
Uplift Organization Inc.
2026 Impact 100 Partner
Website: uplift.org
Location: Kansas City, Mo. (Jackson Co.)
Uplift provides mobile street outreach to people experiencing homelessness. Three nights a week, volunteer-driven van routes bring food, supplies and consistent human presence to 350-450 neighbors. Uplift has not missed in a schedule route night in 36 years.
Volunteer Information:
Volunteer Opportunities: Uplift offers two primary ways to get involved.
Warehouse volunteering happens every Saturday morning from 9:00 to 11:30 AM. Volunteers sort donations and help prep supplies for the week’s routes. It’s a great entry point for anyone new to Uplift, and walk-ins are always welcome even when online sign-up shows full.
Route volunteering puts people directly on our outreach teams, delivering food, clothing, and supplies to neighbors experiencing homelessness on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday evenings. Volunteers must be at least 14, with a parent or guardian present for minors. Routes are scheduled six to eight weeks out, and on any given night about half the volunteers are new and half are returning regulars.
Beyond these two core paths, Uplift also coordinates volunteers as needed for prep cooking, receiving donations at the warehouse, greeting new volunteers, and occasional donation pickups.
We also host group volunteer sessions for companies, churches, and schools, with formats that scale from a single session for smaller groups to multi-day sessions for groups of 50 or more.
Anyone interested can sign up for a warehouse session directly online or email our volunteer coordinator to get scheduled for a route.
Volunteer Contact: Angie Jenkins volunteer@uplift.org





