The Kind of Outreach Volunteers Keep Showing Up For
What happens when volunteers of different generations keep showing up together, week after week? This story highlights the community, care, and coordination behind a volunteer effort that lasts.
Some outreach programs happen once a year.
Others are seasonal.
And then there’s outreach people can count on every week—year-round—for decades.
Every Tuesday morning, for more than 30 years, you’ll find a dedicated group of volunteers in the lower level of St. Francis Xavier College Church.
They set up tables.
They greet familiar faces.
They prepare to help neighbors access something we rely on every day—but not everyone has: identification.
Neighbors arrive with envelopes, forms, or sometimes nothing at all. Volunteers sit with them, review what’s needed, explain next steps, and help cover costs so paperwork and postage don’t become a dead end.
“Our volunteers see this work as more than tasks to check off a list,” said Christine Dragonette, Director of Social Ministry. “They’re working alongside people to help them access what’s required for jobs, housing, and basic stability.”
Week After Week, The Doors Are Open
Tuesday Outreach supports people navigating housing insecurity, job disruption, or the loss of important documents—situations where replacing an ID or birth certificate can feel overwhelming.
Volunteers help guests understand requirements, locate records, and complete the process so they can move forward. The work is practical and focused, shaped by years of experience and a clear understanding of what neighbors need most.
But the heart of the program isn’t paperwork.
It’s the volunteer community that has kept this outreach going for over 30 years.
The Volunteers Who Keep Coming Back
On a typical Tuesday, 30-35 volunteers fill roles such as intake, hospitality, and guest navigation. Many are retirees. Others are Saint Louis University students or Jesuits in formation to become priests. Together, they form an intergenerational community grounded in service.
“There’s a lot of consistency,” Dragonette shares. “Many of our volunteers come most weeks, year after year—and for some, they’ve been volunteering here for decades.”
Over time, this has become more than a volunteer opportunity. It’s a community people return to. Volunteers know one another. They know the flow of the morning. And guests know this is a place they can count on for support.
That steady presence allows the outreach to operate year-round and to meet people where they are—not just during a season of heightened need—and meet people where they are. In 2025 alone, volunteers assisted over 3,700 individuals, each one working toward greater stability through access to essential documents.
A Community Built on Consistency
Supporting a volunteer community of this size and longevity requires coordination that doesn’t get in the way of the work itself.
The outreach team uses Unison to organize weekly roles and schedules, making it easy for volunteers to see what’s needed and sign up in advance. With volunteers bringing different levels of experience and comfort with technology, clarity and simplicity matter.
“Scheduling volunteers in Unison helps us plan ahead, without losing the personal feel of the program,” one outreach leader explained. “It helps volunteers know where they’re needed each week, and it frees us up to focus on the people in front of us.”
Simple signups help the Outreach team remain consistent, welcoming, and ready each week.
That reliability extends beyond the program itself. Community partners across St. Louis know this program is dependable—a place that will be there next Tuesday, and the Tuesday after that.
Learn more about the ID and Birth Certificate Outreach Program at St. Francis Xavier College Church, a Jesuit parish in St. Louis, Missouri. Get inspired by the heart behind this work.
If you organize volunteers for outreach in your community, Unison can help you build something that lasts — with simple signups and volunteer management tools anyone can use for free.
