Opportunities From: Haywood Pathways Center

Help Chef Shawn prepare dinner for 80!  No experience required and NO DISHES to wash! We have a fully functioning Industrial Kitchen with walk-in fridge/freezer, 6 burner gas stove, double oven and large convection oven. Through our partnership with MANNA and Publix, the fridge is always stocked with chicken, ground beef and other proteins. There is also plenty of fresh produce as well.

Dinner is served in the Dining Room and Family Dorm at 6 pm each night. We also pack to go boxes for non-residents to pick up after dinner is served to our residents.

IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN LEADING A NEW DINNER COOK TEAM OR VOLUNTEERING FOR THIS OPPORRTUNITY INDIVIDUALLY, PLEASE EMAIL THE VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR DIRECTLY AT volunteer@haywoodpathways.org

Cook Teams bring 2-5 helpers, start prepping around 4:00 pm, ask grace at 5:50 and serve at 6:00. We encourage our teams to eat the meal and visit with our residents until 6:30. Your gift of presence means more than you know! Pathways residents are blessed by a thriving chaplain ministry, so our cook teams can simply enjoy table fellowship with our residents over the meal they have prepared.

Our Kitchen Manager, Chef Shawn, is on-site to help as needed. Cook Team leads can contact Chef Shawn prior to their scheduled cooking night to plan the menu and allow Chef Shawn to pull the ingredients, and, of course, you can bring your own items if preferred. If you prefer to just show up and cook what Shawn has planned, you can do that too!

This is a great opportunity for all levels of expertise and age groups. No clean up necessary since the residents take responsibility for leftovers and cleaning.

*note for Dining Hall.  Please park on the right side of our parking lot and enter the dining hall up the ramp on the right.

This team of volunteers needs to be characterized by resourcefulness, courage (not easily scared), the ability to handle awkward situations calmly, skills to defer giving an answer and taking a message, and firm kindness. We will train you for the specific tasks! Volunteers will answer the phone, do brief phone interviews to determine eligibility for entrance, and greet guests who come in the front door of the office.

Ideally, our team would fill the hours of 9-5, Monday thru Friday. I am happy to fill the team with different levels of time commitment. For example, if one volunteer is willing to come every day from 9-12 but one volunteer is willing to come one day a week from 3-5, all are welcome. I think 2 hours per week is probably the minimum commitment. I would also like to have a list of willing “substitutes” in the case of travel or an emergency.

Music has a special way of creating comfort, connection, and joy in everyday life. At Haywood Pathways Center, a simple song can help soften the stress of the day, spark conversation, bring back good memories, and remind residents that they are seen, valued, and not alone.

Our musically inclined volunteers help bring warmth and hospitality to the dining hall through short musical visits on Friday or Saturday evenings. Volunteers may play piano, guitar, sing, lead familiar songs, take song requests, or provide peaceful background music as residents gather around the evening meal.

This is not a formal concert. It is a ministry of presence and encouragement. Volunteers use music to help create an atmosphere of dignity, peace, and community — supporting Haywood Pathways’ mission to offer shelter, nourishment, support, and hope to our neighbors.