Looking for more ways to give back to our community by volunteering your time? Here’s a list of Marin County nonprofits supporting a variety of causes — ranging from helping our most vulnerable residents to keeping our environment healthy — where your assistance can really make a difference.
Kids, Seniors and Disabled Individuals
Community Action Marin
This nonprofit assists families, seniors and the disabled with emergency financial needs. Volunteer opportunities include tax preparation assistance and rental assistance. They especially need bilingual volunteers.
Continuum Hospice & Palliative Care
Through companionship and a compassionate heart, Continuum Hospice volunteers provide comfort and support to patients and their families who face a life-limiting illness. Volunteer opportunities include working directly with patients and their families or assisting with administrative work.
Experience Corps Bay Area
Experience Corps Bay Area seeks senior (50+) volunteer reading tutors to help increase child literacy rates. The literacy program connects older adult volunteers with non-fluent readers in grades K-3.
Slide Ranch
This special outdoor education farm located just north of Muir Beach offers programs on cooking, caring for animals and exploring the wilderness and the coast—all geared to teaching children about healthy food systems while fostering the next generation of environmental stewards. It offers both individual and group volunteering opportunities.
The Redwoods
Set on 10 acres in Mill Valley, The Redwoods, A Community of Seniors, offers affordable living in a community that promotes good health, well-being and security for a diverse group of seniors. There is an array of volunteer opportunities to benefit its residents and provide meaningful experiences for volunteers.
Halleck Creek Ranch
Since 1977, Halleck Creek Ranch has helped people with disabilities live a life without barriers through therapeutic horseback riding, which is a valuable form of physical and mental therapy, as well as an effective way for people with disabilities to access rugged terrain. Dedicated volunteers engage with children and adults with disabilities and gentle horses for therapy and recreation.
Homelessness and Poverty
Beach House/A Home Away From Homelessness
The Beach House offers children and youth from Marin and San Francisco the chance to spend an afternoon in the Marin Headlands. Volunteers must complete a training and background check.
Gilead House
Gilead provides transitional housing, skill development and support services for homeless single parents or those at risk of becoming homeless families. Volunteer opportunities range from mentorship and childcare to providing Sunday Family Dinners.
Ritter Center
Based in San Rafael, Ritter Center is a community-based nonprofit designed to prevent homelessness and serve those who are living in poverty or are homeless in Marin County. Volunteers are always needed to help with the food pantry, assisting with special events and more.
St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marin
This long-established nonprofit, known as ‘Vinnies,’ helps the homeless and those struggling to prevent homelessness with outreach services, crisis and housing assistance and a dining room serving free daily meals. Volunteers can sign up to support the bag lunch program or go deeper by serving on the prevention team.
Animals
The Marine Mammal Center
The Marine Mammal Center is a nonprofit veterinary hospital, research and educational center dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of ill and injured marine mammals—mostly seals and sea lions—and to the study of their health. There are lots of volunteer opportunities ranging from animal care crew and rescue to education and administrative tasks.
Marin Humane
Marin Humane’s mission is simple: transform lives (of pets and people) through exceptional animal care, humane education and advocacy. Popular ways to get involved as a volunteer include becoming a dog trainer, working with adoptive families and serving at adoption events and outposts—plus they always need families to foster pets waiting for adoption.
WildCare
WildCare is a nature education and wildlife rehabilitation center in San Rafael, whose aim is to help our community peacefully coexist with wildlife. Volunteer options include serving as an animal ambassador, providing care in the animal hospital and leading nature hikes for students.
The Environment
County of Marin Parks Volunteers
This organization facilitates the stewardship of Marin County Park lands by encouraging community involvement through offering diverse and innovative volunteer opportunities each month consisting of habitat restorations, beach cleanups, education and more.
The Richardson Bay Audubon Center and Sanctuary
The Richardson Bay Audubon Center and Sanctuary’s mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems by inspiring and educating the community and by emphasizing conservation initiatives related to the Sanctuary on Richardson Bay. Both groups and individual volunteers are always needed to help with restoration work and in the native plant nursery.
Friends of Olompali State Park
Just north of Novato, Olompali’s historic past and natural beauty offer an idyllic setting for hiking, horseback riding, picnics, bird-watching and more. Volunteers are always needed to help with running the park—from staffing the Visitors Center to patrolling trails.
Community Centric
City of San Rafael Volunteers
This group organizes volunteers within City government and to partner with neighborhood and community groups to build a better San Rafael. There is a wide range of volunteer opportunities to support all facets of the city—from cleanup and beautification to keeping the library going, and much more.
Fairfax Volunteers
Fairfax Volunteers is a town-sponsored group with a mission to foster goodwill in the Town of Fairfax through implementation of a volunteer program that meets town and community needs. Volunteer opportunities are found through the town’s newsletter.
Friends of the Mill Valley Library and Library Foundation
The Mill Valley Library has several support organizations which help it with book sales, event organization and fundraising—all of which rely on volunteers to keep them going.
Town Books in San Anselmo
Town Books is an all-volunteer-run bookstore operated by The Friends of the San Anselmo Library. Volunteers are needed to manage the store, sort donations and organize the store’s special events and readings.
Friends of the Sausalito Library
The Friends is a volunteer nonprofit organization whose book sales are a source of financial support to the Sausalito Public Library. It operates a robust used bookstore with the help of volunteers.
Other General Opportunities
Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership
While the main mission of this membership organization is to help nonprofits to elevate their own volunteer programs, it also offers a comprehensive website, Volunteer Now, that lists myriad volunteer opportunities through Marin County.
Canal Alliance
Canal Alliance offers immigration legal services, education and career programs, plus social services to help Latino immigrants and their families overcome the barriers to success. Volunteer opportunities range from tutoring students and serving as a class aide to helping with the food pantry.
Center for Domestic Peace
This nonprofit leads a comprehensive community effort to end the #1 violent crime in Marin County: domestic violence by providing transformational services and programs that protect and enhance victim safety and create change. It is looking for volunteers to help with events, legal services and school advocacy programs.
The Spahr Center
The Spahr Center is Marin County’s only nonprofit community agency devoted to serving, supporting and empowering the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and everyone in the county living with and affected by HIV. Volunteer opportunities include the AIDS Walk, food pantry service and helping with the harm reduction program.
