Provides services to at-risk youth and families, including residential treatment programs, Foster Family Agency, after school programs, non-public special education high school, community mental health services and independent living skills. Volunteers are needed to lead recreation activities with youth, tutor, assist in after school programs and independent living programs. Clerical volunteers help with research for funding sources and data entry.

In L.A. County there are over 32,000 children who have been removed from their homes due to severe abuse, neglect or abandonment and placed under the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles County Dependency Court. Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteers are appointed to gather information about children’s circumstances in the foster care system and report their findings to the court. CASA volunteers advocate in court and in the community for the best interests of the children they serve. Must be at least 21 years of age and make a one-year commitment to approx. 5-6 hours a week. There is a 36-hour training program.

Gives children and families a chance to lead healthy and productive lives together. Through its community-based W.M. Keck Oakwood Family Center, Children’s Bureau is able to provide diverse specialized and comprehensive services that help ensure children will become caring and productive adults. With a strong emphasis on the development of parenting skills, the Family Center offers programs that strengthen families, as well as the community. Volunteers are needed to help in various programs, to assist or teach programs for the children or parents.

Dedicated to assisting children between the ages of 11-17 who are sexually abused and forced to prostitute on the streets for food and a place to sleep. Services include nationwide 24-hour free hotline, a street outreach program and a 24-bed shelter home with a private on-site school. Volunteers organize 2-hour presentations (crafts, make-up, acting, animation, first aid, dance, yoga, jewelry making, self-defense, etc. Professional health providers, psychiatric, social service, doctors, dentists, psychologists, clerical, public speakers, writers, artists, etc. are needed

Recruits, trains and places parents and community volunteers in kindergarten through twelfth grade classes in the Los Angeles public school system. Volunteers assist teachers in the classroom, tutor children one-on one and provide administrative support, depending on their interests. The Reading by 9 program is dedicated to helping students achieve grade-level reading skills by the age of nine. Training provides volunteers with the tools and strategies to reinforce the standards-based instruction provided in the classroom.

This family service agency is designed to raise at-risk children out of poverty through education and support. More than 1,000 children – ages 6 weeks to 18 years old – and 3,000 families every year benefit from services like child care, youth services, family support and after school programs. Volunteers assist teachers (for pre-school through high school) with activities that include education, recreation, arts and crafts and sports. There are several centers.

Recruits and trains community volunteers to provide one-on-one tutoring for elementary school students reading below grade level. Reading Partners serve underresourced public schools and work closely with classroom teachers. Tutoring sessions lasts 45 minutes, once a week and Partners make a commitment of either one semester or one year.

School on Wheels provides volunteer tutors for homeless children, kindergarten through Grade 12, of families living in shelters, motels, cars or on the street. There are 50 locations in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Tutors give one hour per week on a one-to-one basis. They concentrate on the scholastic weaknesses that have occurred either through the stress of being homeless or frequent moving of the family.

This is a residential facility that provides high quality care to severely emotionally disturbed, abused and neglected children. Volunteers are needed as tutors, special friends and playgroup buddies. Volunteers should be at least 21 years of age and willing to commit to six months of service either daytime, evening or weekend.

The mission of Angel Flight West is to arrange free air transportation on private aircraft in response to health and other compelling human needs. Please contact Angel Flight directly to find out what volunteer work is currently available.

Mission is to help visually impaired and blind people become as independent as possible. Volunteers serve as teachers and discussion group leaders, classroom assistants in creative arts, readers, recorders and clerical work. Volunteers are asked to commit to two hours per week between Monday-Friday, 8:30-5. Free secure parking is provided.

Provides specialty services to people living with HIV/AIDS on the Westside. Also provides public HIV prevention education and outreach programs targeting youth and at-risk populations. Free anonymous HIV testing. Volunteers help with clerical support, front desk with phones, filing, typing, computer entry, community booths and special events. Training varies with each task.

Volunteers assist staff with various tasks. They interact with patients and visitors, handle information desk and deliver meals to homebound people in the community.

Provides mental health and substance abuse treatment services throughout L.A. County. Volunteer opportunities include childcare; working with older adults suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia; cooking; clerical work; activities with adults with mental illness; leading music or movement classes; counselor on Suicide Crisis Line. Activities are available at multiple locations. All volunteers work under supervision of a staff member. Volunteers must be fingerprinted, background checked and have a TB test. Training is provided.

Volunteers perform a variety of special services in the following departments: reception areas, Heart Institute, blood donor room, John Wayne Cancer Institute, clerical services, emergency services, gift shop, handicraft, public relations, nursing units, outpatient services, radiology, medical records, dietary, escort. They are supportive to the needs of patients, patients’ families, visitors, physicians and Health Center personnel.

Services offered include maternity, pediatrics, emergency, geriatrics, internal medicine, ICU, oncology, outpatient. Volunteers perform meet & greet at information desk and surgical waiting areas. Also help at gift shop, recovery, assist on units, clerical support, patient liaisons, newspaper delivery.

Dedicated to serving a diverse population of people in crisis who need a sympathetic listener. Volunteers undergo 60 hours of training after which they counsel callers over the phone and provide referrals to other appropriate mental health agencies specific to the caller’s needs. Volunteers are asked for a commitment of 4 hours a week for one year. All calls are handled at their Culver City premises. Volunteers must be at least 21.

Provides high quality health care to the working poor and homeless and children who have no other access to such care. Volunteers needed are physicians, nurses, psychiatrists, pharmacists, health educators, translators, clerical, fundraisers, nutritionists, child activity assistants.

WCIL helps people living with disabilities maintain self-sufficient and productive lives through non-residential peer support services and training programs. Volunteers provide clerical support such as data entry, filing and performing telephone surveys to consumers.

Serves older adults with physical limitations or mental impairments due to stroke, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s or Huntington’s. Volunteers help Activity Aides assist participants with a wide variety of therapeutic activities, including arts and crafts, singing and dancing, exercise, cooking, gardening, playing board games and educational events. The main program of structured activities is 10 am to 3 pm Monday through Friday but volunteers are needed throughout the day. Training is provided.

This is a humanitarian service organization whose volunteers and staff have a committed belief in the values of doing good for all people in the community. Provides relief to victims of disaster and helps people prepare for and respond to emergencies. Works with and supports all age groups within the city of Santa Monica by teaching classes and offering any support asked for.

Generates funds and resources for 29 nonprofit organizations that provide services for the Asian and Pacific Islander community which include education, health care, child care, counseling, legal services, immigration education, housing, food distribution, senior services, violence prevention. Volunteers provide administrative support which includes database, archiving, internet research and daily operations in the office.

Advocates for ending homelessness for women. Provides permanent supportive housing and a safe and healthy community. Services on a drop-in basis include three meals daily, bathrooms and showers, day beds, laundry, mailing address, fresh change of clothes. Volunteers help serve lunch, prepare meals, plan birthday parties and help with donation drives.

Environmental organization dedicated to making Southern California coastal waters and watersheds safe, healthy and clean for humans and marine life through research, education, community action and advocacy. Volunteer opportunities include beach cleanups, speakers bureau, community outreach and Santa Monica Pier Aquarium

This is a volunteer tutor program that helps improve basic literacy skills of adults and youths. A volunteer tutor spends at least two hours a week at one of the Literacy Network’s Service Provider Sites tutoring adult learners to read in a one-on-one or small group setting. Volunteers get an initial 3 hour training as well as follow up specialized trainings dealing with topics such as learning disabilities and English as a second language.

Solicits, receives, stores and distributes donated food and grocery products to more than 1,000 charities that provide food to over 400,000 people each week. These include soup kitchens, food pantries, child care centers, senior centers and battered women’s shelters. Volunteers are needed to sort, clean and repackage food, to help with food drives and special events, They also work in The Kids Café for needy children and The Brown Bag program for low income seniors, disabled and infirm people. Many of the departments use interns for charity relations, event planning, product donations, marketing, public relations and nutrition education. Also experts in the food, banking, legal and other industries are needed.

Volunteers deliver meals to ill, elderly and other homebound people, a service that enables them to live independently. Volunteers act as drivers or helpers and work between 11 am and l pm. Volunteers work one day a week or as substitutes.

Dedicated to providing domestic violence victims with a safe place to stay and comprehensive support services. Volunteer opportunities for women are available on the 24-hour Hotline Program, Outreach Program (facilitating support groups), OCEAN (On Call Emergency Advocate Network) Program, Court Accompaniment Program and the Children’s Program. Male volunteers and 14-18 year old female volunteers are welcome to participate in the Children’s Program.

Mission is to empower Latinos and other minorities by increasing their participation in the American democratic process. They need volunteers to help in the office answering phones, archiving organization materials and help with mailings, updating database, faxing, filing, internet research and web design

This is a multi-social service agency providing emergency services, case management and educational programming to homeless people and low-income individuals and families. From infants to seniors, there are eleven programs that provide hope through empowerment. Volunteer opportunities are available in the child care centers for toddlers, infants and pre-school age, or to help in the Bread and Roses Café for homeless or to distribute groceries at the Family Centers. Help in the office is always needed.

This is a transitional housing program for adult homeless men and women. Guests who stay at Turning Point receive personal guidance in setting long-term goals and plans for self-sufficiency. Volunteers answer phones, perform light office duties, help with serving meals.

Dedicated to bringing the healing power of the creative arts to battered women and children. Through art, survivors of domestic violence learn safe ways to tap into their own imagination, self-worth, hopes and visions. Volunteers assist with mailings, data entry, filing, copying and other general administrative jobs as well as some art-related tasks.

Programs include housing and education for former foster young women, Encore, a free exercise and support group for women with cancer, GIA, a free empowerment program for middle school girls, and parent support programs. Volunteers needed to tutor college level courses for young women in the housing and education program, to help with office work. Volunteers with professional experience in many areas are needed.. Call if you would like a tour of the YWCA.