Volunteer Opportunities
The LPBC is happy to share these volunteer opportunities with nonprofits across the Mid-South. These are great ways to get engaged as an individual, family, or company. Please reach out directly, per the listed contact information, if you are interested in learning more or taking the next step with one of the organizations and opportunities. If you would like to submit a volunteer opportunity for possible inclusion in this list, please email us with the information.
Creative Aging needs volunteers for the 3rd Annual Senior Fun Day on Thursday, April 30, 1-3pm at Memphis Jewish Community Center, 6560 Poplar Ave. (between Massey and Kirby Parkway). Volunteers can help with set-up, the event, or clean-up. If you, your friends, or fellow employees are interested, and at least 16 years of age, contact or call to learn more.
Literacy Mid-South. Needed: First Book, a national non-profit that provides books to kids in need, is partnering with Memphis-based non-profit Literacy Mid-South to bring nearly 500,000 brand, new books to children in need! These books are stored in a warehouse in Memphis, and we need volunteers to help us sort, pack, label and organize them for distribution to programs serving children from low-income families. Volunteers are needed from Monday, March 9th through Friday, March 13th. There are two shifts: Morning (8:00AM - 12:00PM) and Afternoon (1:00PM - 5:00PM). Volunteers must be able to lift 10 to 30 pound boxes of books. Sign-up: www.firstbook.org/BBVolunteers or call .
Shelby Farms Park. Plant the Park events, which started in January and will continue until March! Every Saturday,we invite volunteers to plant trees in the park with our goal of one million trees. Tree planting will be held every Saturday from 9 a.m. -12 p.m. "Love the Park Service Day" is Saturday, February 14th from 9 a.m.--12 p.m. Bring your sweetie to help keep Shelby Farms Park clean + green. All participants receive a 'love the park' bumper sticker. All volunteer opportunities are perfect for families, big groups, and anyone else looking to help take care of America's largest urban park. For more information, contact Irene Montanez, Volunteer Coordinator at or visit the Shelby Farms Park Volunteer website: http://shelbyfarmspark.org/volunteer
Rock for Love 8. Want to give back to the Church Health Center and hear some of the best Memphis music at the same time? Volunteer for Rock for Love 8! Rock for Love is an annual music and arts festival benefiting the Church Health Center. This year the festival is September 5-7 at Crosstown, Overton Square, and the Levitt Shell. The opportunities include clean up and set up, green room managing, merch sales, wristband stations and VIP area management. To sign up, visit this link: http://vols.pt/zQSoj9 or email Jerica Sandifer at . There are several shifts to choose from and you do not have to volunteer all three days. See you at Rock for Love 8!
TEAM UP with Memphis Grizzlies. If there was one thing you could do...one bold action you could take, one inspired choice you could make... one investment guaranteed to transform Memphis... would you do it? Mentor. Be the difference in a child's life. The Memphis Grizzlies are deeply committed to youth mentoring as a key strategy to achieve our shared goals for all students in Memphis: success in college and life. The Grizzlies TEAM UP initiative has served as a channel to connect students to positive adult role models, further expanding their opportunities in Memphis. And Mentoring Works! Studies have linked mentoring to improved academic, social and economic outcomes. The Grizzlies TEAM UP initiative presented by Duncan-Williams is recruiting mentors for the 2014-2015 school year. There are 500 children waiting for your decision today. Team up with the Memphis Grizzlies Foundation to transform the lives of young people through mentoring. Learn more about the Grizzlies TEAM UP initiative www.teamupmemphis.org. Apply to be a Grizzlies TEAM UP mentor /
Grizzlies Preparatory Academy needs regular volunteers for its Lunch Buddy program, athletic coaching and weekly reading groups. Being in the heart of downtown (corner of 3rd and Jefferson), Grizzlies Prep has multiple opportunities to expose its scholars to the professional world of work. The Lunch Buddy program encourages adults to eat with scholars during their lunch time once a week. It is for approximately 30 minutes and you can choose any day of the week to visit your lunch buddy. Another way to get involved is to come and speak to the classes about your profession on one Monday during the school year. Grizzlies Prep also offers sports through external sports leagues and volunteer coaches. Currently, they offer basketball to their scholars, but they are always looking for more volunteer coaches in basketball or other sports. Lastly, you can get involved in the tremendous reading program at Grizzlies Prep by coming to read with a group of students once a week during the school year. There will be a small training to help you facilitate the reading group. If you are interested in any of these volunteer opportunities, please contact the school at or .
American Cancer Society needs volunteer drivers for their Road to Recovery program. For some cancer patients, the only thing standing between them and lifesaving treatment is a ride. Help bridge that gap by volunteering with the American Cancer Society Road To Recovery® program, and help provide transportation so patients can focus on getting well, instead of getting a ride. Volunteer your time to drive - contact Wynett Jones at American Cancer Society at or . Visit www.cancer.org/treatment/supportprogramsservices/road-to-recovery for more information.
Mentor with Youth Villages. Mentors make a powerful difference in the lives of our state’s most vulnerable children. Studies show that children who have just one consistent, caring adult in their lives are less likely to drop out of school, have fewer run-ins with the law and build better relationships with their own families. The goal of mentoring is to provide young people with a positive adult influence – someone who will help them get over the hard times, someone who will assist them in making the right decisions, someone who will stick with them through the difficult teenage years, someone who will just be a friend. By giving a little time and attention to a struggling child, you have the power to change a life forever. If you are interested in making a difference through mentoring, please contact Tangina Sanders via email at or telephone .
Get involved with A Step Ahead Foundation. A Step Ahead Foundation’s mission is to provide women in Memphis and Shelby County access to free, long-term, reversible birth control, thus preventing unplanned pregnancies. Those interested in learning more about the organization or how to get involved can visit their website www.AStepAheadFoundtion.org or contact Katy Langston by email or phone .
Volunteer for Shelby Cares. The Shelby County Office of Preparedness is recruiting reserve volunteers for "Shelby Cares," the faith-based sheltering initiative. The agency is looking to train citizens who are interested in serving in shelters during a disaster. These reserves will be trained to assist the staff in operations and maintaining the day-to-day business of housing and feeding those in need. Shelby Cares reserves must be at least 18 years of age, a citizen of Shelby County, and have reliable transportation. Once trained, Shelby Cares reserves will be expected to volunteer a minimum of 4 hours per shift when called in to a shelter. Those who are interested, please email Terry Donald at . An application will be sent to you electronically. For more information, please call Terry Donald at .
tnAchieves seeks Mentors for important, but not time consuming work. tnAchieves is a last dollar scholarship and mentoring program designed to provide an opportunity for TN public high school graduates to receive up to $3,000 annually for community college tuition. tnAchieves is currently in need of 700 volunteers to work with first-generation students from the senior Class of 2014. Currently, 1,052 new students in Shelby County remain eligible to receive the scholarship in the fall, which is a 78% increase from last year. The role of a tnAchieves mentor is strictly to keep the students on track and encouraged. It is much less focused on relationship-building as it is making sure the students are meeting deadlines and doing what they need to do to get into college. The time commitment seems very small for mentors (10 hours annually), but for a student who is the first in their family to attend college, an effective mentor makes all the difference. Apply online. For more info visit www.tnachieves.org or contact Kaci Murley at or .
Volunteer with Opera Memphis. Do you enjoy sewing, organizing, painting, reading music or simply putting a smile on someone’s face? Have you ever worked backstage or run a spotlight? Consider joining the volunteer team with Opera Memphis. For details on how you can help, contact Denise Stewart at .
Memphis Athletic Ministries and Homework Help – Memphis Athletic Ministries is now providing homework help at 12 neighborhood centers to over 500 elementary youth after school each weekday from 3p-5p. They are looking for volunteers to assist elementary and middle school students with their homework. If you are interested in helping, even on a sporadic basis, please contact Amy Speropoulos at .
The Memphis Crisis Center needs volunteers to answer their Hotlines. The Memphis Crisis Center has been a volunteer-powered lifeline to hope for over 40 years. Trained volunteers - using a combination of empathic listening and crisis intervention - help callers in distress and link them with the long-term resources they need to cope and overcome. Along with the Crisis Line, the Memphis Crisis Center also administers the Call-4-Kids Hotline, the Senior-B-Safe Line, the Ryan White HIV Care Line, and is the local affiliate of National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. All programs are free, safe, and confidential. If you, your friends or anyone in your company is interested, and at least 18 years of age, contact or call to learn more.
