Volunteer patrons with LLGI are intended to supplement the work of paid staff, not replace employees. We offer many opportunities within the organization to give back while providing you with the experience you are looking for and a personal level of satisfaction.

Volunteer opportunities exist in our retail stores for individuals seeking service hours for an educational or community group, who are required to volunteer to obtain government benefits, or who need court ordered service hours.

Retail store volunteers assist customers and help with keeping the store clean and easy to shop. No experience is required. Examples of duties are light housekeeping, putting away shopping carts, greeting customers and assisting shoppers with their needs.

There are many opportunities to volunteer your time inside our administrative headquarters in Springfield. Experience working in an office is a plus. Duties would include copying materials, filing, data entry, answering phones and assignment to some special projects.

STEP is a program developed by the Illinois Department of Human Services’ Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS). DRS works in partnership with people with disabilities and their families to assist them in making informed choices to achieve full community participation through employment, education, and independent living opportunities. As part of ist continuum of coordinated transition services, DRS offers a wide range of services to students at local high schools through STEP. STEP is a work experience program that helps students with disabilities prepare to transition to employment and community participation during and after high school. Students learn to be productive, self-sufficient adults through a variety of STEP experiences including meaningful work experience through on-the-job placement. Please reach out directly to your local retail store if you are interested in participating in this program. We will process your application in partnership with your school.

SCSEP is a community service and work-based job training program for older Americans. Authorized by the Older Americans Act, the program provides training for low-income, unemployed seniors. SCSEP participants gain work experience in a variety of community service activities. This training serves as a bridge to unsubsidized employment opportunities for participants. Contracts with local agencies must be in place prior to applying to work in an LLGI location.

Education institutions establish certain community service requirements for graduation or as part of a disciplinary program. Students are asked to provide the program requirements at the time of application. If you are under 18 years of age, please reach out directly to your local retail store for more information on how to get involved!

Community service is a sanction that the court can impose as a condition of probation, conditional discharge, or supervision. The court imposes this sanction for varied purposes, such as a form of restoration/reparation and as an opportunity for rehabilitation.

The Social Service Department has developed a Community Service Program to provide the court with an alternative to incarceration and to achieve the Illinois Constitution’s objective of this court-imposed penalty, which is to restore the offender to useful citizenship. The Social Service Department’s Community Service Program has the following goals:

As a component of a comprehensive intervention, community service often builds better community relations. Community organizations experience “criminals” as real people with human struggles. The offender experiences, sometimes for the first time, the intrinsic rewards of productive labor and the sense of belonging based on the principles of accountability and restitution. Offenders also come to the understanding that there are consequences for unlawful behavior.

In fulfilling the department’s mandate to direct offenders toward compliance with their court orders, caseworkers use a process of assessment to provide and facilitate correctional interventions and treatment appropriate to the charge and situation of each offender. Efforts are made to match the degree and level of services to the offender’s risk of recidivism.

The Social Service Department has developed a network of hundreds of not-for-profit organizations throughout Illinois that participate in the program. LLGI requires applicants to provide the court order documentation at the time of application.

At times, members of the community will request to volunteer as part of their personal or organizational philanthropy beliefs. These individuals are not required to provide any documentation during the application process. If you are under the age of 18, please reach out directly to your local retail store for more information on how to get involved.