15 Volunteer Opportunities Where You Can Make an Impact in Houston

Find a way to give back to communities across Houston through these 15 charitable organizations in search of volunteers and donations.

Across Houston, a wide array of charitable organizations are aiming to meet the needs of children, families and community members, striving to make the city a more equitable place to live.

This MLK Day, you can participate in this national day of service by beginning your volunteering journey with an organization that needs your help to serve communities in many different ways.

We’ve gathered 15 organizations that rely on the work of volunteers to help people, neighborhoods and others in need, through hands-on and virtual opportunities.

But if you can’t make a volunteer shift, most of these organizations will happily accept donations in supplies or cash considerations to support their missions.

15 Places to Volunteer in Greater Houston

Food Distribution & Farming

• Houston Food Bank | Multiple Locations – Relying on a network of more than 1,800 local partners across 18 counties in the Southeast Texas region, Houston Food Bank serves around 1 million people from food insecure communities. You can help support their mission through money and food donations, or by volunteering your time to help sort, process and pack food for delivery at one of their multiple locations. Some opportunities are open to ages 13 and up.
• Plant It Forward | Multiple Locations – For more than a decade, Plant It Forward has partnered with independent, professional farmers with refugee backgrounds in order to help grow and distribute fresh produce throughout the broader Houston community. In addition to direct donations, one of the best ways to help out is through Community Work Days, where you’ll assist a PIF farmer with help on the farm.
• Kids’ Meals | Independence Heights – Every week, hundreds of volunteers help assemble and deliver meals for preschool-aged children across the city of Houston who face food insecurity, while also providing families with resources to help end the cycle of poverty. Open to ages 8 and up.
• Target Hunger | Northeast Houston – Serving children, families and seniors in need of food assistance, Target Hunger is supported by hundreds of volunteers that assist in growing thousands of pounds of produce at the community garden, sorting and packaging foods at the warehouse, organizing food pantries, helping community members shop, and other opportunities.

Community & Homelessness

• Star of Hope | Multiple Locations – Volunteers are an essential part of the outreach efforts from Star of Hope, a Christ-centered organization that seeks to meet the needs of individuals and families that are experiencing homelessness in the Houston area. Opportunities include distributions of snacks and hygiene items, meal preparations, adult literacy tutors, and more.
• Grace Place | Montrose – Operating out of Grace Lutheran Church in Montrose, this twice-weekly drop-in program offers a safe space to youths ages 13 to 24, from across all sexualities and genders, who are experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity. Currently, Grace Place is seeking volunteers for direct mentorship, kitchen teams, and activity leaders.
• Emergency Aid Coalition | Museum District – For more than 40 years, the Emergency Aid Coalition has served the food, clothing and basic needs of more than 50,000 individuals each year. EAC is currently looking for volunteers that can contribute with client interviews, data entry, and various roles within the food pantry and clothing center, as well as drivers.
• West Street Recovery | Northeast Houston – The community-building organization is slowly resuming volunteer efforts to assist community members and families that continue to rebuild in the face of multiple climate and environmental disasters, including Hurricanes Harvey and Imelda, the COVID pandemic, and damage from Winter Storm Uri. In addition to general efforts like research, translating and gathering supplies, West Street has a high need for those with experience in plumbing, hanging drywall, painting, floor installation and other work for rebuilding efforts.
• West Houston Assistance Ministries | Westchase – The multifaceted community assistance work of WHAM provides one-on-one services to help children, families, and people who are houseless meet their food and financial needs, find jobs and gain long-term self-sufficiency. Volunteer opportunities include registering members for food distributions and other services, working at the resale shop and food pantries, teaching computer and job search skills, and more. Open to student volunteers and ages 17 and up.

More Ways to Help

• Houston Area Women’s Center | Multiple Locations – For more than 45 years, HAWC has helped countless women, children and families affected by domestic and sexual violence. Each year, hundreds of volunteers help the Center by serving as childcare providers, assembling care packages for Survivors and their families, and helping with administrative duties and special events.
• Houston Welcomes Refugees | Heights – Founded as a mission to help ease the resettlement process for refugees coming to Houston, this organization provides vital assistance through the help of volunteers to create welcome kits, turn empty apartments into inviting homes, and connect with families over their first six months as part of their support system.
• BARC Animal Shelter & Adoptions | North Houston – The city’s facility for pet shelters and adoption offers hands-on responsibilities for volunteers, including animal care, assisting in adoptions and special events, foster homes, foster pantry organization, administrative help and more. Volunteers must complete an orientation session to help them prepare for specific jobs. Open to ages 13 and up, parental supervision required for ages under 16.
• The Alliance | Sharpstown – Through mentoring programs, translation and interpretation, employment services, adult education and many other ways, volunteers with the Alliance help improve the quality of life for refugees, immigrants and underserved residents, helping them to achieve their goals of self-sufficiency.
• MECA: Multicultural Education & Counseling through the Arts | Sixth Ward – MECA, Houston’s arts and cultural organization that seeks to help development of underserved youth and adults, is seeking tutors for its community members in the fields of math, chemistry, English composition, history and reading assistance. In addition, volunteers can help with special events, fundraising activities, or with any special expertise they may be able to contribute. Open to ages 16 and up.
• Literacy Council of Fort Bend County | Sugar Land – The Literacy Council is seeking online and in-person tutors for programs that teach adult students in classes like basic literacy, English as a Second Language (ESL), basic computer skills, US citizenship preparation, and GED preparation. Tutor volunteers should be able to commit for a minimum of one academic semester. Open to ages 18 and up.

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