Dear Volunteers – We hope everybody is safe and well. More then ever, our community needs us to help face the challenges we’re currently facing. The COVID-19 pandemic, the wildfires across our state and everyday issues dampened our spirits, but your help as a volunteer will serve as a ray of light. Aside from food pantry and food bank needs, we are adding more ways to volunteer in our community. Please be sure to register at HandsOn Sacramento first before you volunteer. While we appreciate you for sharing our volunteer opportunities on social media, our partner volunteer agencies would like to know who their volunteers are and when they are coming. Also, please know, that when you support a COVID-19 volunteer response effort, you are providing an essential service to our community. We will continue to send you updates as the situation on evolves. The need is urgent. Please continue to check back here for additional opportunities and the situation is always changing.
Northern California Wildfire Response
Northern California Grantmakers is monitoring various fire updates, complied vetted funds, resources and events on their page by working with key state and local partners. The widespread wildfires in Northern California has caused damage to homes and structures, displacements, smoke and other impacts, which is added by the current extreme heat weather and COVID-19 pandemic.
For more information, visit Northern California Grantmakers’ Website.
Please do not self-deploy and donate material goods at this time. See the think above for how to make a monetary donation.
Volunteer Opportunities
URGENT!
Sacramento City Unified Meal Distribution Volunteer
SCUSD is currently looking for volunteers who would like to help distribute meals. Please note that we are looking for volunteers that are healthy and under the age of 65 (e.g. no underlying health conditions and no symptoms for cold or flu including cough and fever under 100 degrees). Volunteers must also be comfortable and able to interact with students and families.
Volunteer duties include bagging shelf-stable breakfast and lunches into bags and hand to families with children ages 0-18 at home. This is a fairly big work load and thus many hands are needed to make this successful.
Help Distribute Supplies to Essential Workers at the Sacramento County Warehouse
Volunteers are needed until October to help organize, pack and distribute medical supplies at the Sacramento County Warehouse! Volunteers will be supporting the effort to get supplies to our essentials workers during COVID-19. Volunteering happens on a weekly basis on Wednesdays through Fridays.
Minimum age to volunteer is 16 years old. For more information, please email Ben Merin at merinb@saccounty.net.
Midtown HART Respite Center
Midtown HART (Homeless Assistance Resource Team) is one of nine HARTs in the sacramento area. They aim to give relief and support to the homeless in Midtown while they are on the road to find housing. Volunteers are needed help Midtown HART provide a safe space for the homeless to come in and relax, charge their phones, use the restroom, eat snacks, drink cold water, and soak in the air conditioned environment. This service is three hours a week, every Tuesday from 2pm-5pm at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Midtown, Sacramento.
Food Distribution & Drive Thru Prep for South Sacramento Christian Center
Volunteers are needed on Thursdays and Fridays at South Sacramento Christian Center. Duties include assembling bags (or boxes) of groceries, light lifting, cleanup, recycling.
Volunteers are also needed on Saturday mornings to assist with traffic flow, loading food boxes on in cars, making more grocery bags (or boxes) and resupplying inventory.
Strict social distancing rules and other CDC safety protocols are in place. Minimum age is 18. For more information, please contact Cynthia Parker at (916) 502-1219 or email ssccfooddistribution@yahoo.com.
Great Plates Delivered Volunteers
Help deliver restaurant prepared food to home-bound seniors. Volunteers will ride with a driver from Paratransit, United Cerebral Palsy or RT and will disembark from the bus to carry meals to the door of seniors’ residences. The volunteer will knock and drop the meals and return to the bus to ride to the next location. Scheduled deliveries will be done 5 days a week (Monday – Friday) during the daytime. Volunteers need to be between 18-64, in good health, willing to follow safety instructions, and willing to wear personal protective masks and gloves. Schedules will be daily from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm and 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm.
For more information, contact Emily McGuire at emcguire@cityofsacramento.org.
Eat Well Yolo + Empower Yolo: Food Giveaway in Davis!
Volunteers are needed to assist with set-up and break down of the food giveaway. Volunteers are also needed to assist with sorting and inspecting all food products before distribution begins.
Volunteers must also review, sign and submit the Volunteer Handbook to the Volunteer Coordinator (natalie@yolofoodbank.org) in order to participate in Yolo Food Bank events.
Qualifications:
- Bring Your Own Mask/Face Covering
- Ages: 17 must receive parental permission
- Ages: 12-16 must be accompanied by an adult
- Able to stand, bend, reach, intermittently*
- Able to lift 1-5 pounds routinely and 5-45 pounds occasionally often with another person
- Responsible and Organized
- Wear closed toed shoes
Drive Through Food Distribution at Yolo County Fairgrounds (Woodland)
Volunteers are needed to assist with set-up and break down of the food giveaway. Volunteers are also needed to assist with sorting and inspecting all food products before distribution begins.
Volunteers must also review, sign and submit the Volunteer Handbook to the Volunteer Coordinator (natalie@yolofoodbank.org) in order to participate in Yolo Food Bank events.
Qualifications:
- Bring Your Own Mask/Face Covering
- Ages: 17 must receive parental permission
- Ages: 12-16 must be accompanied by an adult
- Able to stand, bend, reach, intermittently*
- Able to lift 1-5 pounds routinely and 5-45 pounds occasionally often with another person
- Responsible and Organized
- Wear closed toed shoes
Sacramento Samoa Food Pantry Volunteer Traffic Coordinators
Come help the Sacramento Samoa Food Pantry. Wear sun protection, hat, light-weight clothing and bring an umbrella if you have one. We supply safety vest and training with an opportunity for you to keep the food distribution operating safely.Volunteer must be 18 years +
For more information, contact James Letoa at (916) 241-5769 or email jletoapa@gmail.com.
Help Distribute Food Boxes with G7 Thy Presence’s School of Faith Ministries
Volunteers are needed to help with assembling food boxes, loading food boxes in vehicles, directing vehicle traffic and implementing social distancing during food distribution. Volunteers must be 18 years old, have a friendly personality and must be able to lift at least 20 lbs. Volunteers are encouraged to bring their masks and gloves.
For more information, contact email G7 Thy Presence’s School of Faith Ministries at tpsfministry@yahoo.com.
Sunrise Christian Food Ministry Seeks Food Distribution Volunteers
Sunrise Christian Food Ministry is seeking volunteers to help with our food distribution.
They have operated as a food closet for 38 years in the northeastern Sacramento County area, and are supporting our community during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Duties include boxing food, stocking shelves, unloading trucks, loading food boxes into clients’ vehicles, sorting food, directing traffic and checking in clients.
For more information, please email Vera at scfm-office@comcast.net.
Food Sorting/Bagging
Volunteers are still needed at The Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services. Volunteer orientation is temporarily waived and CDC-recommended health and safety protocols are in place including implementing social distancing, giving no-touch temperature check upon arrival, providing hand-washing station, providing protective gear and deep cleaning of all volunteer locations.
Volunteers are needed with food sorting/bagging at the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services Food Bank Campus. Minimum age is 10-15 years old with an accompanying adult volunteer.
Donate Food and Water for Families and High Risk Kids
The Neighborhood Wellness Foundation’s mission is to disrupt intergenerational poverty and trauma in Del Paso Heights (DPH) and surrounding neighborhoods. They use an interdisciplinary team approach to build self-efficacy, promote mental health wellness, improve educational/vocational attainment, and re-establish social structure.
They are currently in need of donations to support seniors, people who are at high risk of getting an illness, and kids.
Sorting and Packing Food at The Salvation Army
Help get fresh produce and groceries to people in need. Volunteers will help sort and bag donations of fresh produce and perishable food items to be handed out to the clients in the morning. Volunteers must wear protective face covers and closed-toe rubber soled shoes. No sandals or flip-flops.
Pantry Volunteers for The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is looking for volunteers that can help doing check-in for our drive-thru pantry. 3 volunteers needed a day with a minimum of 2-hour commitment.
Volunteers are required to wear protective gear such as masks and gloves.
St. Paul COGIC Needs Volunteers to Organize Food Items
St. Paul COGIC, in partnership with Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services, are helping their community by opening their sanctuary as a food distribution center.
Volunteers are needed on Tuesdays from 8:00am to 12:00noon. Duties include:1) bag up canned and sorted food items2) store and organize food by category in tables and in designated areas
Volunteers are expected to:1) strictly enforce social distancing2) wear protective gear to volunteer3) must have an accompanying adult if volunteer is 12 to 17 years old.
For more information, please contact Belinda at 916-956-2135.
Volunteer to Help the Homeless and At-Risk Veterans at the Yuba-Sutter Stand Down
Volunteers are needed in providing essential dental and vision services to homeless and at-risk veterans and their families at the Yuba-Sutter Veteran Stand Down, September 11-12 at the Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds in Yuba City.
Healing California will offer dental cleanings, fillings, and extractions, eye exams, and prescription glasses made and dispensed on site.
Equipment, supplies, logistical, and any other support volunteers will need are provided so all you need to do is show up and use your skills, qualifications, and experience to take care of patients. The process is quick, simple, and free for both patients and volunteers. Morning, afternoon, or full-day shifts are available.
Healing California is in constant contact with health officials and other experts, so they have updated our safety procedures and equipment to deal with this new reality. These include:
- Enhanced social distancing measures in non-clinical areas and a reduction in individuals present within the clinic.
- A shift in the layout of our dental floor to account for greater distancing and less congregation areas.
- Improvements to our suction system, air purification, and other equipment to minimize aerosolization.
- More advanced PPE available to all volunteers including N95 masks
- Increased patient, staff, and volunteer screening.
Thank you Volunteers!
Share your stories with us!
Huge Donations of Hand Sanitizers and Face Masks
This past month, we received a huge shipment of hand sanitizers from SK Pharmteco. This contains 648 boxes with 20 500mL bottles each box, amounting to 12,960 bottles of hand sanitizers! These will be distributed for use by volunteers, staff members and individuals being served by our partner agencies.
Because of this, we say “Thank You!”
