Volunteer to Serve

There are as many ways to join Volunteer to Serve, as there are needs in our communities. If you’re already doing service, post your opportunities on our website so others can join your efforts. If you’re new to service, search for volunteer opportunities in your area or download one of our easy-to-use toolkits and develop your own project with friends, family, and neighbors.

Your project will still count. Whether you and your friends are organizing a food drive for your local soup kitchen or you have mentored a child every week for the last ten years, you are part of our movement. Tell us what you’re doing and what you’ve learned. Post your projects and share your stories on Volunteer to Serve.

Try to find ways to collaborate with each other in new, creative ways and bring shared resources to bear on the issue at hand. One of the goals of Volunteer to Serve is to foster partnerships on a local level among nonprofits, issue groups, faith based groups, labor, educational institutions, businesses, corporations, foundations, government at all levels, and individuals.

Volunteer To Serve knows that volunteering is not simply a nice thing to do, but, rather, it is critical to rebuilding our communities. Volunteer To Serve is asking us to devote our time to impactful and measurable service. The projects promoted on this website and by partner organizations have tangible outcomes. If you spend three hours a week reading to a child, you should know that they are then twice as likely to score in the top 25% in reading. If you are working to secure food donations for a local soup kitchen you should know that you have directly provided three meals to hungry individuals. Set goals based on these outcomes and track your results. You will be amazed at the impact you can make this summer.

When using the volunteer search function on this website, search by either keyword or location (or both). The listings that populate will include community service opportunities projects in and around your location. Most specific opportunities will include contact information for a local organizer. You can also contact your local chapters of our major service partners and ask how they are participating with Volunteer to Serve. Or, if you are organizing a “do-it-yourself” project, be sure to post it here so other people can find you.

Reaching out to local newspapers, television affiliates, and radio stations is a great way to draw attention to pressing needs in your community, highlight successful service projects, and attract more volunteers. Call these media outlets and invite them to cover your activities. Download a media advisory guide here (41 KB PDF). Also, remember that good old fashioned letters to the editor can be an effective way to spread the word in your community.
 
We’ve also created a sample media advisory and press release for organizations to highlight their participation in the Volunteer to Serve initiative. Feel free to use or adapt to meet your needs.