As a Volunteer Odyssey Volunteer, you get to experience the following this month: free concerts, food tastings, local festivals, and more!
Virtual New Mentor Training
- April 8th from 10AM- 12PM
MENTOR Memphis Grizzlies’ Training Institute provides best-in-class training to mentors and mentor programs so that they are equipped to improve student outcomes. This new mentor training starts the process to prepare mentors with the needed tools and skills to mentor and work with the youth within our youth mentoring network. This training is open to anyone interested in becoming a volunteer youth mentor. After completing training, MENTOR Memphis Grizzlies will connect you to a quality youth mentoring program.
Volunteer Odyssey volunteer opportunity: Hit the greens with your golf gang
CBC Classic Golf Classic Tournament
- April 1st from 10:30AM-1PM, 12:30PM-4PM, and 4PM-5PM
Join WYXR On April 1st at the Galloway Golf Course where they are excited to partner with Crosstown Brewing Co. for the Classic Golf Tournament benefiting WYXR 91.7 FM. They will need volunteer help to make the big day happen! Volunteers are needed for set up, event photography, bartendending, to act as putting attendants, and for break down.
Trail Maintenance Mondays
- April 3rd from 10AM- 2PM
Join Pinecrest Camp in the perfect socially-distanced volunteer opportunity. They are smoothing trails, creating new trails, clearing up and restoring old trails, removing invasive plants and restoring wetlands around campus. They can supply some tools, or you bring your own loppers, trimmers, rake, or shovel. This is a great opportunity to spend time in nature and give back.
ShellYeah Benefit Concert
- April 6th and 7th from 5:30-10PM
Join the Overton Park Shell for their Shell Yeah! Benefit Concert. Box-Office volunteers are needed for their upcoming concert featuring Squirrel Nut Zippers! This is sure to be a fun and zany night, so sign up to volunteer for an opportunity to see the show for free.
Feast for Friends
- April 10th from 4:30PM-6PM and 6PM-8PM
Feast for Friends is a congregate meal program that offers Friends for Life clients hot, nutritious meals in a setting that encourages fellowship and friendship. Meals and entertainment are offered to both clients and their loved ones and are provided in Midtown Memphis every month. Volunteers are needed for cooking, greeting & setup, and serving and cleanup shifts.
Farm Park Work Day
- April 1st from 8AM-12PM
Join the Germantown Parks and Rec for a day of farm chores. Farm tasks change daily, but some tasks will involve weeding, limb and stick removal, fence repair, pruning and much more. A Park Ranger will be on-site directing all duties. This event is open to those 16 and older and is the perfect opportunity if you are in high school and in need of service hours.
Art in the Loop Festival
- April 14th through 16th with varying shifts
Volunteers are needed April 14th, 15th & 16th, to help direct the success of Art in the Loop, 2023. Their 6th annual Art in the Loop, the Art Festival in East Memphis, will feature talented artists working in metal, glass, wood, clay, & fiber; plus, jewelry, paintings, photography, and more! We are seeking volunteers to be involved in a number of areas. They need folks interested in assisting with production, artist support, and communications.
10 Year Day of Service
- April 15th from 10AM-12PM
Help Volunteer Odyssey celebrate 10 years of making a difference in Memphis. This event kicks off with a morning of volunteer projects across the city. There are opportunities to volunteer with Arrow Creative, Memphis Botanic Garden, Youth Villages, Memphis Rox, Wolf River Conservancy, Southern Reins, and more. Anyone who volunteers with us that morning will receive free food and drinks at our afternoon celebration!
10 Year Celebration
- April 15th with shifts throughout the day
Volunteer Odyssey’s 10 Year Day of Service + Celebration is also in need of volunteer support. From set up and break down to working our check in table, volunteers can assist with our afternoon of festivities. Located at Crosstown Arts in the Concourse, this event will feature live music, food, drinks, and featured nonprofits. Volunteers will be able to enjoy this event as they earn service hours!
Love Food Hate Waste
- April 15th from 12PM-1:30PM, 1:30PM-3PM, and 3PM-4:30
Clean Memphis works to engage, educate, and empower local communities to create a more environmentally sustainable city, region, and planet! Join Clean Memphis on Saturday, April 15th at Memphis Made Brewing for a free, fun, family-friendly event. LFHW focuses on innovative ways to reduce food waste in our communities. They need volunteer support for four stations before, during, and after the event.
Reading to D’White
- Monday through Friday from 12PM-PM
D’White is a blind albino raccoon, and he’s an education ambassador for Out of the Woods! This means he gets treated a little differently from all of their other critters. Normally, animals in their care receive minimal human interaction, because they will need to stay wild to be released back into nature. But D’White’s special since he can’t live on his own in the wild. This means he needs lots of socialization and interaction with other people. That’s where you come in. Grab your favorite book, cozy up outside D’White’s condo, and spend an hour reading to him. He doesn’t care what type of book you read. He’s just interested in your voice.
420 Fest
- April 20th from 4PM-7PM and 7PM-10PM
It’s time to commemorate 4/20 with your local Memphis favorites! The Grind City Brewing Co. over on Waterworks Ave is hosting Ounce of Hope’s 420 Fest. Starting at 4:20 PM and going until 10 PM (or later!), celebrate the greenest holiday with Ounce of Hope and company. Food, music, entertainment, and — most importantly — cannabis to keep the holiday rolling will all be present and accounted for!
3rd Annual Earth Day
- April 22nd from 9:30AM-12PM and 12PM-2:30PM
Celebrate Earth Day and Spring on the trail at this free event featuring: Free compost while it lasts, garden items and merchandise for sale, tree care discussion and tree planting at noon, an arboretum Q&A Walk with arboretum director Connie Shepherd, kid activities, and more. Volunteers are needed to assist with their kid booth!
Caza de Arte Multicultural Art Hunt and Festival
- April 22nd from 9:30AM-12:30PM and 12PM-3:30PM
Caza de Arte is a one-day event celebrating the creative talents of Latino artists, performers, and artisan vendors in our community. The festival will feature outdoor performances, artisan market, creativity stations, food trucks, and a visual arts exhibit inside the Arkwings gallery. Arkwings especially needs bilingual volunteers who are proficient in Spanish and English, so that the event is a welcoming and fun experience for guests who may only speak Spanish. This will be Arkwings’ first program focusing on the Latino community in and around Frayser, and they do not have Spanish-speaking staff. Come help them grow and become a more diverse organization!
Earth Day on the Wolf River Greenway
- April 22nd from 10AM-12PM
Join the Wolf River Conservancy for their Earth Day on the Greenway service event! They will be focusing their efforts on the Epping Way section of the Wolf River Greenway, planting wildflowers, removing litter, restoring trails, installing nest boxes, and making the space enjoyable for all users. This Earth Day on the Wolf River Greenway service project is the fourth (and culminating) event in the Wolf River Conservancy Restoration Series presented by Brother International.
Earth Day Festival
- April 22nd from 8:30AM-12:30PM and 12:30PM-3:30PM
Shelby Farms Park is hosting their Earth Day Festival on April 22, 2023 and will need your help! They have a few opportunities for you to get some service hours on this international day of environmental education. We will need help with the Fun Run and help with cleaning up after the festival ends.
Grand Tasting Event
- April 22nd with shifts throughout the day
The Grand Tasting is the premier event for Vintage901’s Spring Festival. Guests will sample wines from around the world and enjoy chef-inspired food demonstrations. This event features local entertainment and wine education classes. This is a very fun, hands-on experience for attendees and volunteers! Volunteers are needed to sell tickets, work back of house, pour wine, assist with logistics, replenish food, and help break down.
Kingdom Mindset
- Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4PM-5:30PM
Join For the Kingdom as they expand their programming to offer tutoring for students in the community. You can work with students in elementary, middle, or high school for a number of subjects or areas.
World of Plants
- April 26th through 28th from 8:15AM-12:45PM
The Memphis Botanic Garden invites you to take students on a trip around the world without ever leaving Memphis! Students “travel” to Africa, Asia, India, Europe, and the Americas where they will learn how different cultures use plants in their daily lives. Hands-on crafts including African tribal masks, Vietnamese Non’ la hats, and Indian Rangoli showcase each area’s unique use of local plants. Students will get a real “taste” of their travels at each station. Volunteers will assist by being a “tour guide” and teaching the children who visit about different cultures! This festival is very hands-on and fun! Any information you need to teach will be given to you so no prior knowledge is needed.
Mobile Food Pantry
- April 24th through 27th from 8:45AM-11AM
CCWTN distributes food boxes to neighbors in need every week! Once the boxes are packed in their weekly packing opportunity, you can volunteer in their weekly Mobile Food Pantry. Folks are able to attend the food pantry once a month to receive shelf stable items as well as fresh items from the CCWTN garden. Volunteers are needed to collect information, distribute boxes, and direct traffic.
P.S. If you have a special skill, an unconventional schedule, or simply want a suggestion for where to get started, our team is here to help. Email Grace@volunteerodyssey.com for a personalized list of where to serve.
Guest post by Dannon Thornton, Volunteer Odyssey Director of Community Engagement
