Date/Time: Saturday, April 13. Shift times are in the morning.

Location: Various locations within the Missouri and Mississippi River Confluence area. Volunteers can choose from over a dozen cleanup locations and storm drain marking sites within the watershed. A post clean-up picnic following cleanup efforts will be hosted at January Wabash Park, 501 N. Florissant Rd., Ferguson. We will celebrate Confluence Trash Bash volunteer efforts featuring hot dogs, soda, beverages from 4Hands Brewing Company, and a Trash Contest!

Ages: There are opportunities for families with children of all ages. Please choose a site appropriate for your family members' ages and physical abilities.

Time Commitment: Varies, between two and three hours.

Come out and help clean natural areas and parks within the Lower Missouri River watershed! There are over a dozen guided cleanup locations volunteers can choose from. Open Space STL provides all volunteers with necessary supplies, including work gloves and trash bags. Following the cleanup efforts, there will be an educational event and picnic at January Wabash Park in Ferguson, MO. The event is free, and volunteers should pre-register and complete a liability waiver to receive their free t-shirt. Click here to learn more about the post clean-up picnic.

Contact: volunteer@openspacestl.org, 314.835.9225. Registration is available online. Click here, select an opportunity, and follow the registration instructions.

Date/Time: Sunday, April 14.

Location: Anywhere where there are Little Free Libraries. Use our world map to find a location near you.

Ages: All ages. This is a great activity for family and friends to do together.

Time Commitment: Flexible. Share one book, or share many!

Everyone can do something good, large or small, to improve the lives of others. Celebrate Good Deeds Day by sharing a book and a kind note in a Little Free Library near you! You’ll join a global day of doing good that unites people from over 100 countries in doing good deeds. It’s easy to participate:

Contact: volunteer@littlefreelibrary.org. Click here to register.

Date/Time: Friday, April 19. The event schedule will be available soon.

Location: Logan University, 1851 Schoettler Rd., Chesterfield.

Ages: Everyone can participate.

Time Commitment: Varies.

Walk to Cure Arthritis is the Arthritis Foundation’s nationwide signature event that unites communities across the country to put an end to arthritis. We aren't just helping the millions of people with arthritis to live better; we're charting the course to a cure. Your family can participate in honoring the 54 million Americans battling arthritis by joining your local Walk to Cure Arthritis and helping raise much-needed awareness and funds for life-changing treatments and resources. Let’s have fun and stay active while driving the needle closer to a cure. Tell your family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers to join you today! Learn more here.

Contact: Delores Hardwick, dhardwick@arthritis.org, 314.896.4776. Registration is available online.

Date/Time: Saturday, April 20. The race village opens at 7:30 a.m. The 5K run starts at 8:30 a.m and the Fun Run will start shortly after that.

Location: Tower Grove Park, Sons of Rest Pavilion.

Ages: Everyone can participate.

The Little Bit Foundation is committed to breaking down barriers to learning for students living in poverty through partnerships and programs that serve the needs of the whole child. Our aim is to empower students to achieve their academic goals and dreams for the future, while leaving an imprint of love and hope on young lives for whom a little bit means a lot. Laura’s Run 4 Kids, hosted by KMOV anchor Laura Hettiger, is an annual tradition for hundreds of families, businesses, and others across the community. Combining a competitive 5K Race with a 1-mile Family Fun Run/Walk, the event draws St. Louisans of every age. Participants will enjoy free food and beverages, music, fun family activities, a medal ceremony, participation by Little Bit schools and families, and more. Learn more here. If you are unable to join us on April 20 in Tower Grover Park, share the spirit of Laura virtually from April 20 through April 27. Run, jog, or walk where you are – in your neighborhood, on the track, at home on your treadmill – and celebrate at the virtual finish line with an online community when you’ve completed your 5K (3.1 miles).

Contact: Registration is available online.

Date/Time: The Go Camo Care Package Collection drive will run from April 1–June 30.

Location: Ship your collected items to:

Soldiers’ Angels Go Camo

2895 NE Loop 410, Suite 107

San Antonio, Texas 78218

Ages: Everyone can participate.

Time Commitment: Varies.

The mission of Soldiers’ Angels is to provide aid, comfort, and resources to the military, veterans, and their families. Soldiers’ Angels Special Campaigns are designed with one goal in mind: bringing people together to collect the items our service members and veterans need. Soldiers’ Angels sends thousands of care packages to deployed individuals every year. Your family can help by collecting items for their annual Go Camo Care Package Collection drive. Items that need to be collected for care packages include hygiene and personal care items, snack care items, and downtime items. Click here and scroll down for the complete list of items needed.

Contact: inkind@soldiersangels.org.

Date/Time: Saturday, April 20, 9 a.m.-noon.

Location: Fairground Park Native Garden, 3948 W. Florissant

Ages: Everyone is welcome to participate.

Time Commitment: Three hours.

Kick off your Earth Day Weekend festivities by helping the local environment and supporting the community! Join North Newstead Association for the Fairground Neighborhood Earth Day Clean Up from 9 am to noon at the Fairground Native Garden. All are welcome, and tools will be provided. Please wear closed-toe shoes. Stick around for lunch after the cleanup event!

Contact: Casey Ringenberg, casey@northnewstead.org or 314.385.4343. Registration is available online.

Date/Time: Saturday, April 27.

Location: Lakeside 370 Park, 1000 Lakeside Park Drive, St. Peters.

Ages: Everyone can participate.

Time Commitment: Varies.

Walk MS brings together passionate people from communities across the country to rally for a world free of MS. Walk MS celebrates the resiliency of the nearly 1 million people living with MS in the United States. Each step you take will sync with the steps of thousands of others to make a difference like never before. Each year, thousands of people across the country join the Walk MS volunteer team. From planning event details and stuffing packets to cheering at the finish line, the work of Walk MS would not be possible without volunteers. Your family can help in a number of different ways. Or, you can make a difference by signing up and walking on walk day! There are a variety of volunteer opportunities that are family-friendly. Check out the volunteer registration page for available volunteer opportunities. Learn more about the walk here.

Contact: Amy Stock at amy.stock@nmss.org. Choose a volunteer position here or click here to register to walk.

Date/Time: Saturday, May 4, 9 a.m.–3:30 p.m.

Location: Westminster Christian Academy, 800 Maryville Centre Dr., Town & Country.

Ages: Families are welcome to volunteer together. We ask that if you are bringing someone under the age of 16 that they are paired up with an adult from your group.

Time Commitment: Varies depending on activity.

The mission of Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy, and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills, and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes, and the community. Volunteers are needed to help with a variety of activities at the St. Louis Metro area Spring Games.

Contact: Jocelyn Diehl, diehl@somo.org or 314.961.7755. Registration is available online. Select the opportunity you are interested in and click through to follow the registration instructions.

Date/Time: Sunday, April 28, 10 a.m.–noon.

Location: 11 N. 4th Street, St. Louis. We will meet at the registration table outside the entrance to the park for check-in and to learn how to get started.

Ages: Families are welcome to participate.

Time Commitment: Two hours.

What creatures are thriving at Gateway Arch National Park? Citizen scientists like you can help us figure it out! We are hosting our first-ever BioBlitz, and everyone is invited. A BioBlitz is an event that focuses on finding and identifying as many species as possible in a specific area over a short period of time. At a BioBlitz, scientists, families, students, teachers, and other community members work together to get an overall count of the plants, animals, fungi, and other organisms that live in a place. Use your cell phone to take pictures of birds, insects, arachnids, and other creatures you see throughout the park. Your data will help the park, St. Louisans, and more know what creatures are where. Learn more here.

Contact: Barbara Michel, at barbara_michel@nps.gov. Registration is available online.