There are many ways to contribute to CARP, and we want to make sure you get involved in a place and way that fits where you’re at. Here’s a breakdown of the various roles, please read and email us if you have any questions. After reading through it, fill out our new volunteer form below and someone will be in touch with you soon.
If you’d like to support CARP but can’t commit to a regular volunteering role, another way you can help is to supply hot food (soup, chili, mac & cheese, etc.) for us to distribute on Saturdays. This is especially crucial during the Winter months! Message us via Instagram or email if you’re interested!
Distribution
Most of our in-person work happens at the office on Kensington Ave and Lehigh. Here, the majority of the people that we work with are unhoused or housing insecure, and live in the Kensington neighborhood.
Every Sunday, rain or shine: we distribute hot meals, sandwiches, coffee/lemonade/gatorade, hygiene packs (bandaids, masks, ibuprofen/tylenol, antibiotic ointment), safe injection and smoking kits, reading materials, on site wound care.
Relationship building is essential to the work that we do, so we ask that if you’re interested in volunteering with us, you commit to being involved in the long term and to being available around 4-8 hours a week.
Right now we are in need of more Spanish speakers, folks with medical and legal training, and people with trauma-informed de-escalation and mediation training.
In bringing on new volunteers, we prioritize people with life experiences similar to the population we serve, and people who are local to Philadelphia or live in Kensington. If you are interested in volunteering but there are economic barriers to your participation such as transportation or childcare, please let us know and we will figure out how to make your involvement easier.
While we do our best to practice COVID safety, we are often engaging with people outside who do not wear masks. Masks are required indoors at all times, and we ask that people stay home if they are feeling sick or have a known COVID exposure.
Medical Team
Our medical team includes a combination of folks with medical training, experience in medical advocacy (for themselves or others), and anyone approaching healthcare through the lense of mutual aid, abolition, and harm reduction. We regularly need people who can assist with wound care on the ground every Sunday or who can accompany neighbors to the hospital. If you have a car, a medical background, or the will to dive in and learn, get in touch!
General ‘On Call’ Drivers
If you don’t have the ability to take a more regularly occurring role, you can be placed on an ‘On Call’ list, where we reach out for more urgent or last minute needs, such as filling for a driver cancellation, taking someone to the hospital, or picking up donations.
Community Action Relief Project 