Student leadership
Run a real drive in your own community.
Community Drive Leads are students who start and manage donation drives where they live. You find the place, get a bin in it, tell people what to bring, and hand the supplies to our team. We bring the training, the work account and a team behind you.
A program of the Community Drives Team, Community Impact & Partnerships.
The ImpactKits Project
Community Drive Lead
- Team
- Community Drives
- Department
- Community Impact & Partnerships
- Region
- Orange County, CA
Appointed students get this account for internal tools, plus training and a mentor.
A student-led program, not a one-day shift
You run something in a place you actually know.
Drive Leads sit inside the Community Drives Team, part of Community Impact & Partnerships. What you collect feeds a real packing and distribution operation, not a shelf in a garage.
- Orange County wide
- Run your own drive
- Trained and mentored
- Backed by our team
What you actually own
Five things, all of them real. This is the work, not a list of soft skills.
- 01
Build the partnerships
Turn one conversation with a school, shop or community organization into a relationship the host trusts.
- 02
Stand up the collection bin
Pick the spot, make the case, and let us send the bin and signage. You decide where it stands.
- 03
Run local outreach
Tell your school, team or neighborhood what the drive needs, without wearing them out.
- 04
Watch the supplies
Check the bin weekly, keep it clean and sorted, pull anything opened, and tell us before it overflows.
- 05
Close the loop
Count what came in with your mentor, schedule the transfer, and help at the packing event.
You are appointed, not left on your own
Every lead starts with the same equipment.
An ImpactKits work account
A real account for our internal tools, shared files and drive tracking. It is yours for the length of your appointment and stays inside ImpactKits.
Training
How to run a drive, talk to a business owner, and keep track of what you collect.
Resources
Signage, supply lists, tracking tools and the materials that make a drive look legitimate.
A mentor
Someone on our team who answers questions, reviews your plan and checks in.
Ongoing support
You are not dropped in alone. Our leadership team stays involved all year.
From an email to your first full bin
Five steps, and we are in all of them with you.
Apply
Email the short application. A few minutes is enough.
A conversation
We talk through your community and what a drive could look like.
Appointment
Selected students are appointed and get their work account set up.
Training and launch
Training and materials, then your first bin goes in.
Run it, with backup
You run the drive. Your mentor stays reachable.
You do not need a resume. You need a community.
You can apply if
- You are a student in Orange County, California.
- You can give a few hours a week over a semester or longer.
- You can get to a school, business or community space in your area.
- You are comfortable starting a conversation with an adult you have not met.
You will do well if
- You like organizing things other people forget about.
- You prefer building something over showing up for one shift.
- You are willing to hear no and try the next door.
- You want a role you can actually point to later.
Apply to become a Community Drive Lead
Send your name, school, city and why you want to run a drive. A person reads every application.
Learn more
Questions before you apply? Email partnerships@impactkits.org about the program, the time or your area.
- Based in Orange County, California
- Volunteer student leadership role
- Reports to ImpactKits leadership
Program questions
Is this a paid position?
No. Community Drive Leads are volunteer student leaders. What you get instead is real responsibility, training, a mentor, an ImpactKits work account for internal tools, and a record of work you can point to.
Do I have to find the bin location myself?
Yes, that is the heart of the role. We help you think through which spots will actually work and we supply the bin and signage, but the local relationship is yours to build.
What happens to what my drive collects?
Volunteers check and sort it, pack it into kits, and a community partner hands those kits to people they already serve. You can always ask where yours went.
How much time does leading a drive take?
A few hours a week on average. Outreach and bin checks take the most, and a collection transfer or packing event takes a block of a day.
Do I need experience running a donation drive?
No. Training covers the parts people usually worry about: approaching a business, setting up a bin, tracking supplies and handing everything over cleanly.
Can this count toward school service hours?
Often, yes. Ask us and we will confirm the hours you serve so you can hand them to your school.
One student can start something a whole neighborhood joins.
Run a drive, or bring a friend to a packing day. Both get kits into hands this month.
Questions? hello@impactkits.org or +1 714-509-0003