Individual Volunteer Opportunities

The Volunteer Center can link you to hundreds of volunteer opportunities that match your skills, interests and time. For more information, please contact the Volunteer Center at (816) 559-4667. The following highlighted opportunities are ongoing, unless otherwise dated:

September 2010

1. September is Hunger Action Month – There is still time to help feed hungry families -- host a food collection drive at your companies or faith community for Kansas City area food pantries and Harvesters.  The food industry continues to change, and there is not as much donated product available. A drive would be a great help to our local food bank as fall approaches.  Canned goods, non-perishable items and household items are needed to help meet the needs of food pantries, churches and other client-based organizations across the city.  
   
   2.  A national mental health organization is currently looking for an office aide.  You will be asked to give 2-3 part-time days per week; hours are negotiable.   Tasks include answering the phone, sorting and filing paperwork, general office organization, and data entry.

   3.  A Kansas City, Kansas Episcopal church food pantry needs volunteers to assist clients on Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings.  Volunteers are needed to serve as greeters, check in clients, sort and stock food stuffs and maintain a clean and welcoming environment.   You must be 21 years old and have good people skills.  Training will be provided.

   4.  Read with an older adult who can not hold a book or see the page any longer.  Volunteers can read newspapers, magazines, novels or poetry to them, and keep them company as you share with them through reading.   You must be able to read clearly and loudly and enunciate for the hearing impaired, and must be sociable and interested in working with older adults.    

   5.  Hospital advocates are needed to provide emotional support, advocacy, information, and resources/referrals for victims of sexual assault at a hospital during forensic exams at medical centers across the area, and may provide advocacy during the process of filing a police report.  Advocates must have a phone and transportation, and complete advocacy and crisis intervention training prior to volunteering.

   6.  One of the Kansas City, Kansas area junior colleges is looking for people to help with English as a Second Language (ESL) students.  The students need opportunities to practice English with English-speaking volunteers one hour per week for the fall 2010 and spring 2011 semesters. 
   
   7.  Help Kansas City area women recovering from abuse, alcohol and drugs through a faith-based organization formed to provide a safe haven for their new start.  The organization has four houses and an apartment in the Northeast area that need touching up from scraping and painting to yard work.  This is a great teambuilding project for a work group or faith group.

   8.  Have a few hours a month to volunteer?  A Johnson County organization that provides education for the long-term care workforce is looking for 1-2 volunteers to assist the administrative staff, particularly with folding, labeling and preparing tri-fold brochures for mailing.

   9.  A nationally-acknowledged riding center in Eastern Jackson County is currently recruiting volunteers in a number of areas, including serving as barn buddies, leading horses, and being side walkers within their five therapy programs, including their Horses for Heroes rehab program.

   10.  Science and technology’s your thing?  One of the Kansas City area museums is recruiting volunteers to help in a number of areas, including exhibits, customer service and special events.  Volunteers must be able to stand for long periods of time, possess good communication skills and have outgoing and warm personalities.

   11.  Enjoy retail?  Lend a hand at a Kansas City, Kansas thrift store!  Volunteers 18 years and older are needed to run the cash register and provide customer service.  You will be needed on an on-call basis and one Saturday a month.  The weekday on-call shifts are 9:00 am – Noon or Noon – 4:30 pm, with the Saturday shifts from 9:00 – Noon or Noon – 3:00 pm.

   12.  The annual Bike MS 150 event will be held in mid-September, and many volunteers are needed in a number of areas for both Kansas City and the Ozarks routes, including medical and safety, set up and tear down, registration and check in, and cheering.
   13.  Lend your talents by volunteering for a Northland organization seeking to strengthen families through in-home and community-based parenting education and mental health treatment services.  There are a number of opportunities available, including their fifth annual golf tournament, family events and mentoring programs.

   14.  Recently retired?  Have experience with strategic planning, work plans or coordinating community projects?  You can get connected in the community through a national program designed to capture the talents, skills and experience of adults 55 years and older.  Participants serve at nonprofit and service agencies, including hospitals, youth programs and museums engaging in leadership, mentoring, teaching and other duties. 

   15.  Help people in the urban core receive the resources they need by volunteering at a Midtown outreach center dedicated to connecting families to necessary service organizations.   Volunteers are needed to assist in the food pantry and clothes closet, and aid with the play groups and health screenings. 

   16.  Enjoy landscaping?   A family development advocacy organization is currently recruiting a volunteer who can assist with general landscaping and outdoor clean up at their State Avenue location.   The date and time can be negotiated.

   17.  Lend your hospitality and clerical skills to a nationally-recognized cancer advocacy organization in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.   Five volunteers ages 14 and older are needed to answer and direct telephone calls, greet and direct guests and assist with small mailing projects.
   
   18.  Help train adults and youth how to use a computer at a Kansas City, Kansas community center geared toward recreation and meal programs for seniors and after-school and summer enrichment programs for youth.

   18.  Caring individuals are needed to deliver a hot meal to homebound seniors in the Raytown area.  You can deliver meals at least once a week Monday through Friday.  Volunteers are also needed who can provide round-trip transportation for medical appointments within the Missouri side of the metropolitan area.  You will not be asked to provide more that two rides per month, unless you choose to do so.  Hours of transportation are 9:00 am – 2:00 pm Monday through Friday. 

   19.  A local hospice facility is looking for volunteers to help create useful items for hospice patients in the comfort of their own home.   These items include lap robes, booties and memory bears

   20.  First, second and third grade students from the Kansas City Missouri School District and area charter schools are participating in a reading initiative designed to improve their reading scores and advance their reading skills.  Sponsored by a local reading agency, One thousand tutors are needed to work one on one with the students through a computerized accelerated reading program one hour a week beginning Monday, August 30.  No formal tutoring or teaching experience is needed.  Students are being tutored at 11 sites across Kansas City, including St. James United Methodist Church.   All tutors will need to complete a state background check form prior to volunteering.

   21.  Tutors are needed Mondays – Fridays for a Johnson County area family resource center.  You will assist the youth and adult students in their GED/ABE program, or within their children and youth after-school program.  Flexible days and hours are available per the program director’s discretion.

   22.  Make a positive difference in the life a young person.   A nationally-recognized youth-serving organization continues to recruit volunteers to be matched up one-on-one with children from single-parent and nontraditional families, and to work with high school students enrolled in the Kauffman Scholars program.  The time commitment is 2-4 hours a week or a few hours a month.

   23.  Youth volunteers between the ages of 13-18 are needed for a Johnson County peer-to-peer counseling and intervention program.  The volunteers will hear truancy cases and help the youth can get the help and services they need.   They will also assign services that benefit each truant student and connect them to their peers and school.   All volunteers receive training about truancy, roles in the program, and responsibilities and expectations as a volunteer.          

   24.  A Planning Energy Efficiency Today and Tomorrow (PEETT) Volunteer is needed for an Eastern Jackson County social service organization.  The volunteer will attend meetings to neighborhoods, block clubs, social, community, civic and senior groups across the Kansas City area to make presentations and provide information on ways to save energy and cut down on heat and electric bills.  Training and presentation materials are provided, and times and dates will vary.  You must have a valid driver's license and auto insurance, and maintain records and provide monthly reports.

   25.  Want to share your soccer skills with a child?   Volunteer soccer coaches and assistant coaches are needed for the fall season at Rosedale Park in Kansas City, Kansas.  Players range from 5-14 years old.  The minimum age for a head coach is 18 years old, and 15 for an assistant coach.  All games are scheduled on Saturdays, with practices are arranged by the coach.  The sponsoring organization requires all coaches to attend a training prior to the start of the season.  Community service hours can be earned. 

   26.  Help area adults with multiple developmental disabilities at a Kansas City area organization supporting the blind and visually-impaired develop healthier lifestyles.  Volunteers are needed to lead clients in exercise routines at their work adjustment center for 30 minutes twice a week. 

   27.  Want to help a young person succeed?  A Kansas City, Kansas social services organization is recruiting volunteers to help in their after school program to provide homework assistance to students.  Volunteers should be a least 18 years old.

   28.  The leading agency in Western Missouri helping resettle refugees in the Kansas City area need several volunteers to assist with teaching classes.  These classes, such as health education and community orientation, will help refugees adjust to their new surroundings and access health resources.   Volunteer teachers must have a passion for helping new refugees, have cultural sensitivity, be willing to be flexible with time, schedules, and different levels of English language and available 1-2 days/week.

   29.  An adult education program sponsored by the Johnson County Community College and Johnson County Library seeks tutors to help adult students improve their reading, writing and math skills; prepare for the GED test or learn English as a second language.   Tutors help for 2-3 hours one morning or evening each week for a minimum of six months.  Classes are held at six locations throughout Johnson County.

   30.  Help at-risk youth and adults through the visual arts.  A Kansas City, Kansas organization providing educational and growth opportunities for the incarcerated, those exiting correctional facilities and at-risk youth needs assistance with putting on art programs.  

   31.  Many elderly people across Kansas City live alone and need companionship, and their caregivers need relief.  If you have 20 hours a week to help someone, consider connecting with an area senior companion program.  Volunteers must be at least 60 years old, make less than $1,083/month after medical expenses and attend 40 hours of pre-service training.  Benefits include joy in helping others, a stipend, reimbursement for lunch and mileage and meeting other area senior companions. 

   32.  Girl Scout cookie sales are right around the corner, and a volunteer is needed to serve as the council cupboard coordinator.  This short-term position will run from October 2010 – January 2011.  Duties include recruiting and managing volunteers to work in the cookie cupboard during the month of January.  Minimum age for this position is 21.

   33.  Volunteers are needed at an organization dedicated to empowering mid-life and older adults.  They offer short and long-term assignments that allow you to work in their offices or at home, include special events, web updates and the Coming of Age program.

   34.  Are you computer savvy?  Lend your experience to an area adult literacy program.  Volunteer will assist adult students with computer literacy, including learning basic computer skills, using Microsoft Office programs and navigating websites and e-mail.

   35.  Youth between the ages of 11 and 18 are being recruited by a national nonprofit network of programs that offers them the opportunity to improve their community through volunteering.  They will assist with after-school programs, Saturday projects, and during spring break or summer projects. 

   36.  Make sure Kansas City area families don’t miss out at tax time!  More than 300 volunteers are needed a few hours a week at 16 Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites throughout the area.  The VITA program offers free tax help to low- and moderate-income families.  Tax preparation experience is not necessary; however, computer and tax knowledge is a plus.  Training will begin in November, and flexible day, evening and weekend hours will be available. Sign up online at www.kccash.org/volunteerApp.html.

   37.  Many volunteer opportunities are available at a national nonprofit organization that provides life-changing, essential orthodontic treatment for children from low-income families.  Based in Kansas City, the program has treated more than 1,200 children since 1997.  Volunteers must be 18 years and older, with opportunities including data entry, online research, and other administrative support duties.  Other opportunities available are fielding phone calls from Spanish-speaking applicants, maintaining pages on My Space and other social networking sites and participating with special events.

   38.  A number of volunteer opportunities are available with a housing organization serving low-income individuals and families.  Volunteers are needed to help in on-site food pantries, host ice cream socials and other events, and assist with tutoring and mentoring.  Locations and times vary.

   39.  A Kansas City area organization serving children in severe crisis needs volunteers to help with their garden.  The garden demonstrates and teaches sustainable skills to the children and the community.  This working garden will produce food to be available to the public on Tuesday afternoons, and will help to educate the community about the organization.  Volunteers will help maintain the garden, including tilling, cultivating soil and monitoring the watering system.