“Go wherever we are needed and do whatever comes to hand.”
Maud Booth, Co-Founder of Volunteers of America
We are no stranger to hard times.
We have been helping Michigan’s most vulnerable for 127 years.
In that time, we have seen just about every challenge that could keep someone from living life with dignity. When hard times come, Volunteers of America Michigan steps up and does whatever is needed to help those who need it most.
From the 1918 Flu Pandemic, The Great Depression, the Financial Crisis in 2008, to now, the Coronavirus Pandemic, we have been through it all. Volunteers of America Michigan has been helping our nation’s heroes since World War I, serving those who served.
Maud and Ballington Booth, Co-Founders of Volunteers of America
With each moment in history, one thing was the same, you were there to help make this work possible.
Ballington and Maud Booth founded Volunteers of America in 1896 with the mission to reach and uplift all people. The Booths envisioned a movement that would care for the whole person - mind, body, and spirit.
Their vision lives on in a national organization that provides services to help children, veterans, the elderly, persons with disabilities, the homeless, and others in need.
Michigan's first Volunteers of America location was started in 1896, in Traverse City. In the beginning, the locations were referred to as Posts, and were only found near a railroad, so people could get to them easily.
"Our work is not all bread and shelter. The underprivileged, the weak, and the unfortunate need more. They need sympathy, the warmth of fellowship, and the instilling of courage."
Ballington Booth, Co-Found of Volunteers of America
