The social good inspiration you need to motivate you. Volunteers come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from young high school students to older retired members of our community. One unique thing ties all volunteers together: the drive to start making a difference. Have you been considering volunteer and community service projects? You've come to the right place.
Community service groups are non-profit organizations that work to provide various services to members of a community, or sometimes a broader area. These organizations can range from local libraries to community fridges or even drop-in centres. The one thing they all have in common is the volunteer opportunities they present, and their appeal to volunteer work or chances for community members to donate.
Volunteer and community service is a very rewarding experience to both those who are volunteering their time and money, as well as those on the receiving end of the services. By volunteering within your community, you are using your free time and skills to improve the lives of your neighbours in ways that can be monumental, even if they seem small.
Since there are so many great volunteer opportunities available at any given time you are sure to find a role that is the best fit for you depending on your location, availability, and skill set. No matter what type of volunteering you choose, you are bound to make a difference in your community.
There are so many great volunteer opportunities to help non-profit organizations within your community. Here is a short list of ideas that we’ve come up with for you.
Libraries are rife with engaging volunteer opportunities for people of all ages and skill levels. If you are particularly skilled in technology, see if your library offers technology classes for seniors and if they are seeking volunteers to teach these courses. Many libraries also offer story times and other activities for children and will need volunteers to facilitate. Your local library should have all current volunteer opportunities listed on their website, don’t forget to check it out!
While taking time to donate to a food bank may be your first thought when trying to combat food scarcity in your neighbourhood, community fridges are a grassroots movement that is becoming more prevalent every day. Community fridges work to provide food directly to community residents, at any given time—no questions asked. This allows anybody, regardless of housing status, to have access to not only non-perishable food, but also fresh fruits and vegetables whenever needed.
If your city has a community fridge, it is extremely easy to donate food to it. All you have to do it drop it off! Just make sure you check the donation guidelines before dropping anything off. Many community fridges also accept monetary donations that will go towards stocking the fridge or keeping it maintained. There may also be volunteer opportunities to work with the non-profit behind the community fridge, such as stocking it and distributing food among multiple fridges.
Drop-in centres have many different volunteers in different roles to fill on a daily basis. These centres are always looking for people to volunteer their help in serving meals, monetary and goods donations, and sometimes even people to help provide employment services training. This means that no matter your skill level or availability, there is a way that you can assist your local drop-in centre with its mission.
Depending on where you are located, your community might have a yearly clean-up where residents can drop off unwanted items and materials for free. These clean-ups typically happen in the spring and are always looking for volunteers to help organize the items dropped off as well as people to pick up unwanted items from community members who are physically unable to drop off them off. Reach out to your local community association in order to find out when your community clean-up is happening and how you can help volunteer your time.
Residents of retirement homes can get pretty lonely sometimes, volunteering your free time on occasion to spend an hour or two getting to know the residents of your local retirement home can improve their quality of life greatly. This type of community service and volunteer work doesn’t require you to have any particular set of skills and can be as easy as sitting down and having a conversation with a couple of residents. If you are unable to physically visit your local retirement home due to the pandemic you can always write some letters to the residents. Who knows, maybe you’ll find yourself a new pen pal! There are tons of opportunities in retirement homes for volunteers.
Literacy is an incredibly important skill for people of all ages; however, some individuals are unable to purchase books for themselves or visit the library on a regular basis. That’s where Little Free Library come in. Little Free Library is an organization dedicated to improving literacy in communities by providing free books to residents, specifically children's books for school-aged children. It is an excellent opportunity for volunteers to donate books for a great service.
These little libraries can be a bit pricey to set up at first, as you will have to construct a little library post and provide books for it, but you can always ask your fellow community members for donations to help this initiative flourish. Little Free Library also holds contest for free books on their website, which will also help to reduce initial start-up costs.
Need other ideas of where to volunteer or where to partner? Other ventures could include an animal shelter, local youth sports organization, food bank, warming shelter, and more. For the volunteers among us, the possibilities to share your time and energy to your community are endless. Remember: social media is a great tool to share your cause, as well as find another cause to contribute to.
If you're operating a non-profit organization, Xplor Recreation’s community centre management software help you manage all aspects of your facility’s operations, marketing, and financing. By reducing time spent on back-office functions, supervisors, staff, and volunteers can focus on creating an exceptional experience for your community.