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Serve Your City as a Volunteer in Memphis

Memphis is full of opportunities to give back! Check out these volunteer openings, grab some friends, and make a difference.

A man wearing a face mask serving food in Memphis as a volunteer.
Photo: Memphis Rox Volunteer packages lunches for Neighborhood Distribution Program

Each opportunity below is a fantastic way to serve your community. Whether you’re a skilled professional looking to give back or an entry-level volunteer wanting to get involved, there’s something for everyone. 

Your Memphis Volunteer Calendar

October 2024

Volunteer Odyssey Opportunities

    • Carpenter Art Garden
      • Volunteers are needed at the Carpenter Art Garden to work with the children of Binghampton. Opportunities include: chaperoning weekly bike rides down the Greenline every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, and recording virtual book readings to make up for missed group reading programming. If you are interested in volunteering, learn more and sign up here.
    • Dorothy Day House
      • Dorothy Day House helps homeless families stay together as they work to rebuild their lives. They are in need of virtual school assistants, and donated items to help keep their living quarters clean and tidy.  Sign up here.
    • Germantown Community Library
      • Germantown Community Library provides a variety of volunteer opportunities that not only serve the community of Germantown and the surrounding areas but also opportunities to give back to the community in unique ways that support literacy and lifelong learning. Volunteer opportunities include helping to search for missing books, reorganizing book shelves, and greeting and providing general information to visitors. Sign up here.
    • Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
      • Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital needs volunteers to help make a difference in their patients and family’s lives. Le Bonheur has a wide variety of opportunities ranging from reading, crafting, and socializing with the kids to rocking and soothing infants, and cleaning toys. Learn more and sign up here.
    • Memphis Athletic Ministries
      • Memphis Athletic Ministries mission is to coach, grow, and lead the youth of Memphis by helping them discover their identity in Christ and their purpose in the community. Volunteers are needed with Homework Help, Assistant Coaching, and more. Learn more and sign up here.
    • Memphis Botanic Garden
      • Memphis Botanic Garden has multiple opportunities to volunteer including assisting with crafts during Adventure Summer Camp, directing guests at Locals Live concerts, tending to the Japanese, Asian, and Nursery gardens, and more. To volunteer, sign up here.
    • Memphis Rox Climbing Gym
      • Memphis Rox is a local family institution that uses rock climbing as a means to foster community. From cleaning climb holds, to distributing lunch to the neighborhood residents, to sorting donations and maintaining the Community Closet, there are plenty of opportunities for you to make an impact. Sign up here.
    • MIFA
      • From helping folks get their food vouchers to spending time with, and delivering meals to, our local senior citizens, there are a number of way for you to support the independence of vulnerable seniors and families in crisis with MIFA. Sign up here.
    • Room in the Inn
      • Room in the Inn hosts homeless guests at congregations throughout Memphis during their emergency shelter seasons (Nov-Mar, May-Sept). Right now, volunteers are needed to: write get well letters and create storytelling videos for young children. Sign up here.
    • Shelby Farms Park
      • Shelby Farms Park has a need for volunteers in many different roles at the Park. Volunteers are currently needed to repair and rethread fishing poles, mulch the grounds, and help with spring cleaning. Sign up here.
    • Theatre Memphis
      • The show must go on at all costs, and you could help Theatre Memphis make magic happen on stage. They need Backstage Crew, Costume Stitchers, Lighting Assistants, Ushers, Scenery and Prop Designers, and even Performers! Learn more and sign up here.
    • The Memphis Grizzlies Foundation
      • The TEAM UP Youth Mentoring Partnership is an affiliate of the National Mentoring Partnership (MENTOR), the unifying champion for expanding quality mentoring relationships in the United States. The Partnership serves as a clearinghouse for training, resources, awareness, and advocacy, providing the critical link between MENTOR’s national efforts and local organizations and programs that foster and support quality mentoring relationships. Learn more, and see who’s looking for mentors here.

SEE VOLUNTEER ODYSSEY’S VOLUNTEERCOMPASS FOR MORE OPPORTUNITIES.

VOLUNTEER MEMPHIS OPPORTUNITIES

A group of volunteers working in a greenhouse in Memphis.
Photo: Memphis Tilth volunteers tending to community garden
      • American Red Cross (Multiple Opportunities)
      • Memphis Tilth (Multiple Opportunities)
      • Literacy Mid-South (Multiple Opportunities)
        • English Language Tutor
          • 2 hours a week, flexible days
          • Help an adult learn or improve English! We have all levels of English language learners in our program from beginning to advanced. You’ll help your learner meet goals such as obtaining citizenship and gaining confidence in general conversation.   We ask for an initial commitment of meeting a learner at a library for two hours once a week for 6 months.   You’ll attend a one-day training where we’ll give hands-on strategies that will prepare you to work one on one or with a small group. We also offer continuing education sessions throughout the year to introduce you to new strategies you can use in your sessions.
          • Go here for more info.
        • Pre-High School Equivalency Tutor
          • Literacy Mid-South is looking for volunteer tutors to work one-on-one with adult learners who are beginning level readers interested in earning their high school diploma. Volunteer tutors must commit to two hours per week in the morning or afternoon, for a period of six months to a year. Sessions will take place at the Excel Center located in South Memphis, 38106. 
          • Learn more here.
        • Memphis Farmers Market
          • Whether you’re interested in serving on a committee to plow some fun on the farm, or you want to roll up your sleeves and “dig in the dirt” on market-day Saturdays, the Memphis Farmers Market has the perfect field to plant you in!
          • This opportunity is open from early April to late October.
          • Sign up here.

See Volunteer Memphis’s calendar here for more opportunities.

Other opportunities:

  • Memphis Public Library
    • Cloud 901 (Teen Learning Lab) at Memphis Public Library and Information Center-Learning Lab Volunteers
      • Available times: Monday-Thursday 3– 8 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday 1 – 6 p.m.
      • Volunteers are needed to assist with training, mentoring and facilitating technology classes in out teen learning center. Must have strong background in technology & equipment usage.
    • Memphis Public Library and Information Center-Welcome Desk Greeter
      • Available times: Monday-Thursday 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.
      • Enthusiastic volunteers needed to greet visitors and provide directions to customers entering the library.
    • Memphis Public Library and Information Center-Bookstore Volunteer
      • Available times: Monday, Thursday, and Friday 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. and 3 – 6 p.m.
    • Learn about more MPL volunteer opportunities, and download an application here.

Got a volunteer opportunity that we should add to the list? Let us know in the comments!

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