PARTICIPANT GUIDELINES: 
      Click here for a printable version

Dear Hope Station Participant,

The following is a guideline to help you understand the procedures for scheduling shopping and volunteer hours, making your monthly payment, receiving service coupons (haircut and eye exam), and discontinuing services.  Also included is the location of the warehouse and directions to it.  If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the office staff, at 503-339-7710 or by email at information.hopestation@gmail.com.

 Shopping:

 Participants can schedule to shop twice per month.  Here are some things to remember:

• Occasionally participants will be contacted for additional shopping opportunities, typically to allow for perishable items to be dispersed to participants prior to spoilage, such as fresh produce.  When this occasion occurs, participants will be notified by email or telephone, so please make sure your contact information is current and correct.

• When shopping, participants need to be mindful of the quantity limits that are noted on the various shelves and/or walls.  If you notice that an item does not have a limit ask the Lead Volunteer if there is a limit.  Remember there are many families receiving food from Hope Station and our mission is to distribute some to as many families as possible.  Note:  If you have a friend or relative who is in need of help, refer them to HS.  Shopping is for your household only.
• Be mindful of your time spent shopping.  You should try to limit yourself to no more than 40 minutes in the grocery warehouse. 
• Participants can get up to ONE cart full of groceries.  PLEASE NOTE:  Participants are not to unload the cart and go back for another shopping time.  We want to have enough for our other families as well. 
• Young children must never be left alone in shopping cart and must be supervised by you at all times.   

Monthly Payment:

• The participation fee is $25.00 per month.  This fee is due every month as long as you are enrolled with Hope Station, whether you choose to shop in any given month or not.  Please note: Payment must be made on or preferably before your shopping day.  Your monthly payment is important to help Hope Station maintain operations.  If you cannot make the payment previous to your shopping day, bring your payment to the office on the day you are shopping.  Please make sure you ask for a receipt when paying in person.
• Payments can be made by check, cash, or money order.  Checks should be made payable to HSCS and either dropped off or mailed to Hope Station Community Services, Inc., 1337 Madison St NE, Ste. 115, Salem OR 97301, or brought to the office the day you shop.
• Please ask for a receipt!  If you pay by mail, keep a copy of your check or money order for your records.   NOTE: Post-dated checks are not accepted. 
• Non Sufficient Fees (NSF)- A returned check  will result in a fee of $12 plus the amount of the check will due in cash or money order prior to shopping and personal check no longer accepted.

Scheduling Shopping and Volunteering: 

• All scheduling is done at the Hope Station office.  Please schedule your shopping trips no less than 2 week prior to shopping.   The available shopping spaces fill up quickly.   Please keep in mind that there is a limit of 6 participants working per 2-hour blocks of time and a limit of 6 participants shopping per hour. 
• Your failure to schedule in advance may cause you to lose your shopping day.  Lost shopping day may not be made up the following month.
• If you need to reschedule due to illness or a family emergency, please contact the office at 503.339.7710 or information.hopestation@gmail.com as soon as possible.

Volunteer Work:

Participants are required to volunteer 2 hours per month at Hope Station.  This part of your participation is a valuable aspect to the program as well as yourself.  It is through the work of the participants that Hope Station is able to maintain its facility and operations.  Hope Station is a service to its members and its members make Hope Station a successful service.

• Work hours must be completed in one day unless otherwise arranged with Marcia Mattoso.

• If you wish to volunteer more than 2 hours in one month, that’s very much appreciated.  However, the extra hours will not count for the following month.  In other words, you cannot “bank” hours for future months.  We need your help with at least 2 hours a month.

• Missed hours must be made up during the following month. 

                              

• Children under the age of 12 cannot accompany you while fulfill your volunteer hours. Children 12 and older cannot be left unsupervised if they must accompany you.

 

 Coupons:

• Participants are eligible to receive coupons for a haircut and an eye examination after they have completed 3 months of participation in the Hope Station program.  These coupons are a gift to us from friends of Hope Station.  The haircut coupon allows one participating family member to receive a free haircut (extras such as coloring, perms, etc. are at the expense of the participant) once every other month.  The coupon from Eyecare Center of Salem allows one participating family member to receive a free eye exam (exam only) once every other year.  Please refer to the coupons for more details, including scheduling specifics and discount offers.

• To receive these coupons, the participant must be in good standing at the end of 3 months.  Good standing means all payments have been made for the 3 months on time and all volunteer hours for the 3 months (total of 6 hours) have been worked.

Discontinuing Services:

If you decide to discontinue participation with Hope Station, please contact the office staff at information.hopestation@gmail.com  before the end of the month OR submit a letter to Hope Station stating that you are choosing to discontinue participation.  The letter can be sent to: Hope Station at 1337 Madison St NE, Ste. 115, Salem OR  97301.

When discontinuing participation, please be considerate of your agreement as a participant and make sure that all of your participation fees have been paid in full through the month of your discontinuance.  As stated before, monthly participation fees help Hope Station maintain services to all the families of Hope Station.  If you have a financial situation that is preventing you from being able to bring your account current, please contact Pastor Marcia Mattoso immediately so she can discuss your circumstance with you.

Warehouse Location:

• The warehouse is located at 1337 Madison St NE, Ste. 115, Salem OR 97301

Hours of Operation:

Hope Station is open the 2^nd and 4^th Tuesday and Saturday of every month. 

• Tuesday: 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
• Saturdays: 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Again, if you have any questions or concerns regarding anything in this guideline or anything else that comes up during your participation with Hope Station, please do not hesitate to contact Marcia Mattoso. (hopestation.marci@gmail.com).

Thank you for your participation in Hope Station.  We look forward to working with you!

 

God Bless You!

Marci Mattoso, Executive Director

Hope Station Community Services, Inc.

Phone: (503) 886-9138 

Email: hopestation.marci@gmail.com

 

 Volunteer Guidelines
       Click here for printable version

First I want to thank you for helping us!  You are an answer to our prayers and a blessing to us. 

Getting Started:

• Sign a Volunteer Release Form.  Each person who helps is required to fill out a form.  
• Record your volunteer time from the time you leave home. Record your time at the end of your shift.
• Check in with the lead volunteer helpers to know what needs to be done.
• Ask the lead volunteer for an orientation tour if this is your first time helping HSCSI.
• Make the lead volunteer aware of any physical limitations you may have so that we can properly select your activities. Your safety is of utmost importance.

 

Reinforcing the Guidelines:

Although it may be uncomfortable, volunteers may need to talk to participants about following the below guidelines. 

 Here are some things to remember:

• Enforcing item limits
• A minimum of two hours per person is required every time a person work in the warehouse.
• Shopping time is not considered part of the two hour minimum.
• Participants can get up to ONE cart full of groceries.  PLEASE NOTE:  Participants are not to unload the cart and go back for another shopping time.  We want to have enough for the other families as well.

It is NEVER acceptable for someone to be rude to you. If a shopper is unpleasant with you, the lead volunteer must know right away.

Drivers:

Drivers have a great responsibility to represent Hope Station to our donors. Here are some things to remember:

• Be courteous to everyone.
• Defer graciously if an argument arises about whether you should be picking up items. Report any incident to the executive director.
• NEVER joke with suppliers about "selling" ANYTHING.  We do not sell our donations.
• Give us enough notice if you can't make your designated drive so we can get a substitute.
• Write your pick up into the record book.

Work to be done:

Sorting Food Items

• Wipe or wash unclean items
• Remove unsafe items (Does this look clean and safe?)
• Group ‘like’ items together
• Repackage items in appropriate quantities
• Store sorted boxes in designated areas
• Keep the shelves clean and orderly always
• Boxes containing food may never be on the floor

Stocking Shelves

• DO NOT lift boxes that are too heavy for you! Ask for help.  Lift crates, or use a hand truck; do not drag crates across clean room floor.  Your safety is FIRST!
• Keep ‘like’ items in the same areas; i.e. canned vegetables together, fruit, spaghetti sauce, etc.
• Face the labels so that they can be read at a glance
• Check for expiration dates and place them accordingly (i.e. items with longer validations goes in the back of the shelf.

Food Breakdown

• Food items that we receive in bulk are repackaged or placed on the shelves for distribution.
• Wash your hands first and ALWAYS wear clean gloves. Food safety is of vital importance.
• Wipe down the surface with disinfectant first and between every job.
• Label individual items as they are packaged. Pastry flour and unbleached flour look alike, but don't bake the same!
• Clean up after each job, wiping floor if necessary.

Clothing Sorting and Organizing:

• Sort clothing according to their own categories (age and gender)
• If clothing is not in good condition, place it in a separate bag. 

For more information, please refer to the participant guidelines.

Thanks again for your help and may God bless you in a very special way!