Community Engagement Opportunities
On Campus Volunteer Opportunities
GVSU Sustainable Agriculture Project
Check out this great opportunity right on GVSU's campus.
Fridays from 12pm to 3pm.
You can find more information on the SAP through their Visit & Volunteer page.
Off Campus Volunteer Opportunities
Camp Clean-up Volunteer Day - Camp Blodgett
Saturday, May 7th, from 9am - 2:30pm.
Camp Blodgett is looking for volunteers to assist with weeding, trail clean-up, and beach clean-up to help prepare the camp for campers coming all summer long! Lunch will be provided.
Use this link to sign up as a volunteer (as an individual and as a group). You can find more information here.
Food Packer - Revive & Thrive Project
3pm - 6pm, Wednesdays. Ongoing opportunity; they ask for at least a 12-week commitment.
Revive & Thrive Project is looking for adult volunteers who can assist with packing healthy meals that will be delivered to those in need in the community.
Use this link to sign up as a volunteer.
Refugee Youth Mentor - Bethany Christian Services
Ongoing opportunity that works with you and your mentee's schedules. All mentors must make a year-long commitment, which requires a minimum of 4 hours a month with your mentee.
As a mentor*, volunteers will be matched up with a young refugee that has come to live in Grand Rapids. Volunteers will have access to a mentor coordinator, social workers and counselors so they have the tools needed to give additional support. Every mentor has to maintain at least monthly contact with Bethany staff during the length of their mentorship.
If interested in being a mentor, contact Michelle Roub.
*All mentors have to be at least 21 years or older.
Cleaner & Greeter - Michelle's Rescue Cat Cafe
Sunday - Saturday, ongoing opportunity.
Multiple shifts available. Seeking volunteers to clean, feed and water, and provide basic information to guests during their scheduled visits. Must be at least 21 or older to volunteer.
Fill out this application to volunteer.
Volunteer Shifts - Kent County Kids' Food Basket
2pm - 4pm, Mondays - Thursdays, ongoing opportunity.
Please contact Damon at damon.bouwkamp@kidsfoodbasket.org if you are interested in volunteering.
Greeter - Grand Rapids Public Museum
8:30am - 11a, Monday - Friday, ongoing opportunity.
Volunteers welcome and direct groups (mostly morning school groups) visiting during the week. Shifts vary between 8:30-11:00am. Volunteers usually work the same day each week. Once groups are in the building, Greeters also have the option to volunteer in other roles within the Museum. Greeters receive free parking and a discount in the Museum's Cafe and Curiosity Gift Shop. After 12 shifts, all volunteers receive a free Museum membership.
Email Mo Fleming to register.
Education Assistant - Grand Rapids Public Museum
School day hours, Monday - Friday, ongoing opportunity.
Volunteers will assist Museum educators in providing programming to visiting school groups. Classes are 60-90 minutes in length and cover a variety of topics such as Civil War Artifacts, Watershed Decision-Making, Plant & Animal Adaptations, and more. No specialized expertise is necessary as training is provided. Shifts are weekdays during the school year. Education Assists receive free parking, Museum discounts, and free membership after 12 shifts.
Email Mo Fleming to register.
Cross-Cultural Partnership Volunteer - Treetops Collective
Sign up for a training session and to volunteer on Treetops Collectives’ website.
Remote Volunteer Opportunities
Language Exchange Program - Refugee Outreach Collective
LEP is organized to facilitate relationships through learning. Participants are based in the midwest and Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi, and each take on both the role of teacher and student, as they share their language while learning the other. Over video call and messaging on WhatsApp, participants will provide lessons on how to speak English or Swahili, and they will then learn how to speak the language they do not know. To make this a reality, participants will create lesson plans and content to be shared with their language partner, and partners will share and learn from each other’s content once a week. Through their involvement in the program, participants will gain meaningful experiences teaching English or Swahili as a second language, while learning a new language and culture.
For more information contact Emily from Refugee Outreach Collective: mail@rocyourworld.org
Smithsonian Digital Volunteers - The Transcription Center
Transcribe and review digitized historical collections from around the Smithsonian.
Learn more about the Transcription Center and sign up to begin.
Transcribers - By The People (Library of Congress)
The Library of Congress needs volunteers to help transcribe digitize documents, add keyword tags to assist in future searches, and to review transcriptions by other volunteers for accuracy.
Learn more about the opportunity here.
Audiobook Recorder - Learning Ally
As a volunteer, you can use your voice talent to bring audiobooks to life. Or you can conduct quality assurance playing books back just like students will and checking for anything that would result in a less-than-enjoyable listening experience.
Learn more about the opportunity here.
Virtual Tutor - Oakwood Education Foundation
Oakwood Education Foundation addresses educational inequality by connecting underserved students with impassioned volunteer tutors. Anyone 15 or older can apply to be a tutor, and you can choose subjects that match your area of expertise.
Summer Volunteer Opportunities
She Runs Grand Rapids - SHE RUNS Grand Rapids
Saturday, April 30, 2022 & Sunday May 1, 2022
This is a two-day running event that takes places in Calder Plaza. The events needs help with sign-up, set-up, cleaning, take-down, and so much more!
You can view available slots and sign up here.
Camp Clean-up Volunteer Day - Camp Blodgett
Saturday, May 7th, from 9am - 2:30pm.
Camp Blodgett is looking for volunteers to assist with weeding, trail clean-up, and beach clean-up to help prepare the camp for campers coming all summer long! Lunch will be provided.
Use this link to sign up as a volunteer (as an individual and as a group). You can find more information here.
Eco-Stewardship Work Days - Blandford Nature Centers
10am - 12pm, Saturday, May 28, 2022 & Saturday June 18, 2022
Eco-Stewardship work focuses on habitat restoration, trail maintenance, stream clean-up and removal of invasive species (like buckthorn, privet and honeysuckle) on several sections of Blandford's 264-acre site. Education is always a major focus of the day as volunteers learn to identify and manage plants that may be growing in their own backyards, their schools or city parks and how those plants and their volunteer efforts directly impact their surrounding environment.
You can view available slots and sign up here.
Farm Work Days - Blandford Nature Centers
May 13, 2022 – August 19, 2022, different days and time slots available throughout the summer.
Blandford Nature Center is looking for volunteers to help them complete their ongoing Farm projects during the summer. Please make sure to wear comfortable clothes and shoes that can get wet and dirty. Always dress for the weather. Bring a water bottle. A hat is always a great idea at the farm as well!
You can view available slots and sign up here.
BRIDGE Summer Volunteer - Refugee Education Center
June 13, 2022 – August 4, 2022, must commit to a minimum of 5 hours per week.
Support lead teachers and work with newly resettled K-12 students of refugee background by providing a safe and welcoming environment for students to prepare for their new K-12 education in America! No experience necessary. You can view the official position description here.
If interested, please contact Volunteer/Intern Coordinator Fayo Feto.
Graduate & Grow Summer Volunteer Mentor - Refugee Education Center
June 21, 2022 – August 4, 2022, must commit to 6 hours per week.
Supporting a learning environment meant to educate young adults in their most developmental stages in life from higher education to career exploration. Must be 21+ and have a driver's license.You can view the official position description here.
If interested, please contact Volunteer/Intern Coordinator Fayo Feto.
United Way
Visit the Heart of West Michigan United Way site and browse through their Volunteer Opportunity Database to find opportunities that suit your interests!
Outdoor Service Opportunities
Job Feed
5/17/22
Social Media Expert (LinkedIn Focused)
for job 6484094
Power of Story
Expires: 12/31/22
5/12/22
Online Tutor of Any Course
for job 6465902
Bayise Tutor, Inc.
Expires: 6/8/22
5/5/22
Journalism Students: Apply to The New York Times Corps
for job 6435241
The New York Times
Expires: 6/15/22
5/4/22
Gift of Life Marrow Registry On Campus Opportunity
for job 6428206
Gift of Life Marrow Registry
Expires: 8/1/22
5/4/22
AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) at YouthWork Industries
for job 6427359
YouthWork Industries - YouthWork Conservation Corps
Expires: 10/31/22
The information on this page is being provided strictly as a courtesy to our students seeking community engagement opportunities. The following list of opportunities is not coordinated by the CSLC. If any of these opportunities interest you please contact the community partner directly through the contact person listed.
The views and opinions represented by these organizations are not affiliated with Grand Valley State University. If you find that a position posted through this site is not as advertised, please notify the Community Service Learning Center at service@gvsu.edu.
Visit Handshake for more Volunteer, Internship and Job Opportunities
