Diane & Siggy
Volunteering & Community-based Education
Volunteers come to Maybelle Center because they want to take a tangible step to reverse human isolation and its root causes in our city. Whether serving as a community volunteer or with a college or university, we set up the conditions for a volunteer experience that gets to the heart of our mission: to build inclusive belonging.
In our daily lives, we tend to interact with people who are like us in appearance, speech, religion, and income–and Maybelle Center aims to break this pattern. The key is to bridge differences between individuals so they can turn towards each other and build belonging together. It’s challenging, but when done effectively, has a profound impact on everyone involved.
Through these connections, you will begin to experience inclusive belonging. And you’ll have gained tools to create spaces for inclusive belonging in your own life—not by hearing a story or reading it in a book, but because you’ll feel it yourself. That’s why we say we support all Portlanders in meeting their need to belong.
Join us and experience it for yourself as a community volunteer or student.
Spotlight
Meet Integrative Health students Kasey & Sydney
Spotlight
Meet Charlie: Driving Lyft to volunteering
Student Service-Learning
Service learning, also known as community-engaged learning, enables college and university students to gain hands-on experience applying academic knowledge to real-world situations. In addition, students gain experiential learning by interacting with environments such as Old Town that they might not experience otherwise.
Our longest-standing relationships are with nursing programs, but students of all majors develop a deeper understanding of how stigmas around mental health and financial poverty impact well-being. We focus on creating the necessary structural conditions to bridge relationships between students and Members, so they are based on reciprocity and a shared sense of belonging. This enables meaningful connection with others they may have previously felt uneasy around or perceived as a possible threat.
Students leave Maybelle Center with an advocacy mindset to address the root causes of social isolation and the tools to create inclusive belonging in their personal and professional settings across Portland and beyond.
Find Out More & Apply
We’re thrilled that you’ve made it this far! We would love to get to know you better and share information about current opportunities at Maybelle Center. Please fill out this quick form, and we’ll be in touch within 48 hours.
Please note that all volunteers at Maybelle Center must be 18 years or older.