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Age range: 14+
Opportunities: April through October, volunteers at EarthDance can help with weeding, harvesting, farm maintenance, carpentry, landscaping, and more.
Age range: 16+
Opportunities: Teens can help with Cook and Pack—cooking, packing food, doing dishes, labeling, working in the freezer—or Cook with Chef, making some of the meals that will be distributed to people in need.
Habitat for Humanity Saint Louis
Age range: 16+
Opportunities: Habitat for Humanity’s youth program gives families, groups, and individuals the chance to lend a hand in projects across the region. Help build a home, fundraise, or raise awareness of housing inequality through Habitat's Build-a-Stat stencil program.
Age range: College students
Opportunities: Yard work can be an obstacle for seniors who want to stay in their homes as they age. Search by ZIP code to see if anyone near you needs a helping hand. You’ll beautify the neighborhood and build community with seniors, many of whom are at risk of isolation.
Courtesy of The Magic House
Age range: 13+
Opportunities: While serving at least 30 hours each year, youth volunteers work with guests in a variety of exhibit areas. It’s a chance to build skills, make new friends, and help out in a fun atmosphere.
Courtesy of Missouri Botanical Garden
Age range: 14+
Opportunities: There are chances throughout the year to assist staff at the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Butterfly House, Shaw Nature Reserve, and Litzsinger Road Ecology Center with a variety of seasonal tasks, such as helping to lead activities in the SAGE, SIFT, and MANTIS programs, among others.
Courtesy of Missouri State Parks
Age range: Under 18
Opportunities: The Youth Volunteer Patch Program allows individuals to work for a day at a state park or historic site. Upon completion, volunteers receive a special patch. Projects vary by location; see website for details.
Courtesy of St. Louis Challenger Baseball
Age range: 10+
Opportunities: Become a baseball buddy, and help players with developmental disabilities play our national pastime. Responsibilities include helping players around the bases and assisting in the field. Challenger Baseball is run by Youth Volunteer Corps, which works with local youth between the ages of 11–18. Youth Volunteer Corps partners with local nonprofits and coordinates group volunteer projects that include a service lesson or reflection activity to give wider context to the day's work.
Courtesy of Saint Louis Crisis Nursery
Age range: 14+
Opportunities: Individual volunteers contribute to a welcoming, caring nursery environment by engaging children with activities, assisting with meal time, and rocking and feeding babies.
Courtesy of Saint Louis Zoo
Age range: 15+
Opportunities: Participants in the zoo’s volunteer educator program for high schoolers, Zoo ALIVE, help with weekend programs for kids, lead educational activities for zoo visitors, assist with the summer camp program, and more.
Courtesy of St. Louis Diaper Bank
Age range: All ages, as long as children are accompanied by an adult
Opportunities: Choose from two opportunities: At Warehouse Wrap-Up, you’ll pack diapers and period supply kids or fulfill orders and decorate boxes. For Period Cove, you’ll sort and pack period supplies for community partners.
Age range: At least 12 years old and in the sixth grade
Opportunities: The County Library system needs help with preparation for library programs, meal programs, and summer reading club.
Age range: 16+, ages 12–15 must be accompanied by an adult
Opportunities: Pull invasive honeysuckle or help out on the farm at Suson Park. Do you have a background with farm animals? That’s a big plus for this volunteer gig.
Age range: 16+
Opportunities: New drivers can put their wheels to work while contributing to a great cause. St. Louis Food Rescue is looking for teens who can pick up relatively large amounts of food from community partners and transport donations to local organizations in need.
Courtesy of St. Louis Public Library
Age range: 13–18
Opportunities: The City Library system needs support with its children and adult programming and help with creating exciting new activities.
Age range: All ages
Opportunities: This local organization, specializing in providing personalized birthday celebrations for kids experiencing homelessness, encourages children to pitch in. Volunteers of any age can help with games and activities, cake serving, and cleanup.
United Way of Greater St. Louis
Age range: All ages
Opportunities: The United Way offers a wide range of volunteer initiatives for everyone. Kids can write greeting cards for seniors, help put together care packages, and participate in community cleanup efforts, among many other programs.
Age range: 16+
Opportunities: With thousands of birds in need of care, Wild Bird Rehabilitation always appreciates the extra help. Volunteers may assist with bird feeding, cage cleaning, clerical support, gardening, and more.
Age range: 14–17
Opportunities: Teen volunteers have two options at the avian haven: Work in the Nature Center doing things like prepping food, cleaning, and other animal husbandry duties. Or help staff with work in the Education Training Center and help staff with site maintenance and animal husbandry.
