WHAT CAN I DO?

Non-profits and community groups in New York that need the help of volunteers have many opportunities available. Here are a few examples of the types of jobs that volunteers do everyday to make New York City a better place!

• Just do it: deliver meals to homebound aids patients.
• Save animals: take care of abandoned stray cats.
• Just chat: be a friendly visitor to homebound elderly.
• Help out: help New Yorkers in crisis situations by becoming a HelpLine volunteer.
• Use your skills: help new immigrants learn English by being a conversation partner.
• Change a life: become a mentor to one of New York’s children.
• Just relax: help out with gardening and maintenance of the city’s parks.
• Make a difference: support their reintegration in society by mentoring ex-offenders.
• Tour Guide : assist visitors and promote the Big Apple by welcoming them and showing them the real NYC.
• Educate the future: lead school groups through a museum and educate them on interesting subjects.
• Meet new people: be an assistant in an outdoor library in the heart of Manhattan.
• Learn about the art world: help out in an art gallery in SoHo.
• Show your talents: design a website for an exiting non-profit organization.
• Find the money: raise funds for small non-profits that you think are doing good.
• Show what you know: be a tour guide at a museum.
• Non-profit sales: an oxymoron? try working in a thrift shop.
• Just have fun: lead recreational programs for the elderly.
• Change a life: mentor an ex-offenders in job-skills.
• Promote literacy: read stories to children in hospitals.
• Food gets us through: help the hungry and homeless, serve them a lunch.
• Speak your mind: become a reporter for agency newsletters.
• Read out loud: read mail to blind adults.
• Fight for a cause: be an advocate for children within the NYC foster care system and the family courts.
• Change a life: become a big brother or big sister for a boy or girl.
• Show the way: guide people in the zoo.
• Feed the hungry: serve meals at a soup kitchen.
• Learn about plants: assist gardeners of the Botanical Gardens in pruning, planting, raking, mulching and weeding.

FOLLOW YOUR INTEREST
Below are some examples of the wide range of causes and needs that the non-profit agencies registered with VRC support.

USE YOUR SKILLS
To find a volunteer position that really fits you, you can also start by thinking what skills you want to use or develop. Below is a partial list of skills and experiences our agencies seek.