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The holidays are a popular time of year to give back to local nonprofits through donations and volunteering, but there are many opportunities to help year-round in Silicon Valley. Whether you have a couple of hours or a few days a week to spare, Peninsula organizations could use your help with everything from delivering food and maintaining trails to caring for animals and talking to seniors in need of connection. Here are ways to make a difference in the community in December and beyond.
Avenidas: Volunteer from your home through the nonprofit’s Friendly Voices program, which pairs volunteers with older adults through free, weekly phone conversations one to two hours a week.
In-person opportunities include Avenidas Door to Door, in which volunteers give rides to seniors; helping staff at the Avenidas Rose Kleiner Center with scheduled activities and socializing; facilitating activities and teaching classes; and helping seniors with odd jobs and errands as part of Avenidas Village, the aging-at-home membership program. The organization welcomes student volunteers.
For more info, visit avenidas.org/programs/volunteering.
Ayudando Latinos A Soñar: The Half Moon Bay nonprofit has programs geared toward helping and enriching the lives of farmworkers and the Latino community through programs and initiatives in the arts, social services, health care and more.
Volunteer opportunities are posted on its website, with upcoming events including a Christmas Wrapfest Dec. 16-18, a food distribution Dec. 18 and a Christmas food pantry Dec. 20. Learn more at alasdreams.com/get-involved.
Cake4Kids: The Sunnyvale nonprofit is supported by an army of volunteers who bake and deliver birthday cakes, cupcakes or cookies for children who otherwise may not receive them. Volunteers are also welcome for event planning, systems development and more.
Participants must be 16 or older to volunteer, with those under 18 required to volunteer with an adult. For complete requirements or to sign up, visit cake4kids.org/volunteer.
Day Worker Center of Mountain View: Serve as an English as a Second Language (ESL) instructor or coordinator, help with archiving the center’s history, plan or coordinate special events and more at the center, which provides job-matching services between day workers and local homeowners and businesses. Visit dayworkercentermv.org/en/volunteer to apply.
Grassroots Ecology: The Palo Alto-based nonprofit works to care for public lands and water in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties and educate the public about restoring local ecosystems. Its volunteer activities vary by season, and November to February is the only time of year they plant native plants. Other tasks include weeding, mulching, litter removal and other maintenance needs.
Upcoming community workdays include tree planting at Esther Clark Park in Palo Alto Dec. 13, marsh habitat restoration in Mountain View Dec. 20 and solstice planting at Stulsaft Park in Redwood City. Dec. 21, among others. Preregistration is required.
Grassroots Ecology also offers private group habitat restoration events for schools, businesses and other groups. Fees or donations are required for service events for private schools and corporate service groups. A free youth stewards program is available for middle and high school students in summer and winter.
To learn more, go to grassrootsecology.org/volunteer.
Hidden Villa: There are numerous volunteer roles at the Los Altos Hills farm and educational nonprofit, which range from drop-in and project-based opportunities to high-commitment ones. Volunteers can care for farm animals and plants, maintain trails and archives, serve as weekend ambassadors or education guides and more. There’s even a job for “The Dirtiest Volunteer” who takes on “only the dirtiest, hardest, most ugly jobs we have.”
One-time volunteer events are also held at Hidden Villa, including a garden volunteer day Dec. 15. Corporate and group volunteer opportunities are also available. Experience is not necessary, and training will be provided. Learn more at hiddenvilla.org/ways-to-give/volunteer/region-HV/cat-61.
LifeMoves: Volunteer to serve meals to unhoused families and individuals at locations across San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, including in San Mateo, Redwood City, Mountain View and San Jose. Youth volunteers are welcome, but age requirements vary by site. Groups are also welcome, but a minimum of three volunteers per meal service is encouraged. Visit lifemoves.org/ways-to-give/volunteering for more details.
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District: Help restore and maintain the open space lands we treasure for outdoor recreation along the Peninsula. Upcoming projects include French broom shrub removal at Sierra Azul and Bear Creek Redwoods preserves, as well as trail maintenance at Los Trancos Preserve. Volunteer days are held on weekdays and weekends, and new projects are posted the first Wednesday of every month.
For those interested in longer-term opportunities, Midpen offers volunteer programs in which members of the public can become docents or stewards, join the Volunteer Trail Patrol or help on special projects. Visit openspace.org/get-involved/volunteer to learn more.
Mini Cat Town: Care for kittens on the adoption floor and interact with adopters at the nonprofit’s Palo Alto location on California Avenue. Volunteers also help with fundraisers and off-site adoption events.
Volunteering opportunities are also available at the organization’s other Bay Area locations. Teens who have completed at least a semester of high school are also encouraged to volunteer. Apply online at minicattown.org/our-community.
Pacific Beach Coalition: The Pacifica-based nonprofit works to curb littering and preserve the ocean, coastal habitat and wildlife. Founded in 1997 with a coastal cleanup every third Saturday, its reach now goes beyond the Coastside with monthly weekend cleanups and habitat restoration projects in nearby Daly City and Foster City in addition to ones along the coast.
The organization also hosts annual cleanups after the Fourth of July and for Earth Day and California Coastal Cleanup Day. Students seeking volunteer hours, schools and businesses can also sign up for private cleanups.
Their next events are cleanups and habitat restoration days scheduled for Dec. 13-14. For more information, visit pacificbeachcoalition.org/support-us.
Peninsula Book Collaborative: Help the Daly City nonprofit and bookstore with its programming and activities or share your skills with the community by hosting a workshop, a book club, craft club or more. You can also join as a board member or advisory committee member.
Volunteers are needed over the holidays for two-hour gift-wrapping shifts; all supplies provided. Program and activity volunteers must be 16 and older or at least 18 to lead an activity. For more info, go to peninsulabooks.org/volunteer.
Peninsula Food Runners: Sign up for a regular weekly food run, which requires up to 90 minutes to complete, or for on-call and occasional backup food runs. Volunteers pick up excess food from restaurants, companies, grocers or farmers markets and deliver it to outreach organizations.
Individuals and groups can volunteer, including children with a trusted adult present. Visit peninsulafoodrunners.org/become-a-volunteer to sign up.
Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA: Animal lovers can participate in one-time and ongoing volunteer opportunities in support of the nonprofit. On Dec. 13, the nonprofit is seeking “Pawliday Helpers” to make toys for dogs and cats in its care. All supplies will be provided, and registration is not required. All ages are welcome, but the event is best suited for kids 8-15.
Kids can also earn community service hours by reading to shelter animals at the Lantos Center for Compassion in Burlingame on the first and third Saturdays of every month. (Registration required, $10 fee.) The Shelter Tales program is also available for private groups on the second Wednesday of the month ($100 fee).
Adult volunteers also serve with the organization on a long-term basis, contributing anywhere from a couple of hours to a few days a week. Junior volunteer positions are available to teens ages 13-17 and require a commitment of two hours a week for at least six months. For more details, visit phs-spca.org/volunteer or phs-spca.org/events.
Peninsula Open Space Trust: The nonprofit, which protects open space on the Peninsula and in the South Bay, has monthly public volunteer events. The next two are Bair Island volunteer workdays scheduled for Dec. 13 and Jan. 10. Tools will be provided, and no prior experience is needed. These workdays are best suited for kids 14 and older, and all minors must be accompanied by adults throughout the event.
There are also volunteer teams that require additional enrollment and training, including an ambassador program supporting POST’s community events and outreach initiatives and a land volunteer program dedicated to caring for POST’s properties. Go to openspacetrust.org/volunteer to learn more.
Peninsula Volunteers, Inc.: Volunteers can help the Menlo Park nonprofit remotely, at the organization’s headquarters and throughout the Midpeninsula. Volunteer hours are usually on weekdays and include everything from packing and delivering meals for seniors unable to cook or shop for themselves to giving one-on-one tech sessions and assisting with lunchtime tasks. To apply to volunteer, visit 1pvi.org/volunteer.
Samaritan House: Immediate volunteer roles for Samaritan House include shifts to deliver hot meals to shelters and seniors and food services support to help prep, package and distribute food. The San Mateo nonprofit is always in need of kitchen and pantry volunteers as well for those able to commit weekly for at least four weeks.
Groups can also volunteer. Youth ages 12-15 must work alongside a parent in food services, but those 16 and older can volunteer independently. Visit samaritanhousesanmateo.org/volunteer for complete details.
San Mateo County Parks: Volunteers are needed across parks in San Mateo County for removing weeds to combat invasive plants, growing plants for habitat restoration at San Bruno Mountain’s Mission Blue Nursery, and monitoring wildlife at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve.
Park docents are also needed at Edgewood and Wunderlich county parks to educate visitors, and equestrians can join the Volunteer Horse Patrol to observe and report trail conditions while riding horses in county parks. Friends of San Pedro Valley Park is also seeking volunteers for ongoing trail work and habitat restoration, with events scheduled for Dec. 13 and 20.
To learn more, visit smcgov.org/parks/volunteers.
San Mateo County Rapid Response Verifiers: Part of the Redwood City-based organization Faith in Action Bay Area, those interested can sign up to become a verification volunteer to assist the Rapid Response Hotline by physically verifying if ICE is present in the community and distributing information to community members if ICE has been in a given neighborhood.
The next training session will likely be in January. Volunteers who live in all parts of San Mateo County are encouraged to sign up; no language skills are needed. Learn more at faithinactionba.org/rapid-response.
Second Harvest of Silicon Valley: The food bank’s website lets volunteers search for shifts and filter opportunities by type of activity – distributing, sorting or delivering food – as well as other factors like days and times and by location.
As of Dec. 11, priority shifts included food distribution events Dec. 17 in Daly City and San Bruno, but there are many upcoming shifts throughout the Peninsula and South Bay. Shifts for groups are also available.
The minimum age to volunteer is 12, with chaperone requirements for those under 18. Check the Volunteer FAQs page for helpful information before your shift. To sign up, visit shfb.org/give-help/volunteer/volcalendar-general.
Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange: Help repair bikes for donation to charities at the organization’s biweekly volunteer workdays, generally held every second and fourth Saturdays with some weekday evening events. Bike repair experience is not necessary.
Ongoing volunteer roles are also available in event operations and SVBE’s retail bike shop, among other opportunities. Corporate team-building events are offered, with a suggested donation of $50 per corporate volunteer. Visit bikex.org/volunteer for more info.
