Revamp the Riverfront

St. Louis Aquarium

Date/Time: Wednesday, May 29, 5:30–7:30 p.m. 

Location: North Riverfront Park, South Entrance, 9400 Riverview Dr., St. Louis.

Ages: All ages are welcome to participate.

Time Commitment: Two hours.

Join us in our effort to revamp the St. Louis area and prevent plastic pollution from entering the Mighty Mississippi and eventually, our oceans! As a part of our commitment to water stewardship and supporting our downtown neighbors, this year, we will be hosting ten cleanup events along the Mississippi Greenway and Mural Mile in partnership with Great Rivers Greenway. Light snacks, water refills, gloves, and bags will be provided! Please come prepared with closed-toe shoes and weather-appropriate attire.

Contact: Adelle Arnold, 314.750.3946 or aarnold@stlaquariumfoundation.org. Volunteer registration is available online.

https://www.stlaquariumfoundation.org

Donate Family Meal Kits

Operation Food Search

Date/Time: Drop off care kits Monday through Friday, noon–4 p.m. To drop off donations, pull up to Garages 7-8 and ring the doorbell to have a member of our warehouse team assist you.

Location: 1644 Lotsie Blvd, St. Louis.

Ages: Everyone is welcome to participate.

Time Commitment: Varies.

Operation Food Search empowers families and increases access to healthy and affordable food. The agency provides food and services to 200,000 individuals every month – one-third of whom are children – through a network of 330 community partners in 42 Missouri and Illinois counties. Your family can help out by assembling and donating family meal kits. Providing meal kit donations is a great family or team-building activity that has a meaningful impact on our community. Click here to find out what items are needed for family meal kits.

Contact: matt.kasate@operationfoodsearch.org.

https://www.operationfoodsearch.org

Repacking and Sorting

St. Louis Area Foodbank

Date/Time: A variety of shifts are available. Check the St. Louis Area Foodbank calendar for shift availability.

Location: 70 Corporate Woods Dr., Bridgeton.

Ages: Families with children six years old and older are welcome to volunteer with a parent or guardian. Please note that some shifts are limited to ages 11 and older due to safety considerations. Volunteers should be at least 16 years old to volunteer independently.

Time Commitment: Shifts are two to three hours. 

Volunteers are needed to work in our Volunteer Repackaging Center sorting and packing food for distribution to our community. This can include building various food boxes, sorting food drive donations, packaging produce into individual family-size portions, or other relevant projects contributing to the Foodbank mission. Volunteers will be on their feet for the majority of the time. Some volunteers may be asked to lift and/or move boxes of food weighing up to 50 lbs.

Contact: Mary Cooper, mcooper@stlfoodbank.org or 314.292.6262. Registration is required and is available online.

https://stlfoodbank.org

The Race4Every Kid 

Soles4Souls

Date/Time: May 1–31.

Location: Your own location.

Ages: All ages can participate.

Time Commitment: Varies.

Soles4Souls launched 4EveryKid with a mission to provide new athletic shoes to every child experiencing homelessness in the U.S., so they can stay healthy and fully participate in school. Join the Race 4EveryKid and become a champion for children overcoming homelessness. Whether you decide to walk, run, cycle, swim or hop, skip and jump, every dollar you raise will provide joy and dignity to kids across the US. This year, our goal is to raise at least $350,000, ensuring that 17,500 kids step into the next school year with confidence. No child should have to feel embarrassed, discouraged, or left out simply because they lack something most of us take for granted. It’s super easy to make a big difference. Register for the race, either as an individual or as part of a team. It’s free to participate! Use your personal race page to collect pledges for every mile you run, walk, or cycle. All through May, log your miles and raise funds. Your supporters can donate right through your race page. Learn more here.

Contact: theresam@soles4souls.org. Click here for online registration.

https://soles4souls.org/

Share Your Surplus Garden Harvest

AmpleHarvest.org

Date/Time: Ongoing.

Location: Your own garden or find a community garden near you.

Ages: All ages can participate, depending on the garden or farm.

Time Commitment: Varies.

Do you like to garden? One out of six children in America lives in a food-insecure home, meaning their parents don't know where their next meal will come from. No matter where you live, there are people in your community that are experiencing hunger. Food pantries can help fill in the gaps but are continuously lacking in healthy, fresh produce to offer. Luckily, you can help alleviate this issue in your own neighborhood! By planting just a little extra to donate, you can improve the health of your community as well. When you donate your surplus garden bounty, you are helping to relieve hunger and making an impact on obesity and other food-related diseases. Consider planting an extra row or even a few additional plants to donate to a local food pantry. And if you find yourself with a runaway zucchini plant or another bountiful crop that gives you more than you can eat, don't let it go to waste! Even a small donation will help increase food security in your area. 

Ampleharvest.org is pleased to partner with Bonnie Plants “Grow More Feed More” initiative and Home Depot's “Donate Your Harvest” initiative. Bonnie Plants will donate 5% of online sales to Ampleharvest.org. Click here for more information on Grow More Feed More and to order your plants online. Home Depot supports Ampleharvest.org with its Donate Your Harvest initiative. Click here for links to gardening helpful hints, plants and supplies, and locations on harvest drop-off locations in your area.

Contact: You can find one of more than 8,000 food pantries in all 50 states (and on Native American Reservations too!) eager for your help by clicking here.

www.ampleharvest.org

Host a Diaper Drive

St. Louis Area Diaper Bank

Date/Time: Drop-off hours are Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Call us at 314.624.0888 if you need to coordinate an evening or weekend drop-off. You can drop off your donations inside the reception area, and be sure to see a staff member or volunteer to get your receipt.

Location: 6141 Etzel Avenue, St. Louis.

Ages: Everyone can help.

Time Commitment: Varies.

The St. Louis Area Diaper Bank seeks to increase access to basic hygiene items that foster human dignity and full participation in life while raising awareness about diaper need and period poverty. Getting your family, friends, and neighbors together to host a diaper drive for the Diaper Bank is a great way to get involved in our work. We distribute about 250,000 diapers every month! Simply pick a time frame for your drive, set a goal for your collection, and announce your drive!

Contact: Jerrica Franks, Community Engagement & Outreach Manager, jfranks@stldiaperbank.org. Click here to register your drive.

https://www.stldiaperbank.org

Shelter Buddies Reading Program

Humane Society of Missouri

Date/Time(s): Check the website for available dates and times. Once you attend one 90-minute training session, you will be given a schedule of available reading hours. Then you can come read for as little or as long as you'd like during designated hours, available seven days a week.

Location(s):

• Macklind Ave Headquarters, 1201 Macklind Ave., St. Louis.
• Maryland Heights Best Buddy Center, 11660 Administration Dr., St. Louis.

Ages: Kind kids ages 6–15 years old.

Time Commitment: One-and-a-half-hour training session. Once you attend a training session, you will be given a schedule of available reading hours. You can come read for as little or as long as you’d like during designated hours, available seven days a week.

Since 1870, the Humane Society of Missouri has been dedicated to second chances. Our mission is to end the cycle of abuse and pet overpopulation through our rescue and investigation efforts, spay/neuter programs, and educational classes. The Shelter Buddies Reading Program was designed to help our shelter dogs become more adoptable. Reading to the dogs helps bring comfort to and reduce the anxiety of shelter pets, and it nurtures empathy in children. Participants sit outside of the dog's kennel and read to them. Reading helps shy dogs learn to relax around people and teaches high-energy dogs that calm behavior is desirable. When children tell stories to the dogs, it also helps them develop their own reading skills! Closed-toe, rubber-soled shoes are required to protect your feet and give better traction when walking through the animal wings. You are welcome to bring a favorite book; however, we do have a library of over 100 animal-themed books from which to choose. Learn more online.

Contact: 314.951.1579 or shelterbuddies@hsmo.org. Please note: training is $10 per child. One parent is required to attend the training and must accompany the child every time they come to read. Training session registration is available online.

www.hsmo.org

Foster a Pet

Humane Society of Missouri

Date/Time: Ongoing need.

Location: Your home.

Ages: Families are welcome to foster. The foster volunteer on file must be at least 18 years old.

Time Commitment: The time commitment for fostering varies. Depending upon the animals’ needs, a foster placement could be a week to eight weeks or more. Foster families choose which animals they’d like to foster, and we work with the time you have available. Our foster coordinator will call you when a need arises, and you can accept or decline the placement.

Foster families open up their homes and hearts to animals in need. The Humane Society of Missouri’s (HSMO) Foster Care Program is all about providing second chances. This program places animals in temporary homes until they are ready to find their forever homes. Foster families provide an opportunity to raise and socialize shelter pets, from abused and neglected animals to those displaced due to disasters and unforeseen emergencies. Your family can foster pets and provide love and care to animals in your own home. Foster families decide when, how long, and what animals they foster. All food, medical care, and supplies are provided by HSMO. Emergency Care foster parents are also needed to provide emergency lodging and care during times of disaster. Learn more here.

Contact: Macklind Ave Headquarters: Sue Alkire, salkire@hsmo.org and Savannah Schuette, sschuette@hsmo.org. Best Buddy Center-Maryland Heights: Julie Stoffiel, julie.stofiel@hsmo.org.

www.hsmo.org

2024 Spring Nursery Volunteer Days

Forest ReLeaf

Date/Time: Wednesdays and Fridays, 8 a.m.–noon.

Location: CommuniTree Gardens Nursery, 2194 Creve Coeur Mill Road South, Maryland Heights.

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

Time Commitment: Four-hour shifts.

Spring at the nursery focuses on the growing of healthy new trees for our forest canopy through the potting, weeding, and distribution of the 3-gallon saplings in our Project CommuniTree Program. Each date has a slightly different task. We will provide all necessary tools, including gloves, for you to participate in caring for and maintaining the trees at our nursery. Workdays run from 8 a.m.–noon, with a snack/water break at 10 a.m. We'll provide gloves, training, and snacks. Please dress to get dirty and for the weather. Bring a reusable water bottle to stay hydrated!

Contact: ellen@moreleaf.org. Registration is available online. 

moreleaf.org

Honeysuckle Hack and Native Planting at St. Vincent Park

Open Space STL

Date/Time: Saturday, May 18, 9 a.m.–noon.

Location: St. Vincent County Park, 7335 St. Charles Rock Rd, St. Louis, MO 63133. The meeting site will be at the water park parking lot.

Ages: This is a family-friendly opportunity.

Time Commitment: Three hours.

Help the Community Stewardship Alliance enhance and restore a woodland habitat at St. Vincent Park in North St. Louis County. This volunteer opportunity will focus on removing invasive bush honeysuckle in the woodland habitat and replacing them with native plants. Tools and gloves are provided, but if you prefer your own, you are welcome to bring them

What to wear:

• Clothes you don't mind getting dirty. We recommend wearing long pants and long sleeves.
• Closed-toe, sturdy shoes.
• Sunscreen, sunglasses, and a hat.

What to bring:

• A filled bottle of water - we recommend reusable!
• Bug/tick spray.

Contact: volunteer@openspacestl.org or 314.835.9225. Registration is available online.

https://openspacestl.org