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:
DECEMBER 2011
1. The 2011 Holiday Guide is available for review by clicking here. Help Kansas City area organizations prepare for the holiday season by hosting a drive or coordinating a volunteer group with your company or church. Many of the organizations work with families who are unable to provide a holiday meal or presents. Traditional meal items such as turkeys and hams, grocery store gift cards or other holiday-related items are needed to help meet the needs of these organizations across the city.
2. 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 18 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. There are multiple training opportunities still available.
3. 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.
4. A new mentoring program in the urban core of Kansas City, Missouri needs several mentors. This opportunity resembles a tutoring program, yet mentors will have a nine-month commitment with the same child (or children). You are required to meet with the student(s) for four hours each month (or once a week) to set academic goals for the students to work on. A background check and training will be given.
5. Help visitors celebrate the spirit of play at an area toy museum! Become a docent trained to further the public’s knowledge and understanding of the museum collections. Docent duties include giving guided highlights tours to adults, seniors, children, families and school groups, greeting visitors and answering questions, and participating in the presentation of high quality educational public programming.
6. An area contemporary art museum is recruiting docents to lead interactive tours and encourage visitors to appreciate and understand contemporary art in our special exhibitions and in the permanent collection on view throughout campus. Docents work with the staff as a team to welcome school children, community groups, and the general public to the museum and campus, and to pursue the educational mission of the museum.
7. 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.
8. Project SKIP is an early intervention program designed to help lower-level truant students. These students come before a panel of their peers for their case to be reviewed. During a hearing, referred youth come before a panel of their peers to explain their truant behavior. Truancy review panel volunteers question truant students and attempt to identify solutions to their truant behavior. Panel members assign services to each truant based upon specific case circumstances and severity of the truancy.
9. A Northeast Kansas City social service organization needs a volunteer to oversee their computer lab. You will assist clients enrolled in the Work Empowerment Program with using the computer. They vary in their level of computer usage skills. You must be available during the day and make a six to eight-month commitment.
10. Enjoy talking with people? Consider becoming a volunteer for a Kansas City area cancer hotline this holiday season. Duties include answering phones, data entry and assisting with office and administrative work. Weekly shifts of 3-4 hours are available from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm.
11. A Northland organization serving the senior population seeks care callers to contact clients on a predetermined schedule. Volunteers must be at least 21 years old, be available two hours a week and be matched with a client to contact on a regular basis to check on basic needs and provide a friendly greeting. Morning and afternoon hours are available.
12. A midtown church sponsors a self-sufficiency program, and volunteers are needed to assist with stocking shelves, loading/unloading their van and other projects. Volunteers must be reliable, able to lift at least 25 pounds and have good organization skills.
13. “Helping Hands” volunteers are needed for a Johnson County human services office. Volunteers will assist the clients with tasks in and around their homes, including being a ‘walking buddy’, performing yard work and organizing incoming mail. You must be at least 16 years old.
14. One of the area YMCAs is looking for volunteer basketball head and assistant coaches to help develop youth while engaging them in team sports this winter. The minimum age for a head coach is 18 years old, and 14 for an assistant coach. Players range from 3-14 years old. All games are scheduled on Saturdays from January 17 - February 25, 2012, with practices arranged by the coach starting any day during the week of November 28. All coaches must attend mandatory coaches meeting in November. Community service hours can be earned. Please click here visit for more information.
15. Per the American Bar Association’s website, approximately one in five female high school students reports being physically and/or sexually abused by a dating partner. You can help Kansas City area young women learn the warning signs and help facilitate healthy discussions through the D.O.V.E. Center, a domestic violence prevention education center. Volunteers are needed two hours a week anytime between 11:00 am – 3:00 pm Monday – Friday.
16. Does your ‘tween/teen need community service hours for a school, scouting or faith group requirement? An area youth-based volunteer agency works with area nonprofit organizations to offer service projects during the school year, including winter, spring and summer breaks. Youth volunteers will have the opportunity to experience what it means to help their community through daily or weeklong projects with various community-based organizations in the Greater Kansas City area. Projects usually run from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm Monday – Thursday during breaks, unless otherwise noted. Click here for more information.
17. Are you a seasoned professional with extensive experience? Project managers will be needed in a variety of area nonprofit organizations after the first of the year on a short-term basis to assist with strategic planning, finance and a number of other departments.
18. Our nationally-recognized art museum’s new volunteer position offers volunteers the opportunity to provide a welcoming presence in the galleries through the facilitation of a variety of engaging, informal learning experiences revolving around art, such as tours, casual conversations, and hands-on activities. Offering visitors these more varied opportunities for learning is key to the museum’s goal of attracting a more diverse group of visitors to experience art at the museum. Training begins in January 2012. Please click here for more information.
19. Assistance is needed with sorting clothing donations at a Midtown social service agency. A clothes closet organizer is needed to sort and hang clothing for the clients to access them easily during their intake sessions.
20. Lend a helping hand to Girl Scout Rangers by assisting with the preparation of one of the local camps for the winter. Volunteers will remove foam mattresses from permanents, repairing them if necessary and putting them in storage. You must be able to carry the mattresses a short distance and be able to walk on uneven terrain.
21. A Northland-based organization supporting the 55 years and older population needs a volunteer to serve as a buddy for 1-2 clients once a week. Tasks include playing games such as dominoes and word games and assist clients with moving to exercise stations, lunch, etc. You must be at least 21 years old and available two hours a week.
22. Four volunteers 16 years and older are needed to serve as office assistants at an East Side organization empowering homeless mothers and their children. You will answer phone calls, greet visitors, file documents and complete other clerical/administrative duties. Volunteers must be available 4-8 hours a week.
23. Help increase Kansas City, Missouri’s curbside recycling rate! In teams of two, you will go door-to-door in targeted Kansas City, Missouri neighborhoods to engage residents and encourage recycling by offering a free curbside recycling bin. This project will take place on the following Saturdays: December 3, December 10 and December 17The minimum age is 18 years old. Groups may arrange a special workday.
24. A Johnson County thrift store seeks help with their newly-formed online store. A volunteer is currently running the program and needs 3-4 people to assist with taking pictures of items, listing them on eBay and other tasks. Four to five items are posted per week, and the staff wants to increase that number within the next few months.
25. An organization that provides programs and services to those battling cancer and their families is currently recruiting volunteers who knit, crochet, and sew to help make comfort items. Individual and volunteer groups are welcome to participate. The finished items will be delivered to the organization for distribution to cancer patients.
26. Encourage the love of reading for Kansas City children by helping to label and store books! An organization dedicated to sharing the joy and books with disadvantaged children needs volunteers 12 years and older to label and store books, and stuff Kindergarten book bags 2-12 times a year. Shifts are usually during the work week between 10:00 am and 1:00 pm at their KU Medical Center office.
27. Provide “elbow grease” for one of the area Salvation Army locations! Kitchen aide volunteers are needed to clean their commercial kitchen once a week. You have the freedom to choose your day and time.
28. Help families go through critical times by serving as a hospice volunteer at one of the area hospice facilities. Volunteers 18 years and older will assist the hospice team with patient care and family support, or with administrative and clerical tasks. You can create your own schedule; most volunteers help a few hours per week. Background checks will be conducted, and training is provided.
29. A Northland-based organization supporting the 55 years and older population needs a volunteer to serve as a buddy for 1-2 clients once a week. Tasks include playing games such as dominoes and word games and assist clients with moving to exercise stations, lunch, etc. You must be at least 21 years old and available two hours a week.
30. A social services organization serving the Westport area needs volunteers to help with their Meals on Wheels program (including drivers), answering phones and providing office support. All volunteers must be at least 18 years old, and an orientation will be provided.
31. Be a house warmer to seriously ill children and their families! Provide an atmosphere of hospitality at one of three sites near/in Children’s Mercy Hospital by welcoming the children and families, preparing meals, answering general questions and other tasks.
32. Five lobby greeters are needed for an organization supporting children and families who have experienced abuse, neglect or trauma. Volunteers will assist with welcoming guests, work in the donations closet and perform clerical work as needed. You must be at least 19 years old, available three hours a week and be able to make a 4-6 month commitment.
33. A Kansas City area book bank seeks volunteers 14 years old and older to assist with counting and shelving book donations and data entry work. The books are donated to area school districts, social service agencies, etc. Weekday and weekend hours are available; individuals and small groups are welcome.
34. A Midtown organization working to eradicate poverty among families needs volunteers to mentor those enrolled in the program, assist in the computer lab, lend administrative support, or sort clothing in their clothing closet.
