Volunteer at Ten Thousand Villages in Salt Lake City, UT

As a nonprofit store, we depend on volunteers to help bring overhead costs lower, and to keep up the fantastic energy around Fair Trade!

Our volunteers are the life-blood of our non-profit store.  Volunteers help us keep our overhead costs down, which allows us to purchase more products from our artisans.  Apply now to join our fun-filled volunteer positions - greeting and interacting with customers, unpacking and checking orders, assisting with displays and operating the cash register.  If you are at least sixteen years old please consider joining our team of volunteers.

Volunteering at Ten Thousand Villages - Utah is a wonderful opportunity to be a part of a group of people who are united in our common goal of making a difference in the lives of our artisan partners by selling their products and telling their stories.  We are inspired to work harder to increase sales as we learn of the profound impact our business has on the economic well-being of our artisans, their families and their villages.  Our time and effort enable us to be a part of a much larger community that embraces a common vision, values and celebrates cultural differences and actively works to improve the lives of others. 

Orientation and Training: An orientation for anyone interested in volunteering is offered twice a month in our store.  This 1 hour session will acquaint you with our mission, give you a general overview of store operations and introduce you to specific job functions.  After the orientation, you will be set up for a two-hour training where you will be given an opportunity to learn more about the products we sell and the artisans who make them.  You will also be paired with an experienced volunteer or staff member who will be able to assist you in learning to perform the more complex aspects of the job.  

Time Committment:  We ask our store volunteers to work with us at least 8 hours (two 4 hours shifts) per month.  The store is open six days a week with both day and evening hours.  We also have activities, such as community outreach events and off-site sales, for which we also use volunteers.  You can arrange your volunteer time for whatever works best with your schedule.  You can volunteer a regualr 4-hour shift on the same day each week.  If your schedule changes frequently, we can work with that, also.  

Types of Work:  We have volunteer opportunities in every aspect of running a successful retail store.  We need outgoing people to greet our customers and talk to them about our mission and products.  We need cashiers.  We need organized detail people to help with inventory management and administrative functions.  We need marketing and creative visual merchandisers to display our products.  We welcome help with unpacking, shelving and even repairing damaged merchandise.  We also can use good communicators to help produce our newsletters, update our website and maintain our social media sites.  Help with setting up, conducting and breaking down our off-site events is also needed.  

If you are interested in learning more about volunteering, complete a volunteer application in the store or for more information, call 801-485-8827 or email ssmart@villagesutah.org