Date/Time: Ongoing need. People can leave donations with the front desk Monday through Friday between 9am - 5pm with a note that they’re to be directed to Stacy Gerondelis. If they prefer to leave items with Stacy, please email her directly to set up a time.

Location: The drop-off location is 1527 E Lake Street, Minneapolis

Ages: Everyone can participate

Time Commitment: Varies, depending on the project

The mission of the Family Partnership is to build strong families, vital communities, and better futures for children. Here are five projects you and your family can donate to help their clients:

Contact: Stacy Gerondelis, Advancement Associate, sgerondelis@thefamilypartnership.org. Please contact Stacy prior to starting your project.

Date/Time: Ongoing opportunity

Location: Your home or the community.

Ages: Mentors are families, couples, or individuals over 21.

Time Commitment: One to four hours per week, on average. Scheduling is very flexible; weekends, evenings, or after school times are available.

Mentoring Works! Kids 'N Kindship is proudly celebrating our 50th anniversary of serving families, and we need more mentors! Please consider stepping forward today to mentor a child individually or as a family. We are based in Dakota County, and we serve families in Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan, Farmington, Lakeville, and Rosemount. Kids 'n Kinship matches volunteer mentors as families, couples, and individuals with youth ages 5-16 in need of additional positive role models. Matches are made based on compatible personalities, ages, and interests, as well as preferences of both the volunteer family and the youth with their parent/guardian. Our mentoring families say that mentoring together ensures they have weekly family time and that it's easy to include another child with the family activity, whether it's a board game, sledding, a trip to a park, or going to the zoo or a museum. Kids 'n Kinship offers discounted passes to area attractions to make activities more affordable. Additionally, we provide continuous support and training for our mentors, starting with a 45-minute information session and a 2-hour training session. We ask mentors and mentees to commit to one year together in order to build their relationship; however, many of our matches become lifelong friends and our average match is about 3 years. Please consider being a mentor to a child - it is one of the most life-changing and rewarding ways to volunteer your time. Kids 'n Kinship is continuing to operate in a safe way to protect everyone's health in accordance with CDC Guidelines.

Contact: Rachel Engstrom, Project Manager/Recruitment Coordinator, volunteer@kidsnkinship.org

Date/Time: Ongoing need; make cards whenever it’s convenient for you!

Location: You can do this volunteer project from the comfort of your own home.

Ages: Family-friendly; all ages are welcome

Time Commitment: Varies depending on how many cards you choose to make.

Are you looking for a fun and easy way to brighten someone’s day? We are looking for volunteers to participate in this family-friendly volunteer opportunity by sending handmade or store-bought cards to let our clients and program participants know the community is thinking about them and reminding them that they are not alone. These cards don't have to be fancy, so no pressure if you don't feel creative. Your warm and cheerful messages will go a long way! JFCS is part of a national network and has been around locally for over 100 years, serving people of all faiths and backgrounds.

Contact: Reach out to Dana Shapiro, Community & Volunteer Engagement Manager, dshapiro@jfcsmpls.org, for specific card-making instructions.

Date/Time: Ongoing opportunities

Location: Can be ordered from any location and dropped off/shipped to

PPL Service Center

Attn: Volunteer Program

1035 E. Franklin Ave.

Minneapolis, MN 55404

Ages: Everyone can help

Time Commitment: Varies

Project for Pride in Living is a nonprofit focused on addressing two core drivers of poverty - unemployment and homelessness - and our programs deliver results. Our mission is to build the hope, assets, and self-reliance of individuals and families with lower incomes by providing transformative, affordable housing and employment readiness services. We manage safe, quality, affordable housing across the Twin Cities, with support services to help residents stabilize the household and restore pride and innovative career readiness services that help participants create a secure economic future. Your family can help support PPL programs and participants with the following in-kind donations:

Contact: Seda Bagiryan, seda.bagiryan@ppl-inc.org

Date/Time: Cards should be delivered by February 14

Location: Mail your cards and $1 per card to:

Ages: Everyone is welcome to participate

Time Commitment: Varies

Holidays like Valentine's Day are fun to celebrate when you can share the day with your friends or loved ones. Unfortunately, our military heroes often find themselves alone or feeling homesick during holidays. The mission of Soldiers' Angels is to make sure no one who serves this country feels unloved - and that's especially true on Valentine's Day! You and your family can help by making or purchasing Valentines cards for our military and veteran heroes. Why do we ask for the $1 per card? The $1 helps cover the cost to distribute the thousands of cards we receive. Have questions? Check out our FAQ's here.

Contact: info@soldiersangels.org

Date/Time: Volunteer one hour during lunchtime, Monday through Friday.

Location: With over thirty neighborhood sites throughout the Twin Cities, you can easily be connected with a delivery site near your home! Visit our website at www.meals-on-wheels.com to learn more and to sign up to volunteer with the program nearest you!

Ages: Families are welcome and encouraged to volunteer

Time Commitment: About an hour at lunchtime

Delivering Meals on Wheels with your children or grandchildren is a wonderful opportunity to spend quality time as a family and pass on the values of kindness, compassion, and civic responsibility by helping seniors and individuals with disabilities in your community. Whether you have infants or teenagers, you can make a contribution together to improve your community. Delivering meals involves driving to the program site, picking up meals, and delivering them to eight to ten clients in your community.

Contact: Madisen Vukich, 612.623.3363, madisen@meals-on-wheels.com

Date/Time: Ongoing need, as puppies need homes at various times throughout the year. 

Location: 9440 Science Center Drive, New Hope

Ages: This is a great family project. Children under age 12 can take part in obedience training, feeding and helping to work on good house manners, and those between 12 -16 can receive approval by training staff to handle dogs in class and in public places under adult supervision.

Time Commitment: Ten weeks

If you love puppies but are unable to commit to having a puppy for 12-18 months, Great Start volunteering may be a good option for you. After our puppies are weaned around 10-weeks old, those bound for our prison programs will first need to go to a Great Start home for 10 weeks to acquire early socialization, basic obedience training, and potty/crate training. Great Start volunteers are not financially responsible for the puppy, but do attend one Can Do Canines led training or outing each month and take their puppy in public three times per week. Can Do Canines will cover the cost of food and vet expenses. We have amazing trainers to teach you how to raise a future assistance dog. You’ll learn new skills in class, get comfortable taking the puppy in public while attending our group outings, and we promise you’ll make some new friends along the way too. This is a great opportunity to spend quality time as a family and pass on the values of commitment, compassion, and civic responsibility by helping people with disabilities in your community. 

Contact: Caitie McBridee, Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator, cmcbride@candocanines.org or 763.331.3000 x120

Date/Time: Deliveries are made 9am - 12:30pm on Fridays and Saturdays. We are in great need of Friday volunteers for these dates: January 14, 21, 28, February 4, 11, 25, and March 4

Location: 34 13th Ave NE, Minneapolis

Ages: Families with children age five and older are welcome to help us deliver beds and dream kits to kids in our community.

Time Commitment: Three and one-half hours

My Very Own Bed's mission is to provide new beds and linens to children of families that have recently secured stable housing. The beds provide a comfortable space for each child to sleep well and dream big. Volunteers help assemble dream kits (sheets, blanket, pillow, stuffed animal, and books) for each child receiving a bed and then follow our van to families' homes to deliver beds and dream kits. We offer the option of helping families set up the beds while we are there and we require all volunteers to wear face masks while we are in families' homes. We ask that bed delivery groups be kept to a maximum of four people. You can find more information in our Bed Delivery Volunteer Guide.

Contact: For more information and to schedule dates, contact info@myveryownbed.org 

Date/Time: Multiple dates and times; see our website for details

Location: FMSC has MN packing locations in Chanhassen, Coon Rapids, and Eagan

Ages: Families with children as young as five may participate.

Time Commitment: Two-hour shifts

Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) is a Christian nonprofit that provides nutritionally complete meals that are specifically formulated for malnourished children. FMSC offers volunteers a one-of-a-kind experience. Volunteers hand-pack rice, soy, dried vegetables, and a nutritionally complete blend of vitamins and minerals into bags which are then sealed, boxed, placed on pallets, and shipped to our incredible partners working hard to reach the neediest children around the world. Through volunteering at FMSC, volunteers get the chance to impact hundreds of kids in just two hours per packing shift. You’ll experience what it’s like to make a tangible difference—today. Please review the COVID-19 volunteer updates before you register for your shift. Masks are not required but are strongly encouraged.

Contact: Registration is available online. For questions about volunteering or about registering to volunteer, please refer to the FAQ page. If you have questions that are not addressed on the website or FAQ page please contact the following: General inquiries, info@fmsc.org or 763.504.2919. Volunteer and registration questions, registration@fmsc.org or 763.951.7306.

Date/Time: Click here to see all the January Meal Packing Opportunities. Registration is required. Parent/legal guardian bringing youth volunteer(s) should "Register as Team" so that the adult can reserve spots for the youth participants.

Location: Every Meal, 2723 Patton Rd, Roseville. Please park between doors H and O. When you arrive, please head for the back (west) side of the building and go to door N, labeled “Volunteer Entrance.”

Ages: Volunteers must be eight years of age or older

Time Commitment: Two hours

Every Meal works to combat hunger in our community by filling the gaps in food access that children face. Volunteers are needed to help assemble the meal bags we provide for students and families. All of our food bags are 4-5 pounds and contain approximately 4 meals of nutritious, non-perishable food, including a variety of fruits, vegetables, proteins, grains, and soups/entrees. It's a fun and upbeat volunteer environment! First, we'll have a brief orientation. Then we'll form assembly lines and pack non-perishable food items for people in our community who need them! Click here for volunteer health and safety information.

Contact: Volunteer Coordinators, Ethan Clark, Eclark@everymeal.org, or Karolina Pien, Kpien@everymeal.org. Registration is available online.

Date/Time: Volunteer shifts are available Sunday – Saturday: 10am -noon, 1 - 4pm, or 4 - 6pm

Location: Arc’s Value Village has locations in Bloomington, New Hope, and Richfield.

Ages: Families with children eight years old and older are welcome to volunteer.

Time Commitment: Volunteer shifts are two or three hours. You can volunteer one-time or on an ongoing basis.

Make a difference in your community by volunteering at Arc's Value Village. Volunteer at Arc's Value Village and help unpack, sort and price great donations. Volunteers are also needed to stock the sales floor and help colorize/organize wonderful items. Volunteering at Arc’s Value Village benefits The Arc Minnesota and its programs and services supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. You will also learn how your efforts support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families in our community! Volunteer opportunities are now available at our store locations in Bloomington, New Hope, and Richfield! All Arc’s Value Village volunteers are required to wear a mask when volunteering.

Contact: Michelle, 952.920.0855, volunteernow@arcminnesota.org. Registration is available online. No walk-ins are allowed; all volunteers must sign up ahead of time. Questions? Send an email to the volunteer department at VolunteerNow@arcminnesota.org or call 952.915.3670.

Date/Time: Starting in January 2022. Hours are from 5:30 - 7:30pm

Location(s): Lind-Bohanon (North Mpls), Ventura Village (South Mpls), Payne-Phalen (North of Downtown St. Paul), and Highland Park (SW of Downtown St. Paul).

Ages: For volunteers age 16 and older

Time Commitment: January - May 2022; two hours, once a week.

The PPL Mentors program works with youth (kindergarten through 5th grade) by fulfilling social and emotional support throughout the school year. Volunteers are matched with youth 1-on-1 by working on a variety of activities such as art therapy, science projects, yoga, and more.

Contact: Volunteer Services Coordinator, Jaylen.Lyles@ppl-inc.org or Volunteer Program Manager, Zarah.Augustine@ppl-inc.org