Volunteer
Pour coffee with us
A morning at the table is simple: pour coffee and tea as people walk up, hand a juice box to a toddler, and offer a smile and a listening ear. Showing up, week after week, is most of it.
Café Gratis is a ministry of welcoming the stranger. Volunteers of every faith and none are welcome at the table.
Where it began
How it started
A mother and her three-year-old once waited more than two hours in a bare room for a check-in. There were no snacks and nothing to do, and the little one was hungry and bored. The tiniest seed of an idea began in that bare waiting room: a table out front, with coffee, snacks, and a smile. Now no one has to start that morning hungry or alone.
Getting started
Three steps
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Fill out the short form
It asks a few questions and links you to the calendar. Open the volunteer form.
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Learn the ropes
Read the guidance below before your first morning.
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Pick your shifts
The table runs 9 a.m. to noon every weekday morning the office is open. Each morning has a lead and a few helpers.
Before your first morning
What to know
- Please don't bring along anyone who hasn't signed up.
- Teens are welcome when a parent or guardian volunteers with them.
- You don't need to speak Spanish, though it helps.
- Don't photograph or film community members or their children at the table, and don't post about who you met.
Before your first morning, read the volunteer training: the shift from setup to teardown, hospitality, privacy rules, and what to do when something goes wrong.
Can you cover an afternoon?
The office is open in the afternoon too, and right now nobody on our volunteer list can be there from 1 to 5 p.m. If you can, even one afternoon a month, say so on the sign-up form.
Bring your people
Adopt a morning or afternoon with a team
A church, workplace, school group, or set of neighbors can staff the table one morning or afternoon a month, or more.
- Size: a lead plus 1 to 3 volunteers per shift: mornings 9 a.m. to noon, afternoons 1 to 5 p.m.
- Team lead: learns the ropes with us first, then recruits, trains, and schedules the team.
- Supplies: a canopy, a table or wagon, signs, airpots of coffee and coffee supplies, pre-packaged snacks, and handouts. Teams can fund their own.
Starting a table in your town? Here's how to start one at your check-in office.
More ways in
Other groups that need volunteers
Separate organizations, not run by Café Gratis. Checked on their own sites in November 2026.
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Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN)
Statewide network. Trains volunteers for its hotline teams and to accompany people to ICE check-ins.
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Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
Legal services. Looking for pro bono attorneys and interpreters. General volunteer intake is closed for now.
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Advocates for Immigrants in Detention Northwest
Tacoma. Detention visits, pen pals, a welcome center for people just released, and drivers.
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World Relief Western Washington
Kent. A welcome center for people released from detention, and host homes.
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International Rescue Committee in Seattle
Refugee and immigrant resettlement in South King County.
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Jewish Family Service
Seattle. Refugee and immigrant services, a food bank, and more.
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Casa Latina
Seattle. Worker center for Latino immigrants: English classes and more.
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La Resistencia
Tacoma. Organizing around the Northwest ICE Processing Center.
En español
Sea voluntario
Llene el formulario corto, aprenda lo básico y escoja sus mañanas, de 9 a.m. a mediodía. Un equipo, con un líder y de 1 a 3 voluntarios, puede cubrir una mañana al mes o más.