Volunteer Opportunities Marin, Sonoma
Community service, volunteer opportunities Marin: soup kitchen, environment, mental health, senior center, hospital, animals, Earth Day, food pantry Sonoma
Ways To Volunteer In Marin, Sonoma
Last Updated January 14, 8:27PM
East Bay opportunities moved over to a separate page.
South Bay Peninsula / Santa Clara opportunities moved to a separate page.
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Note To Organizations:
I have reached out to several of you recently to help you obtain volunteers needed, desired. There are several things I have seen that are making it harder for volunteers to find you, including:
broken links on website
missing volunteer info on landing pages (have to click through 2, 3, 4+ pages to get to info about what kind of volunteers are needed, if there are even any opportunities available
posting volunteer info only on newsletters (after signup)
missing info about work done (is it physical, age requirements, can people show up last minute without showing up, age requirements, commitment levels etc)
I am more than happy to help out when/where I can but I need some help which is partly why I am surfacing this info here, for the masses.
Have recs or feedback for Eddie’s List? Contact me!
Note To Volunteers
Many organizations don’t list all their volunteer opportunities on their sites, social media etc. If you want to help:
List specific skills, ways you can help (website maintenance, social media, etc).
Let them know certain volunteer opportunities are not listed on their site or are buried very deep
Notify them of broken links, missing info on sign-ups etc.
If you are looking for specific objectives to volunteer (meet people, feel good about what you are doing, doing shifts last minute without registering etc. let me know).
Local Volunteering Marin, Sonoma
Popular reads by Eddie’s List:
Volunteer: Food, Hospitals, Homeless, Donations, Environment & More
This is a super rough guide for volunteering in Marin and Sonoma Counties. I will expand on it, add details, quick requirements, locations as well as drop-in notes for last minute opportunities. This is a lot of work, so thank you for your patience. You can see my ultimate vision for this in the other volunteer guides I have put out there.
My main focus is around:
food pantries/food service in kitchens
volunteering at specific locations (no need for driving)
pets, nature, youth/seniors & other one-time opportunities
especially looking for those accepting last minute drop-ins & shorter shifts
if places are filled up indefinitely or most days/weeks, I may remove them temporarily from this list
Community Volunteer Ideas Marin, Sonoma
I started this list because I wanted to make volunteering as frictionless as possible. Often one has to search through 3-6 pages to learn more, see that slots are filled up, realize that a timeframe commitment or training is needed or figure out that the location is too far or not easy to get to or timing won’t work.
My goal is to surface key data points early on so that people can spend less time researching and more time volunteering.
If you have suggestions or notes to add, please leave them below or suggest places here. I have volunteered at several of these places, so if you have any questions, I will do my best to respond.
Anyone, feel free to chime in and recommend places.
Why Volunteer? Donate? Why Do Community Service?
There are many benefits to volunteering, including:
a great way to meet people (friend, job networking, possible love interest?)
benefit your community, and help others,
it also can help with mental health
practice social skills, especially if you are super shy
can be good exercise!
The need for volunteers and donations is at an all-time high. I expect many cuts for federal programs to happen within the next year and there is no better way to support others, help folks get off their feet and provide critical social services than to donate and volunteer.
Please hit the like, heart & restack buttons here if you find this guide helpful!
Hands On Bay Area Volunteer Calendar (check here for daily aggregated opportunities)
Planned Parenthood Escorts San Francisco Bay Area
“Due to coordinated attacks on reproductive freedom throughout the country, we have seen an escalation in anti-abortion protestors outside our health centers, most notably in Concord, Walnut Creek, San Francisco, and Chico.”
https://www.weareplannedparenthood.org/a/patient-escort-signup
I believe these are 2 hour shifts but will update this once I get confirmation.
Youth Volunteer Opportunities, Marin, Sonoma
Working with youth and also opportunities for youth to volunteer.
Play Marin (educational resources, extracurricular activities, and mentorship programs)
Hospital Volunteer Opportunities Marin, Sonoma
Wildcare, San Rafael (Santa Venetia)
Food Pantries, Soup Kitchen Volunteer Opportunities
There may be seasonal changes, additional shifts available so please go straight to the source for the latests and more accurate information.
Marin County Food Bank Warehouse Volunteer Opportunities San Rafael
https://volunteering.sfmfoodbank.org/agency/detail/?agency_id=109904
Reqs: 11+ y/o Weekdays; 8+ y/o Weekends, Closed Shoes, No Jewelry
Sort grocery store donations, clean produce, build grocery bags for delivery etc.
Tuesday, Wednesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays 9-11AM; 12-2PM
Fridays 9-11:30AM; 12-2PM
Marin County Food Pantry Volunteer Opportunities
18+ y/o, rain or shine; bring rain gear for outdoor locations (see site details)
Tuesday
Salvation Army, San Rafael: 8-10:30AM;
Mt. Tam Food Pantry, Mill Valley: 8:45-12PM
Hilarita Community Pantry, Tiburon: 2-4PM
Wednesday
Dr. MLK Jr Academy, Sausalito, 8-11AM
MCC Health Hub, San Rafael, 12-3:30PM
Thursday
San Geronimo Food Pantry; 9:30-12PM; 12-2:30PM
MCC Health Hub, Novato; 12-3:30PM
Saturday
MCC Health Hub, San Rafael; 8-9:30AM
Marin County Food Bank Driver Volunteers
Home delivery goods for 10-15 homes in the area
Fridays: 11-2pm; 11:30-2:30pm & 12-3pm
Sonoma County Food Bank Volunteering: Redwood Empire, Santa Rosa
Community Fridges Sonoma, Marin Counties
Nature, Environment Volunteering, Marin, Sonoma
For Frogs, Turtles, Northern Spotted Owls & Ring Mountain Wildflowers
Wildcare, San Rafael (Santa Venetia)
Olompali State Park, Novato
staffing our Visitors Center to patrolling trails
Friends of China Camp, San Rafael
LandPaths, Santa Rosa
invasive species removal, trail maintenance, native planting, & forestry work
If you would like to support my efforts with creating and upkeeping free guides like this for everyone, you can buy me a coffee below.
Sonoma, Marin County Animal Volunteer Opportunities
Marine Mammal Center, Sausalito
Marin Humane Society, Novato
2-2.5 Hour Orientation
Wildcare, San Rafael (Santa Venetia)
Canine Companions (Nortwest Training Center), Santa Rosa
Coding/Tech/Computer Volunteer Opportunities
The Last Mile - started at San Quentin, now operates across 13 facilities in 7 states
Donate Clothes, Toiletries Marin, Sonoma
Donate Clothes, Toiletries Sonoma, Marin
NERT Training Neighborhood Emergency Response Teams
In the event of a major disaster, resources in Marin can be stretched thin, especially if many personnel are located outside the county or have difficulty getting through narrow roads and may be unable to arrive promptly or at all.
By obtaining training for NERT (or CERT), you can greatly reduce the liability you may cause by being more prepared and helping others seek training and help in an emergency.
See other trainings in other cities/counties here.
Senior Center Volunteer Opportunities Marin, Sonoma
The Redwoods, Mill Valley
Marin County Library Volunteer Opportunities
Marin, Sonoma Immigrant Volunteer Opportunities
Canal Alliance, San Rafael
Homeless/Family Volunteer Opportunities Marin, Sonoma
Music, Arts Volunteer Opportunities Marin, Sonoma
Sonoma County Philharmonic, Santa Rosa
Spreckels Performing Arts Center, Rohnert Park
I am currently looking for more opportunities in the following areas…
Cultural/Language Volunteer Opportunities Marin, Sonoma
Women’s Volunteer Services Marin, Sonoma
Disability Volunteer Opportunities San Francisco
LGBTQ+ Volunteer Opportunities Marin, Sonoma
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