Community Housing of Wyandotte County

Community Housing of Wyandotte County (CHWC) is a not-for-profit community development corporation dedicated to revitalizing, stabilizing and reinvesting in Kansas City, Kansas neighborhoods. They aim to provide meaningful programs to the residents of Wyandotte County to help them achieve, preserve and sustain quality neighborhoods and housing. They also provide financial counseling, home buyer assistance and a friendly caring staff willing to help all along the road to homeownership.

Volunteers help CHWC in a variety of ways. CHWC especially needs help at their urban farm during the spring, summer and early fall and welcome individuals, families and groups to come help plant, weed and harvest healthy produce that is provided free of charge to nearby residents and families of students of the elementary school located just across the street. They also do neighborhood cleanups and need help staffing outreach events to increase engagement with the community.

If you’re interested in helping out, visit their webpage to find out more about their volunteer opportunities!

Happy volunteering!

Cultivate KC Volunteer Opportunity

Earth Day Orchard Planting

Cultivate KC is a locally-grown nonprofit working to grow food, farms, and community in support of a sustainable and healthy local food system for all. They believe that growing and sharing local food nurtures our ability to care for each other and the world in which we live.

On April 22 from 2-6pm they are hosting an Earth Day Orchard Planting! Celebrate Earth Day at their Westport Commons Farm, where they’ll be planting an orchard with trees from The Giving Grove and spreading mulch from Missouri Organic Recycling. Click here to sign up!

Happy Volunteering!

Tara

Green Works Volunteer Opportunity

Green Works in Kansas City is an agency that excels at environmental education and workforce development for urban youth. In creating partnerships that open doors for their students they aim to positively impact their futures. They educate students about the environment with project-based learning and meaningful service projects. They provide job skill training, financial literacy and paid summer internships to prepare their students for life after high school. And they involve their students in educational initiatives in their neighborhoods.

I received this email from them today:

“We are halfway through the Green Works Excelerate class (career readiness program) and we have another volunteer opportunity you might be interested in.

We are seeking volunteers to help with an upcoming Excelerate class from 3:45 to 5 pm on Thursday, April 11.

Tamika Doolin, our instructor, has planned for a Mock Job Fair in which students will rotate to each volunteer seeking feedback on their resume, personal brand pitch and share what career field/job(s) they are interested in.

Class begins at 3 pm, but as noted above, volunteers don’t need to arrive until 3:45 pm. You are welcome to come at 3 pm if you want to hear what the students are doing in class prior to the Mock Job Fair. Class ends promptly at 5 pm.”

If you’re interested, contact Elaine Warren at elaine@greenworkskc.org.

Happy Volunteering!

Phoenix Family Volunteer Opportunities

Phoenix Family is a great organization that has a lot of volunteer opportunities because they offer so many diverse services in the Kansas City area. Their mission is to empower people living in low-income housing communities with the on-site support they need to gain stability and achieve self-sufficiency.

Just last week I took a few students to one of their senior living facilities and helped build two garden beds for them to use this spring. We had a blast! The residents put us to work and were very grateful for our help. Here is more information on that volunteer opportunity and a couple other needs that Phoenix Family has right now.

Community Garden Help

Seniors find so much joy in their community garden and love having the chance to grow their own fresh, healthy vegetables. Some seniors have limited mobility and could really use help getting the garden ready for planting.

You can schedule any day that works best for you. There are gardens in communities that could use the help of just one person, your family, or a larger group.

Email April DeNatale to get started!

Help Children and Families with the Basics

You can help children and families with some of the basics like clothes that fit and household essentials. These basics can be hard for children and families at times. Pantries located right where families live help fill the gaps. You could help sort donations and organize a pantry in a community in South Kansas City.

This is a great opportunity for either a small family or larger volunteer team.

Email April to set up a date and time that works for you.

Help Seniors Stock their Kitchens with Fresh Food

With just a couple of hours of your time, you can help seniors stock their kitchens with fresh food through the Mobile Food Pantry Program. You will spend the morning getting to know seniors, unboxing fresh produce, and setting up a small market right where seniors live. Seniors will choose fresh food to take home free of charge and won’t have far to carry heavy bags.


This is a great opportunity to volunteer on your own or with your family. Dates and times are available all month across the metro.

Click here to learn more and sign up!

Happy Volunteering!

March of Dimes – March for Babies

The March of Dimes, March for Babies is coming to Kansas City on April 28, and they need volunteers!

The March for Babies raises money to expand programs and educate medical professionals to make sure that moms and babies get the best possible care. By marching or volunteering, you not only help to raise money, but you also advocate for policies that prioritize their health. You fund research to find solutions to the biggest health threats. And you support moms through every stage of the pregnancy journey, even when everything doesn’t go according to plan.

Volunteering at a race is so much fun and there are a lot of different areas that need help. Here is a list of volunteer roles:

Clean-Up – Assist with breaking down the event, bringing all supplies used at your station to the truck, box break down, trash clean up, break down table and chair, gather all signs used for the event, collect any rope or stakes, make sure all portable trash and recycle bins have been collected and returned to the truck. 1pm – 2 pm (10)

Event Registration – Greet attendees, register walkers, provide event info. 8am – 11am; 35 volunteers

Event Set-Up – Assist with setting up tables, chairs, tents, signs, stakes, rope, dress all tables with tablecloths, hang banners, unloading event supplies to all areas and stations. Unloading truck is 6am – 7am; (10); Tent set up 7am-9am (6); Banner setup 7am – 9am (6); Tablecloths 7am-9am (4).

Family Team Assistance – Assist family teams unloading and loading, volunteers will drive carts to help family team. 7:30am – 9:30am (2) 11am – 2pm (2)

First Aid, Information & Lost Kids Tent – Work with the radio operators and staff where lost children are brought to or where parents come to looking for their lost child. 9am-1pm; (2) 

Food – Food truck load in, be available to answer questions, be point of contact for the food truck vendors, and have trucks breakdown/out by 2pm. 8am – 1pm (2)

Kids Zone – Collect waivers for all kid activities for the Kids Zone station, provide each child with a wristband, assist children entering/exiting at each inflatable for safety. 8:30am – 12:30pm; 11am – 2pm (25) for each shift (50) total.

Route – Provide direction to walkers and route safety, hand out water with high energy for walker/runners to keep them going! 10am – 12pm (6) (3 at each station)

Traffic Control – Direct traffic to the appropriate garage and keep cars off the route. Parking – At the garages north of Paige field, direct traffic into and out of the garages including sending cars to the next garage once one garage become full. 7:30am – 12pm (6) 11am – 2pm (6)

Trash – Assist with setting up the portable trash and recycle bins throughout the event area on Paige field and route. Monitor bins throughout the event and empty full bins. At the end of the event, empty all bins and return them to the truck. 9am- 1pm (10)

Volunteer Check-In – Check-in volunteers as they arrive for their shifts and distribute volunteer t-shirts to volunteers as they check-in for their shifts. am – 1pm (2)

Water – Water station setup on Paige field, providing water to walker/runners and keeping water troughs stocked. Water station setup 7am – 9am (2); Water troughs on Paige field 8am – 12pm (3); 11am – 2pm (3)

Why I Walk Tent – Making sure attendees have their beads and the sticker bibs are distributed. 9am – 1pm (2)

If you’re interested, contact Ashlee J. Sundermann at ashlee.sundermann@apo.org.

Happy Volunteering!

The Whole Person Yard Clean-Up Project

The Whole Person is a local agency that provides services to people with disabilities and their families and strives to help them identify and implement resources appropriate to their situation.

Yard maintenance can be a tough situation for people with disabilities.  Planting Independence is an event in the Kansas City area that provides assistance with general yard clean-up for people with disabilities. TWP partners with volunteer groups to perform low to moderate risk activities such as mowing, raking, weeding, and planting. Work will be at the pre-selected homes of TWP consumers.

This activity with our volunteers helps TWP consumers get a handle on their yards and avoid unnecessary fines from the city where they live. This is an excellent volunteer opportunity for individuals, families, clubs, schools, scouts, organizations, and businesses who are looking for an activity to give back, be outdoors, and serve individuals in our community that live with disabilities.

Contact Kelly Grooms at 816-627-2232 or kgrooms@thewholeperson.org to sign up and help! Or visit www.thewholeperson.org/plant.

Happy volunteering!

Reach Out and Read Volunteer Opportunity

Reach Out and Read is a great organization that gives young children a foundation for success by incorporating books into pediatric care and encouraging families to read aloud together. I received this opportunity from them recently, check it out!

Hi Volunteers!

We are approaching the end of our big Hooked on Books drive, and we could really use your help sorting the thousands of gently-used books that schools around the region have collected for us.

We’re holding a big sorting party on March 23rd from 9 a.m. – Noon at the ROR-KC offices, and we’ll be providing lunch to thank you for the hard work.

There are a variety of tasks, but some will involve lifting fairly heavy boxes of books.

We’re looking for 35-40 volunteers, so if you’re interested, we’d love to have you!

When: Saturday, March 23rd from 9 a.m. – Noon

Where: Reach Out and Read KC – Conference room 121 in the Support Services Building on the Kansas University Medical Center Campus, 2100 W. 36th Ave., KC, KS.

The Support Services Building is right across from the Post Office. You can park in the visitor parking spots or the adjacent lot.

Please email Marianne Sharp (msharp5@kumc.edu) if you are interested!

Happy Volunteering!

Uplift Volunteer Opportunity!

Uplift is a homeless outreach program founded in 1990. They are a completely volunteer- run group that  survives by donations and your personal commitment to feed and clothe the area’s homeless.

Their mission:

“We who acknowledge God’s providence and fidelity to his people, especially those in poverty, do dedicate our efforts toward the support of those who are homeless. Our goal is to deliver those basic human needs, care and compassion that are not usually received from other organizations.”

A lot of what Uplift does is make and deliver meals to the Kansas City homeless population – and they always need help, so make sure to check out their volunteer webpage to find out more.

They are also currently looking for groups to come to the warehouse to make candles! If you’re interested, call 816-241-0060.

Happy Volunteering!

Cherith Brook Catholic Worker Workday

The monthly Cherith Brook Catholic Worker workday is coming up on March 9, 2019! They will put you to work cooking lunch, sorting food and clothing donations, cleaning, working outside (weather permitting) etc.  Afterward, they have a lunch and table fellowship for everyone.

Please RSVP by March 4th so they can plan projects accordingly.    You can call (816) 241-8047 or email at cherithbrookkcmo@gmail.com.  They are located at 3308 E. 12th  KC, MO  64127.

Happy volunteering!

Johnson County Corrections Volunteering

Today I want to write a post about a cause that’s close to my heart. We all volunteer for different reasons, for different causes, and in different ways. The trick is to find an opportunity that fits your reasons, that’s for a cause you care about, and to help in a way that’s meaningful to you. When you’ve checked off those three things, you’ll know because you’ll be excited to keep going back. 

For me, one cause that I’m particularly passionate about is reducing recidivism. Recidivism is the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend. I think many people are capable of turning their life around, but often there are outside circumstances that keep them from doing so. I believe that rehabilitation and reducing recidivism – not just punishment – should be in the mission of every correctional facility. Johnson County is lucky to have a correctional facility like that. Here is their mission statement:

Johnson County Corrections supervises juvenile and adult offenders through progressive, effective and sound correction, rehabilitation, and recidivism reduction programs. The Corrections department forges partnerships to bridge the gap between offenders and the community by encouraging client responsibility and behavioral change. 

Another thing that’s awesome about Johnson County Corrections is that their volunteer opportunities are flexible. I also happen to be an artist, so helping people through art is very meaningful to me. When I reached out to the volunteer coordinator about teaching art to their clients, I didn’t know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised when she was as excited as I was! I have been teaching art classes there for about 6 months now and I absolutely love it! I go in twice a month and work with the adults. They are always so excited to see me and they are so grateful! I get about 20 ‘thank you’s’ a class. Every time I leave, I can’t wait to go back. 

I hope that everyone who reads this blog can find opportunities like this – opportunities that are meaningful to you and that serve a cause you care about! 

If Johnson County Corrections peaked your interest, make sure to visit their webpage and check out ways to get involved

 Happy Volunteering!

Tara