by Christine Zibas

Created on: June 22, 2009   Last Updated: August 13, 2009

Austin offers many great places for its residents to volunteer. Texans have always been willing to lend a helping hand, whether to a neighbor, friend, or just someone in the community who needs help. This helping spirit translates to a wide variety of volunteer opportunities.

The city itself showcases some of the many deserving places to volunteer in Austin at the website below:

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/council/mccracken_volunte erops.htm

In addition to the volunteer opportunities listed there, Austin area museums, parks, and festivals are great places to find organizations that need the help of dedicated volunteers.

Student Volunteering Project at the University of Texas (UT)
ServiceLeader.org
Not only does this group study volunteerism and maintain a library of documents about the topic, this project of the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs of the University of Texas also disseminates volunteer information to students. At this nonprofit, students and other interested individuals can find helpful information on volunteer opportunities in Austin's schools as well as in state government agencies, for example.

This UT project helps assist nonprofits with online volunteering, and provides organizations with solid information on managing volunteer operations to ensure that area nonprofits have the necessary tools to grow and perform better. Service Leader has created (and made available free of charge) a Virtual Volunteering Guidebook to lend support to local volunteer programs in the Austin area and beyond.

Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB)
www.AustinFoodBank.org
This nonprofit assists more than 370 local social service agencies help feed hungry people in Central Texas. The food bank notes its dire need: 82 percent of food recipients from the CAFB are food insecure, while 49 percent experience direct hunger.

Each month, CAFB volunteers contribute more than 5,000 hours of service through a variety of tasks, including sorting and packaging food, assisting with administrative tasks, and helping with special events, among others.

Volunteers also serve clients directly. CAFB partners with other agencies (including East Austin Service Center, Trinity Center, Catholic Charities of Central Texas, Family Eldercare, Heart House, Glad Tidings Assembly, The Storehouse, and Patriot Kids Camp) to distribute food through soup kitchens, homebound delivery, food pantries, and children's programs.

Heart House
www.HeartHouse.org

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>