Why should you trust the information on this web page?

How to Find Volunteering Opportunities

credits and disclaimer and Why should you trust the information on this web page?

Note: a lot of traditional volunteering activities were suspended because of the COVID 19 pandemic, and many volunteering activities that resumed have been greatly and permanently altered, to better protect both volunteers and clients. Please respect protocols that nonprofits have instituted, whether its to protect against diseases or to prevent harm. If you are asked to wear a mask, wear a mask. If they require vaccinations, they have a good reason to require such and if you can't comply, don't volunteer. If you are want to stay as safe as possible from the virus but still want to volunteer, please see Volunteering in the time of the novel coronavirus/COVID-19.

The web page you are reading now provides detailed information to help adults -- people over 18 -- to become volunteers.

The advice on the page you are reading now WORKS. It may take just a few minutes for you to find the right volunteering opportunity for you. It may take days, weeks or months - depending on what you are looking for, your availability, your personality, etc. Finding a volunteering opportunity that's right for you is a lot like finding a romantic interest - it's more than just looking through some photos, clicking on a profile and meeting once to know if someone is right for you. Volunteering is the same way.
 

Before you begin your search

Set up a schedule for your volunteering, or it will never happen! Identify what days, and times of days, you could be available for volunteering, that you would make available for volunteering. Identify how many hours you are hoping to volunteer each week and each month. Also identify the first day and last day you are available for volunteering, as applicable (some people are available for only the next three months, for instance).

Do not think that you will volunteer in your spare time as it happens - it won't happen.

You will be responsible for your transportation to and from a site for volunteering. Start thinking about your transportation now, BEFORE you start asking about volunteering: will you take mass transit? Ride a bicycle? Walk? Drive? If someone is going to drive you, has that person already committed to always be available during certain days, and certain times of days? What transportation you have will determine how close to home you will have to look for volunteering.

Most programs will expect that you have these qualities:

When volunteering, you need to be prepared to be bored, to be stressed, to be doing activities that aren't really all that interesting, etc. Are you prepared for that? Will you get frustrated easily if you are bored for "too long"? If you are confused, do you ask questions or get frustrated? What might you need to work on about yourself before volunteering, so that you have a pleasant, worthwhile experience?

Why can't I just walk in and start volunteering?

Most organizations do not have tasks laying around waiting for any volunteer who, when that person might have some time, could just show up and do them. Organizations need to know when volunteers are coming in and who those volunteers are so that they have appropriate tasks ready, based on your skills and avoiding what you cannot do. For instance, what if they have reserved a lot of activities for volunteers that require someone to lift items over 25 pounds or to walk a great deal and you show up but are unable to do these things? They have a lot of planning and arranging to do before you show up and volunteer. 

Do not wait until the last minute to try to volunteer! You will probably need to call and email several places just to get an appointment for an interview! It may take three or four weeks before you get started volunteering even if you start calling right away! Just as every job application or job interview doesn't turn into a job for you, every attempt to volunteer may not pan out. Expect to apply to many different places before you end up volunteering.

Do not show up at a work site unannounced to volunteer. For instance, don't just show up at a Habitat for Humanity work site and say, "I'm here to volunteer," not unless you have talked to someone at that organization and they have siad you can do that. Do not just show up to a community theater performance an hour before curtain time and say, "I'm here to usher!" You should call any organization you want to volunteer with at least two weeks before the date you want to volunteer (a month or more is even better!) and go through an organization's formal application and orientation process, and get the okay from the organization regarding your start date.

There are some organizations that allow people to sign up to help up to the day before, and sometimes even the day of. These are usually organizations that are cleaning up a public space, like a public park or public beach. Info on how to find those will be later in this page.

 

Costs

Some organizations require volunteers to pay an annual membership fee. That fee can be as little as $10 a year. Most organizations that charge a fee (and note that most do NOT charge ANYTHING) will waive the fee if you say that you cannot afford it. If you really cannot afford the required fee for volunteering, talk to the organization about waiving the fee because of your financial situation - most will be happy to accommodate you if you are honest.

If any organization wants more than $50, give that organization much extra scrutiny: do they list the board of directors on their web site? Is their last available fiscal report available for you to review, so you can see how money is spent? What exactly does this fee pay for? How many volunteers pay this fee each year? Paying to volunteer should be done only with highly-reputable organizations.

Volunteers are never free for an organization, even though they are not paid; involving volunteers costs the organization in terms of employee time (for screening and supporting volunteers) and equipment use, and, in some cases, facilities rental, uniforms, name tags and legal fees/criminal background checks. Some organizations have found that charging a small fee for volunteering drastically reduces the number of volunteer drop outs. Unfortunately, some organizations have become exploitative in charging volunteers a fee.


Previous arrests & convictions

Some volunteer involving organizations will ask if you have ever been arrested or convicted of a crime, and for the nature of that arrest or crime. Some will do a criminal background check on you and will ask you to cover the costs. An arrest or conviction will NOT automatically disqualify you from volunteering - whether it does or not depends on the organization, the type of work it does, the population it serves and the volunteer tasks.

If you are volunteering as a requirement for court-ordered community service, say so at the time that you apply to volunteer. Also see this resource for specific recommendations for finding volunteering opportunities to fulfill court-ordered requirements.

Choosing a volunteer role

You need to know what it is you really want out of volunteering before you start looking for a volunteering gig. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

Think about these things before you start signing up for volunteering opportunities. It will prevent a lot of frustration later.

Before you sign up to volunteer, read a bit about the organization. Know something about them - that they help children and how, for instance. Or that they build houses. Or that they help refugees. And be ready to say why you have signed up for whatever role you have signed up for. It can be as simple as, "I want to help others, I have a really busy schedule, this seems to fit my schedule best" or "I am just curious to see how your organization works" or "I'm bored and thought this would be a great way to meet people."

When volunteering

You will have to be trained for just about any volunteering you want to do, but training may take just 10 minutes. Training may take a full day. Training may take weeks! The amount of training you will need depends on the type of assignment you will undertake. An usher for a play may need a briefing of just 10 minutes before he or she begins. Someone who is going to counsel victims of domestic violence will need many hours of training, and even some testing, before he or she actually gets to volunteer interacting with clients.

Give each experience a chance for you to understand it and enjoy it. It may take a few days before you enjoy it. Volunteering isn't just about getting work done; it is also about building relationships - with other volunteers, with paid staff, maybe with clients and the public as well. And building relationships take time. Do not give up an assignment after just one time, unless the experience truly made you absolutely miserable. And don't give up on volunteering altogether because of just one negative experience.

You may need to work your way up to get to do the volunteering you really want to do. For instance, a hospital may reserve volunteering in the pediatrics unit for people who have volunteered for at least one year with the organization, because volunteering in pediatrics is the most popular assignment.

Most organizations do not provide child care and will not allow you to bring your children, including to meetings and trainings. If you cannot find child care, consider these Family Volunteer Ideas.

Volunteering is a real commitment. People are counting on you to do the assignment you take on. If you don't show up for a shift, even if you call ahead, you are putting your job on someone else -- and you are creating work instead of doing work. A volunteer manager or another volunteer will have to step in because you aren't doing what you said you would do - and that means something else isn't going to get done because of your broken commitment. By all means, if an emergency comes up, call in, but if you do that twice, don't be surprised if you are no longer given volunteering hours.

Be ready to track volunteering hours yourself; use a spread sheet or a paper notebook, and write down the name of organization you assisted, what you did, the day, and how many hours you contributed. Track what you are accomplishing as well. You may want to use this information for a job application, or for applying for a leadership volunteering position (running a project of your own, joining a board of directors, etc.).

An organization has every right to fire you / let you go as a volunteer, often with no stated reason. They are under no obligation to keep you -- especially if you have missed shifts, not followed rules, been late frequently, violated policies, etc.

If you feel mistreated as a volunteer, here is advice for volunteers on how to complain.

 

Where to Find Volunteering Roles

If you skipped all of the above and came straight to this section, you are going to be so, so disappointed. If you don't do the above, then you are going to be really frustrated when you sign up for volunteering roles.

There are many web sites and apps where you can find places to volunteer in your community in the USA, and for many other countries have such web sites as well, for their local residents to volunteer. Here is a list volunteer centers / volunteer matching sites and apps in various countries.

There are posts to the volunteer subreddit about current calls for volunteers, both onsite and online opportunities. This link goes directly to just the posts marked as "opportunities."

You can also look at Guidestar.org, a database of all registered nonprofit organizations in the USA; you can look up all the nonprofits in your zip code, or by other criteria (but you will have to call or email any organization that looks interesting to see if they have volunteering opportunities).

You can find every registered nonprofit in your zip code using Guidestar; if a nonprofit sounds interesting to you, type its name into Google, look at its web site to see what opportunities they have.

Here's one of the simplest ways to find volunteering in your community: go to Google, Bing, Duck Duck Go or any other search engine of your choice. Type in the word nonprofit (if you are in the USA) or charity (if you are in the UK) or NGO for most other countries, and the city where you are. Then type a mission that interests you, like help foster children or teach English refugees or help refugees or help women domestic violence or help homeless people or food back, etc. So, for instance:

Such a search will generate a list of mission-based organizations in that area that do that work. Click on the link for each, read their info, if they have a link for volunteering, click on it, and if they don't, email them and say you are interested in volunteering with them and would like more information.

Before you sign up to volunteer or express interest in volunteering, read a bit about the organization. Know something about them - that they help children access outdoor activities, for instance. Or that they build houses. Or that they help refugees with housing. And be ready to say why you have signed up for whatever role you have signed up for. It can be as simple as, "I want to help others, I have a really busy schedule, this seems to fit my schedule best" or "I am just curious to see how your organization works" or "I'm bored and thought this would be a great way to meet people."

Check the organization's web site BEFORE you call, to see if the site provides information about volunteering. You may be able to read about all of the volunteering activities at the organization on the site and to apply to volunteer online. If you do call the organization, present yourself well on the phone. You may want to rehearse what you want to say ("Hello. I wanted to know if your organization involves volunteers? I could not find information on your web site about this."). If you send an email, be sure to spell check it, and it's helpful if you can say what kind of volunteering opportunities you are looking for (I'd like to work with staff in your office or I'd like to do something outside).

Specific Volunteering Ideas

Events

Whether it's a gala, a fundraising walk, an orientation for new volunteers, an art opening, a theater production, a staff training, a grand opening, whatever, nonprofits and charities have a LOT of events and they need volunteers to help at those events. They often won't recruit volunteers specifically for those events, but if you write the nonprofit and say, "Hey, I saw that you are having a half day training for new volunteers, I'd love to help, as a volunteer, just at that event", you very likely will get to volunteer that day.

When you volunteer at an event, you help with setting up the room (tables and chairs), or taking down the room, or setting up the food, or cleaning up the food, or handing out materials, or helping check in folks, and maybe even taking photos.

How do you find events where you can volunteer?

Always check out nonprofit theaters and dance companies, nonprofit farmer's markets, cultural centers and the local Habitat for Humanity for your area - their web site or social media account will list events they are having, and you can contact them and offer to volunteer as directed above.

Most farmer's markets are run by nonprofit organizations. Many of these markets need help with setting up the market, taking down the market, and the evening before the market, putting together food boxes for subscribers to their CSA (community supported agriculture) programs. Helping with all these tasks in just one week can get you, at minimum, 8 hours of service, and you often can contact these organizations with just 24 hours notice to help.

Know exactly when the event is, where it is, and how you will get there before you write the nonprofit. When you write, say which event it is you are interested in helping with. Be ready to be there at least 15 minutes prior to the event starting (most will want you there 30 minutes before). If you can only volunteer for two hours, say so, and graciously accept a "no" if they can't involve you.

Performances

Nonprofit theaters, community theaters, dance companies, university theater and dance departments, and performing arts centers are often in need of ushers in the evenings and on weekends for performances; you not only get volunteer hours, you get into a show for free! Call or email these organizations to see if they need volunteer ushers for upcoming performances, and ask if you could sign up to help. Local, non-professional/amateur theater companies also welcome volunteer in a variety of roles, from selling tickets to building sets to selling drinks at intermission to sewing costumes to performing on stage.

Habitat for Humanity & Its ReStore

It is sometimes difficult to sign up to volunteer for a Habitat for Humanity house build and get to participate quickly - many Habitat chapters have waiting lists, sometimes of a few months. However, not all - and the only way to know if you can get involved in a house build is to check out your local Habitat affiliate and ask, or look at their web site. Many Habitat affiliates allow people from outside the service area to volunteer, so if your nearest affiliate is all booked up, but the one in the county next door isn't, you will probably be allowed to volunteer. The web site for each affiliate will have complete info and you do NOT have to have ANY construction experience to participate!

Many Habitat for Humanity affiliates operate a ReStore: a store that sells used furniture and tools, leftover construction items and other materials and items, with sales going towards helping to fund affordable housing, house repairs for US military veterans, classes in home ownership and more. These ReStores need volunteers to help carry items from vehicles into the warehouse, to cleanup items, to help keep the showroom beautiful and inviting, to help with marketing, especially online, and more. Volunteers are needed to take photos of items at the ReStore for online marketing, photos at special events and home builds that the Habitat affiliate can use on its web site and in social media, volunteers to scan archival material (old newspaper articles, prints of photos, etc.), and more. If you are interested in volunteering, contact the affiliate and be clear about what it is you are interested in doing as a volunteer. Some affiliates will let you volunteer just one day.

Animals

It is NOT easy to volunteer with animals, where you will actually interact with animals. There are many reasons for this. I have a separate page for those who want to volunteer with animals or in support of animal-related causes. But if you just want to help at events or with adminsitrative tasks (answering the phone, for instance), just find animal shelters and animal rescues in your area and call them and offer. 


More Ideas

Each individual chapter of the American Red Cross involves volunteers in a variety of ways. Many chapters have an urgent need for people to greet and register those attending a blood drive: the Red Cross software and system makes this an incredibly easy volunteering activity, and it's nice to greet people as they enter. They also need volunteers to sit at the snack table and make sure people who have just donated are okay - that means you just talk to people, ask them how they are, make small talk etc. The web site makes it SO easy to sign up to be a "blood donor ambassador" and you only have to commit to working one single shift every month! Many chapters are also looking for volunteers to help with warming centers in the winter, for the overflow from homeless shelters on days and nights that are at or below freezing (and unlike most homeless shelters, these often allow the homeless to bring their pets). You could be a volunteer in the office just a few hours a month. You could help at a special event. You could be a volunteer that is on call to help people who have lost their home to a fire. You could train to become a CPR/First Aid trainer. You could be a volunteer driver, taking people with mobility issues to medical appointments. Find your local chapter of the American Red Cross and look at their web site for information about volunteering. You will have to attend an orientation, which may be online or onsite, and, depending on the assignment, some training (again probably online). And added bonus: your volunteering hours are automatically tracked on the Red Cross software you use to sign up for activities! On a personal note: I really can't emphasize enough how easy and fun staffing a blood drive can be. You never have to deal with any blood, btw, and if anyone has a medical issue or gets nauseous, that's not something you have to deal with either.

The American Cancer Society Road To Recovery program recruits volunteers to provide free rides to treatment for cancer patients. Transportation barriers are the #1 reason for missed cancer appointments. Volunteers choose the rides that work best for their schedule. Most rides are scheduled during the weekday between 7am and 7pm. Volunteers are asked to commit to a minimum of 2 rides per month. There are other requirements as well (volunteers must have a valid driver's license and insurance, have access to a safe and reliable vehicle, pass a background check, appreciate and respect diverse backgrounds, lifestyles, etc., follow policies, etc.).

Many hospitals involve volunteers in a variety of roles (but note that not all hospitals involve volunteers). At hospitals that do involve volunteers, you may not get to work with patients until you have proven yourself in other roles. Also, you may be required to provide documentation of the MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) vaccine and recent TB test results (from within the past 90 days of your application). Volunteers may:

There is a nonprofit group called Musicians On Call, which mobilizes Volunteer Musicians to go bed-to-bed to perform acoustically for patients, their families and staff in hospitals and some other health care settings, in cooperation with the healthcare agency. Musicians On Call serves patients from a wide demographic including infants to the elderly affected by conditions that keep them hospitalized overnight, or alternatively, hospice or long-term care. Volunteer Musicians are never alone with patients or others - they are always accompanied by a trained MOC Volunteer Guide who is familiar with each hospital's protocols and procedures. While nearly all performances are in patients' rooms, occasionally a musician may play for small groups (in the lobby, dining room, etc.). Musicians On Call's Volunteer Guides escort Volunteer Musicians from room-to-room within hospitals or healthcare facilities and ask patients if they feel like hearing a song and introduce the musicians prior to their performances at patients' bedsides and, occasionally, in common areas (e.g., playrooms, dining rooms, etc.). You do not need to be musically inclined or a performer to be a Volunteer Guide. Volunteer Guides must be at least 18 years old. Volunteer musicians must be at least 16 years old (or 18 in New York City). All applicants must commit to volunteering once a month for a minimum of one year, complete a MOC interview, orientation, background check and quiz, and complete additional healthcare facility clearances. Musician applicants must also submit an acoustic sample of music for review (MOC accepts only professional and professional-caliber amateur musicians).

State parks in the USA often have a variety of volunteering opportunities throughout the year, including one-day opportunities. Call your nearest state park for more information. You can also create your own volunteering activity and propose it at a state park. For instance, when I was at the Lewis and Clark Trail State Park in Washington state, I noticed an information panel behind the park's camping facilities, and on closer inspection, it turned out to be information for the start of a small hike to show the edible plants in the park. But the information was quite faded, and the information needed an update. What a great opportunity for a volunteer! And what about creating such a trail and display in a state park near YOU? Call or stop by your local state park and propose the idea.

Heritage volunteering at historic sites is hugely varied: you might help repair a roof on a historic house. Or help plant bulbs or seeds from heritage plants in gardens meant to show what such was like 100 years ago. You may help maintain the grounds. You may answer questions for visitors. You may do presentations or run workshops on traditional activities. It all depends on your skills, your availability and your interests. If you do an online search on the phrase heritage volunteers or preserve history volunteers and the name of your area, you are likely to find such opportunities. England has a national heritage volunteering program for its residents. And in the USA,

Also check with your local historical society - they may have a restoration project you could help with.

A state's Department of Fish and Wildlife may have volunteering opportunities. For instance, volunteers with Oregon's Department of Fish and Wildlife assist with wildlife surveys, habitat improvement, nest box building and monitoring, public education, carpentry, computer and clerical work, and assist at workshops designed to teach introductory hunting and shooting skills, fishing and other outdoor activities to families, women and adults. Volunteers also help with stream habitat restoration work, conduct surveys, and help with education projects. Volunteers can also become certified volunteer instructors and teach basic fishing skills, aquatic conservation and stewardship, ethical conduct, water safety, and safe and responsible hunting techniques.

If you are looking for volunteering that could leverage your carpentry skills, in addition to the aforementioned USA Forest Service's Passport In Time program, HistoriCorps your local historical society and your state department of fish and wildlife, also see if there is a local woodworking guild or association - many take on community projects and have regular "build" days you could join. 

Historical societies can have a range of volunteering opportunities, from actors to dress up in period costumes and help guide people through a grave yard or historic house to people to gather information to create and update pages on Wikipedia. And, as already mentioned, they may need help with carpentry, plumbing or electrical projects for a historic site. Most such nonprofits are quite tiny and may not mention any of these needs on their web site - if they have such at all.

If your local area has a Meals on Wheels organization, they probably need drivers or help in their kitchen. Type in the name of your city and state and Meals on Wheels into Google to find out if you have such an organization in your area.

Many nonprofits would welcome your help on short-term computer and Internet-related assignments, but you will need to have the appropriate expertise, and you will probably need to propose the idea to a nonprofit yourself -- in fact, probably more than one. Be ready to present yourself in a very professional manner via email to offer your services as such a "tech" volunteer. Here is a detailed list of short-term assignments for tech volunteers.

Many of the aforementioned organizations, as well as many other nonprofit organizations, would welcome your help in your area of expertise, such as in any of these areas:

as a lawyer, paralegal or
   legal secretary
financial management
web design
database development
graphic design
video production
photography
marketing
small business /
   micro enterprise development
  nutrition
cheese making
cooking
restaurant management
gardening
farming
animal husbandry
cloth dyeing
fruit and vegetable canning
sewing
weaving
  camping techniques
architecture
carpentry
translation
accounting
human resources management
medical care
writing
dancing / choreography
singing
dog training

If you want to provide any of the aforementioned expertise as a volunteer, contact a variety of organizations to offer such. The best way to contact them is via email: write a letter of introduction offering your services, note your availability, and attach your résumé and a list of references. You will need to contact several organizations, and you can expect to go through an interview, just as you would for a paid consulting job.

You can go on these volunteer "vacations", but note that all require you to pay your own transportation, accommodation and food costs, plus a service fee:

Also see this web page specifically on Volunteering on Public Lands in the USA (national parks, national forests, state parks, wetlands, etc.). This includes everything from helping with conservation efforts for wildlife to being a live-in camp host or park host volunteer.

Mentoring / Working With Children

Any volunteering with children is going to require that you undergo a criminal background check. An arrest or conviction will not automatically prevent you from working with children; the nature of the crime, the role of volunteers in the program in which you want to participate, and the policies of the organization dictate who can and can't volunteer.


Online Volunteering / Virtual Volunteering

Most volunteering that you can do from your home or a school computer requires a certain degree of expertise, such as designing flyers, maintaining a web site, translating text, editing video, designing a database, writing press releases or funding proposals, managing online social networking activities, etc. Even if you have the expertise necessary to volunteer online, you will still probably have to go onsite to the organization you want to help, to introduce yourself, to go through their orientation, to meet staff, and maybe even to convince them to allow you to volunteer online (virtual volunteering). List of places to volunteer online and where to find online volunteering opportunities.


Home-Based Volunteering

I have ideas for home-based volunteering on a separate page. 


The Value of Your Volunteering

As you volunteer, you are:

If you are volunteering to help you get into a university, note that different colleges and universities have different application processes. Some ask for volunteering hours, some don't. Those that do may want you to fill out a particular form, others will want you to supply letters from the organization confirming your hours, and still others will want you to write a narrative about why you volunteered, what you learned as a part of your experience, why you think volunteering is important, etc., and don't care about number of hours at all. Many universities and scholarship committees are looking for people who have engaged in leadership volunteering activities.

In the USA, if any of the organizations you help as a volunteer are registered with the President's Volunteer Service Award, you can look into getting such an award for your service. However, you can only use volunteering at one organization for the award. Also, the web site is SUPER hard to use -- good luck with it.

You may also want to review these resources regarding labor laws and volunteering.

If You Want to Say Thank You for This Page

I have spent many, many hours, over many years, creating and updating the information on this page. I am not paid to research or create this information. I did it because I see so many people, particularly young people, posting online in an effort to find volunteering opportunities, and because I think the resources that should help, like the Points of Light Foundation, just aren't specific enough.

I volunteer. And I work for nonprofits and involve volunteers. This info is based on that experience - over three decades of experience.

If you would like to say thank you monetarily, here's support my workhow to support my work.

 

Books About Volunteering, for Youth and Families

 
Volunteering: The Ultimate Teen Guide (It Happened to Me)

 
The Busy Family's Guide to Volunteering: Doing Good Together

 
Doing Good Together: 101 Easy, Meaningful Service Projects for Families, Schools, and Communities

 
Engage Every Parent!: Encouraging Families to Sign On, Show Up, and Make a Difference

 
Volunteer Vacations: Short-Term Adventures That Will Benefit You and Others

 
Children as Volunteers: Preparing for Community Service


Also see

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