Santa Clara County Directory of Volunteer Opportunities for Homeschooling Families
Volunteer in Santa Clara County
The organizations listed in this resource guide welcome kids and/or families as volunteers.
While there are well over 100 organizations listed we have
undoubtedly missed some great opportunities. If you know of any organizations that should
be added to this list or if you find broken links or incorrect information please
E-mail Diane Flynn Keith.
Special thanks to Melissa Grush of
Dry Creek Roots and Shoots, for compiling
this wonderful list of volunteer resources.
Santa Clara County Directory
of Volunteer Opportunities for Homeschooling Families
Brief description of Organization: Canopy is a non-profit urban
forest and environmental stewardship organization. Canopy provides leadership,
resources, education and opportunities to grow healthy trees and healthy
communities in Palo Alto and neighboring areas
Brief description of volunteer need: Learn to be a steward of our
urban forest, which includes the trees at your home, school, on your street
or in nearby parks. Join Canopy for tree planting, tree care and community
development opportunities.
General area volunteer opportunity is located: Peninsula
City where volunteer opportunity is located: Palo Alto, East Palo Alto
Fees required: none
Age requirements: none
Contact Person: Sharon Kelly, Program Director
Phone Number: 650-964-6110 ext. 2
Category: Environment
Brief description of Organization: Humane Society Silicon Valley offers quality
adoptions, medical care and education programs to enhance the human-animal bond. Established in 1929,
HSSV has adopted more than 500,000 animals into permanent, loving homes. HSSV operates an
open door shelter accepting incoming animals 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Brief description of volunteer need: If you're a student who wants to volunteer
with animals, check out our Animal Pals Club (grades 5-10) or Compassion In Action (students ages 14-18) programs.
In these programs, students help train shelter dogs, learn about animal behavior and communication,
meet cats and kittens, and work on special shelter projects. Educational Tours and Workshops
are also available at the Humane Society. For Families looking for a fun volunteer project
to do with your kids, grab a Humane Society Family Pack, which includes hands-on projects your
family can do at home that directly help shelter animals!
General area volunteer opportunity is located: South Bay
City where volunteer opportunity is located: Santa Clara
Fees required: Varies depending on program
Age requirements: The Humane Society serves PreK — 12th grade students
Contact Person: Jamie Christianson
Phone Number: 408-727-3383 ext. 812
Category: Animals
Brief description of Organization: The Midpeninsula Regional Open
Space District's purpose is to purchase, permanently protect, and restore lands
forming a regional open space greenbelt, preserve unspoiled wilderness, wildlife
habitat, watershed, viewshed, and fragile ecosystems, and provide opportunities
for low-intensity recreation and environmental education.
The District works to form a continuous greenbelt of permanently preserved open space
by linking its lands with other public parklands. The District also participates in
cooperative efforts such as the Bay Trail, Ridge Trail, and Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail,
which are regional trail systems in the Bay Area that include District lands.
The District has permanently preserved over 57,000 acres of mountainous, foothill,
and bayland open space, creating 26 open space preserves (24 of which are open to
the public). The District covers an area of 550 square miles and includes 17 cities
(Atherton, Cupertino, East Palo Alto, Half Moon Bay, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills,
Los Gatos, Menlo Park, Monte Sereno, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Portola Valley,
Redwood City, San Carlos, Saratoga, Sunnyvale, and Woodside).
Brief description of volunteer need: Each year, over 500 volunteers
commit thousands of hours preserving and protecting open space lands by participating
in a variety of ways such as educating and inspiring visitors, constructing and
maintaining trails, and removing invasive, non-native vegetation.
General area volunteer opportunity is located: Peninsula & Santa Cruz Mountains
City where volunteer opportunity is located: All Cities in the greater
San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz Counties
Fees required: none
Age requirements: Age 14 and over for most projects; some allow younger
children. Requirements exist regarding parents working with their children (i.e.,
no drop offs allowed)
Contact Person: Paul McKowan, Volunteer Programs Coordinator
Phone Number: 650-691-1200
Category: Environment
Brief description of Organization: Our mission is to sustain and
enhance the trees of Mountain View, California, through community stewardship,
education and advocacy.
Brief description of volunteer need: Plant trees during the winter,
survey city street trees during the summer, man the MVTrees table at the
Farmer's Market and more. Visit website for details.
General area volunteer opportunity is located: Mountain View
City where volunteer opportunity is located: Peninsula
Fees required: none
Age requirements: none
Contact: Mountain View Trees
Category: Environment
Brief description of Organization: Our City Forest plants trees in San Jose's parks,
schools, and neighborhoods to promote a healthier urban environment. Since its inception in 1994,
Our City Forest has planted over 44,000 trees and maintained a survival rate of ninety four percent.
Brief description of volunteer need: Plant trees (usually on Saturdays), help with
maintenance of our Tree Bank, assist with general office duties. See calendar on our website, to view
scheduled plantings and events.
General area volunteer opportunity is located: San Jose
Fees required: none
Age requirements: none (Adult accompaniment required for children under the age of 13.)
Contact: E-mail Volunteer Staff
Phone Number: 408-998-7337 ext. #105
Category: Environment
Brief description of Organization: Founded in 1964, Sacred Heart
Community Service is a non-denominational 501c (3) nonprofit organization
based in San Jose with a vision of a community united to ensure that every
child and adult is free from poverty. Its mission is to change lives and
impact poverty by providing essential services, offering tools for self-sufficiency,
and ministering with dignity, compassion and respect. The organization
engages the community and inspires volunteers to love, serveand share.
Brief description of volunteer need: We provide clothing and food
to about 2,000 individuals a day. We acceptdonations, sort donations, pack
grocery boxes and provide customer service to individuals in need.
General area volunteer opportunity is located: South Bay
City where volunteer opportunity is located: San Jose
1381 South First Street,
San Jose, CA 95110
Fees required: none
Age requirements: Freshman in high school and up welcome without
a chaperone. 8th grade and under need an adult chaperone.
Contact: Terri West
Phone Number: 408-278-2171
Category: Human Community
Brief description of Organization: Save The Bay is the oldest and
largest organization working exclusively to protect, restore and celebrate San
Francisco Bay. As the Bay's leading champion since 1961, Save The Bay is committed
to making the Bay cleaner and healthier for people and wildlife.
Brief description of volunteer need: Save The Bay gives your family
the opportunity to help restore wetlands of San Francisco Bay! Our restoration
programs utilize community volunteers to plant native plants along the shoreline,
remove non-native weeds, collect native plant seeds, grow plants in our nurseries,
and help cleanup trash along the shoreline. These restoration activities improve
habitat for fish, birds, and other wildlife, and enhance our region's quality of
life. Our restoration programs can be a great learning experience for the whole
family. We welcome your children as long as you maintain control and responsibility
for them and their actions.
General area volunteer opportunity is located: East Bay, North Bay, Peninsula/South Bay
City where volunteer opportunity is located: Oakland, Hayward, Palo Alto,
Redwood City, and Mill Valley.
Fees required: No fee for land-based programs. For the Bair Island canoe
restoration program the price is $25 per person for Save The Bay members, $35 for
non-members.
Age requirements: None for land-based programs. For Bair Island canoe
restoration program the minimum age is 10 years old.
Contact Person: Sarah Lyons
Phone Number: 510-452-9261 ext. 119
Category: Environment
Brief description of Organization: Second Harvest Food Bank of
Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties has been providing services to the community
for 35 years. We are the single largest nonprofit provider of food to low-income
households in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties and are the seventh largest
food bank in the country. We provide food to an average of 163,000 individuals
each month. Of those we serve, 67% are families with children and 12% are seniors.
Brief description of volunteer need: Help sort food at our warehouses.
Volunteers inspect and categorize donated food products, label food packages and
repackage food items donated by individuals and food companies. Training is
provided at the beginning of each shift.
General area volunteer opportunity is located: Peninsula and South Bay
City where volunteer opportunity is located: San Jose, San Carlos
Fees required: none
Age requirements: none
Contact: Kristin Sulpizio
Phone Number: 408-694-0011 (direct); 408-266-8866 x 230 (main)
Category: Human Community
Brief description of Organization: We provide occupational therapy
services to children that are differently-abled for the past 33-years. Most
of the children struggle with paying attention, staying on task, following
instructions; motor skill lags, making friends.
Brief description of volunteer need: The peer mentor will likely be
paired with a same age or slightly younger child to follow instructions of the
therapist for the activities of the session and model for the child in therapy
(while also verbally encouraging and keeping pace with the child). The peer
mentor may also be asked to set up materials and get supplies for the therapist
as well as assist with cleanup of materials after the activities.
Parents of volunteering children are asked not to question the parents of the
child with the disability about the child's disability. Some of our parents may
choose to volunteer this information, however, with the volunteering child's
parents. General information about the needs of the children being served will
be conveyed to the children doing mentoring and their parents.
General area volunteer opportunity is located: South Bay
City where volunteer opportunity is located: San Jose (near Camden and Union Avenues)
Fees required: none
Age requirements: 5-10 years (age dependent on child being served in therapy)
Contact Person: Mary Scholer
Phone Number: 408-559-9556
Category: Human Community
Brief description of Organization: Our mission at Town Cats is to
maintain a No-Kill Adoption Center/Shelter and foster home network for friendly
homeless cats and kittens awaiting adoption; to bring attention to and alleviate
the suffering of homeless and feral cats in Santa Clara county; to educate the
public about the pet overpopulation problem and provide the public with the
tools to become part of the solution to assist homeless and feral cats through
Trap, Neuter and Return programs; and to find permanent, loving, and safe homes
for all the homeless house cats and kittens in our care.
Brief description of volunteer need: Shelter Care at the facility in
Morgan Hill; adoption center care at various locations throughout San Jose; foster
homes for kittens and cats; and Adoption Fair Assistants.
General area volunteer opportunity is located: South Bay
City where volunteer opportunity is located: Morgan Hill, San Jose, Gilroy
Fees required: none
Age requirements: Children under 16 require a parent present during volunteer time.
Contact: towncats@garlic.com
Phone Number: 408-779-5761
Category: Animal Friends
Additional Environmental Volunteer Opportunties in Santa Clara County
Additional Animal Care Volunteer Opportunties in Santa Clara County
Additional Human Care Volunteer Opportunties in Santa Clara County
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