Volunteer Opportunities 2024

Good Works exists to connect people from all walks of life
with people in poverty so that the kingdom of God can be experienced.

Updated April 3, 2024

Good Works email address is email@good-works.net

Good Works is a faith-based Christian community and our vision is to create a loving Community of HOPE with and for people who are struggling with homelessness and poverty in rural Appalachia. WE provide opportunities to give, to share time, to express kindness and love; and to learn with and from the people we serve. Since 1981, we have been forming diverse contexts of hospitality in which people in need can experience welcome, connect with a caring community, access opportunities for practical assistance, and find ways they can share their skills and abilities with others. The people we are especially focused on loving are men, women and children who are without homes, children experiencing the risks of poverty, and older adults who are widowed or have a disability.

For information about volunteering to receive academic credit or community service hours, click here.

To view “Works of Good,” an 8-minute documentary about the experiences of two former residents of the Timothy House who are now on staff, click here.

Click here to read our Spring
Volunteer Opportunity focus.

Good Works Volunteer Opportunities

Click any of the opportunities below for more information.




The Next Step…

If you would like to become a Good Works volunteer and serve in one of the areas described above, fantastic! The application process is as follows: come to one of our properties, meet our staff and receive a tour, fill out an application, and have a short interview.

Please call the appropriate contact person to set up a time to come to one of our properties. Those interested in volunteering out of the Timothy House receive a tour there. All others receive a tour of the Good Works Luhrig Road property. Coming to do a tour and meet with our staff is a prerequisite for receiving a volunteer application. Locations and directions will be provided when you call. Or, you can find a map to our locations here.

Not certain?

If you are interested in volunteering but are uncertain as to which opportunity fits you, feel free to email us or call our Administrative Office at 740.594.3339 to talk with one of our staff. We would be happy to discuss current opportunities with you.

Volunteering for credit, hours, community service or scholarships.

Any volunteers seeking academic credit, community service hours, court-ordered* community service or internship credit must request this in writing, in advance, through our application process. Unless you receive proper approval in advance, we cannot sign off on any volunteer hours. Credit for service is available for some, but not all, of our volunteer opportunities. Designated staff from Good Works will certify academic credit or hours after volunteers have completed the full volunteer commitment. For clarification on your particular situation, email us at email@good-works.net

  • We are not able to facilitate court-ordered community service at this time.

The Volunteer Application

Following your tour, you will be provided a Volunteer Application. You may fill it out on-site or take it home. You may also request it by email after you complete the tour. The application generally takes about 30 minutes to complete. You will need to provide three personal references to complete the application, so you may want to bring phone and email addresses with you. Please ask your references permission for us to contact them, and tell them to expect a call from us. It takes about a week for Good Works staff to process a Volunteer Application.

 The following information is provided to you on the Volunteer Application but we thought it might be helpful for you to read this now:

THANK YOU for your interest in serving as a volunteer with Good Works! Completing the application will provide information to help us determine where you might fit inside the Good Works Community of HOPE. We hope that you have already explored our website but if you haven’t, please take the time to watch a few video’s and explore our different initiatives. In addition, read through our 2023 history and vision brochure (also available at our offices). Please complete all of this reading, along with the statement below about our philosophy and worldview, prior to answering the questions in this application.

The Philosophy and Worldview of Good Works

Good Works exists to connect people from all walks of life
with people in poverty so that the kingdom of God can be experienced.

Good Works is a faith-based organization and our vision is to create a loving Community of HOPE with people who are struggling with poverty and homelessness in rural Appalachia. Since 1981, we have been forming diverse contexts in which people in need can experience welcome, connect with a caring community, access practical assistance, and find ways they can use their abilities to help others. The people we are especially focused on loving are men, women and children who are without homes, children experiencing the risks of poverty, and older adults who are widowed or have a disability.

As a community, we are motivated by the love of God: “God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom he has given us” (Romans 5:5). Our care for our neighbors in need is born from the overflow of Christ’s love and care for us. Half of our purpose is to come alongside people who are vulnerable by reaching out to them in practical service, and the other half is to provide an avenue for volunteers to serve with us. We believe that only a limited amount of education occurs in the classroom— the rest is obtained through the experience of associating, serving, loving, and knowing those in need. Our intent is to create opportunities that bring volunteers face-to-face with their neighbors, and in doing so, to encourage and inspire our volunteers towards growth.

As a Christian organization, our purpose is to worship God through loving our neighbors. With each person we serve, we desire to build relationships founded on love. We want to both demonstrate and communicate our faith. Therefore, we must: (1) Earn the right or permission to share our lives, values and convictions with those in need. (2) Through integrity, work to establish trust as the primary ingredient and foundation of all our relationships. (3) Recognize that whatever we have to say about our faith and our relationship with God comes in the context of what already exists inside each person we meet. (4) Use respect as the primary lens through which we conduct ourselves in every relationship.

Inside the worldview of Good Works are the following core concepts:

(1) As human beings seeking to grow, we need to serve others regardless of whether or not they express gratitudea.

(2) Under no circumstances do we believe it is loving for our staff or volunteers to take any form of abuse from those we are serving.

(3) All service requires some measure of sacrifice, and volunteers should expect to be challenged emotionally, psychologically and spiritually.

(4) The personal growth of our volunteers is equally important to us as the personal growth of the people we are serving.

(5) Where you as a volunteer meet the people that Good Works serves determines what kind of relationship you will have with them. If you meet them at a local restaurant, for example, Good Works will have a limited “voice” into how you conduct yourself. If you meet them through Good Works, we will expect you to listen and consider our guidance in your relationship. This means that we expect you to ask for input from your staff supervisor prior to exchanging contact information with or spending time with a recipient of a Good Works program outside of your volunteer setting. Recognizing the wisdom of those who served with Good Works for a long time is essential to being a volunteer.


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A WORD FROM KEITH

Greetings friends,

Thank you for your desire to explore Good Works’ volunteer opportunities!

Good Works was established through volunteers, is supported by volunteers and sustained by volunteers. I was 22 years old and attending Ohio University when I started Good Works in the basement of my home, volunteering to provide a place to stay for people who were experiencing homelessness. During the first 4 years of Good Works, my wife and I worked jobs in the community and volunteered our time to build and sustain what we now call ” a community of hope”.

I hope you will consider making a commitment to associate, serve, love and know our neighbors struggling with poverty, exclusion and homelessness here in rural Appalachia.

Love is a verb,

Keith Wasserman
Founder and Executive Director