directly impact the lives of participants. Anything from basic household items, wellness kits, hygiene supplies, or non-perishable foods.
- Work Readiness & Career Exposure: Host a site visit at corporate facilities to provide participants with hands-on exposure to workplace environments, introduce career pathways, skill-building opportunities, and professional expectations, engage your staff in sharing expertise and experiences.
Why Volunteer at Just in Time for Foster Youth?
Remember turning 18? The sense of possibility and uncertainty but also knowing you had people you could turn to when things got hard. Imagine that same moment without a safety net. Navigating housing, education, employment, and transportation, often alone. This is the reality for many young adults transitioning from foster care.
At Just in Time, we believe no one should have to do that alone. Every individual deserves more than resources; they deserve consistent relationships, a sense of belonging, and a community that shows up for them. Our Volunteer Village is that community, filled with people who reliably stand beside young adults as they build their futures.
That’s where YOU come in.
You don’t need special training or expertise to make a difference. What matters most is your willingness to show up consistently, with care, curiosity, and commitment. If you can bring your time, energy, and heart to support young adults with foster care experience, you already belong here.
Our volunteer opportunities are designed to fit a wide range of interests, skills, and schedules. Whether you’re welcoming guests at events, supporting our team behind the scenes, or building a long-term coaching relationship, there’s a place for you here — and a young person who will benefit from your presence.
Join us TODAY to take your first step to provide empowering, life changing choices to former foster youth!
VOLUNTEER STORY
Volunteering FAQs
You have questions. We have answers.
Who do I contact with questions about volunteering?
Our Volunteer Services team can be reached at volunteer@jitfosteryouth.org or 619-677-2119.
How do I start volunteering?
First, sign up to attend a Volunteer Welcome. During the Volunteer Welcome, you will provide information that will help us match you with upcoming volunteer opportunities that suit your interests, expertise, and schedule.
We host Volunteer Welcomes on the third Thursday of each month. Please visit our sign-up page to view upcoming New Volunteer Welcome dates and register to attend.
In addition to the Volunteer Welcome, volunteers are required to attend one “Coach Approach to Mentoring” training session. These trainings focus on effective communication and active listening skills to facilitate happy, healthy and strong relationships between youth participants and volunteers. “Coach Approach” to Mentoring is explained in depth during the Volunteer Welcome.
After I attend a Volunteer Welcome, how soon can I begin volunteering?
Depending on the upcoming needs and opportunities, as well as your availability and interests, it can take 1-3 months to begin volunteering. During the Volunteer Welcome, you’ll learn about current and upcoming volunteer opportunities. Within the following week, we ask you to submit a form detailing the JIT services you are interested in, along with the skills and experience you would like to leverage as a volunteer. Once this is submitted, we’ll get you signed up for a Coach Approach to Mentoring (CA2M) training, which is the next step to getting involved. After you have attended a CA2M, you’ll be invited to volunteer at the next opportunity that matches your interests, experience, and availability.
How much time can I expect to spend each month volunteering for JIT?
Volunteer roles vary and time investment depends on the specific volunteer role you sign up for opportunities can range from year-long cohort programs with bi-weekly workshops and one-on-one meetups (as many as 9 hours per month), to event day registration (as little as 2 hours on a single day of the year). At our Volunteer Welcome, you’ll learn about the various volunteer roles, the time of year they are offered, and the time commitment required.
Can I be involved in more than one volunteer role at a time?
Absolutely! Many of our volunteers take on multiple roles and/or engage with several JIT services.
Volunteers are valued members of our growing community. We welcome and appreciate your time, skill and ideas as we evolve to meet the needs of our youth.
Can all ages volunteer?
We love your desire to support our organization, but all our volunteer opportunities are for those 18 and older. Additionally, we ask that all our Coaches are at least 24 years old as our youth participants range from 18-26 years old.
Do you offer out-of-state volunteering? I don’t live in San Diego.
Thank you for your interest in volunteering with us! I wanted to let you know our volunteer opportunities are for San Diego County residents only. Do you plan to move to the area soon? I’m happy to send you additional information about volunteering but wanted to give you a heads up in advance, just in case.
Do you sign off on volunteer hours? (Internships, community service, student, or court-ordered)
Thanks for reaching out and thinking of us with volunteering! While you are more than welcome to sign up to volunteer with us, please note that we don’t sign off on any community, student, or court-ordered volunteer hours. This is because we can’t guarantee the required amount of volunteer hours will be met in the time limit given, and to ensure our volunteers are intending to stay connected for at least 6 months to a year, if not longer. Please let us know if you are still interested in volunteering. Of course, we completely understand if you need to consider alternative options. Thank you.
Is Just in Time certified as a Service Enterprise?
Yes. In 2014, Points of Light certified JIT as a Service Enterprise, defined as an “organization that fundamentally leverages volunteers and their skills across all levels of the organization to successfully deliver on its social mission.” This means we count on volunteers to provide the resources, relationships, and expertise that deliver our much-needed services to transition age foster youth while building organizational capacity.