Volunteering is one of the very best ways to understand the impact Whole Kids and Whole Cities partner organizations have in your community! Whether you are volunteering as an individual or as part of a group - you get to see first-hand how much work goes into solving some of the most challenging issues of our time.
We always remind people about the Whole Cities Community First Principle, Seek to Understand, when volunteering. You may have the urge to improve processes or change the way things are done. Before doing so, observe, ask questions and learn why things are the way they are. Before making any changes - discuss your suggestions with your volunteer coordinator.
Remember - you are there for the organization’s benefit!
Volunteering with your team is an amazing way to bond and learn more about the community and each other. A few tips:
You are welcome to use our grant recipient database to find a school near you that has received WKF support. Reaching out by phone can be a good place to begin - request to speak with the garden or volunteer coordinator.
Volunteering at Schools
One of our school's jobs is to keep our kids safe. They take security very seriously. At this time, we do not recommend volunteering at a local school and instead, reach out to local youth organizations that are staffed to support volunteer events.
Our Community First Partners are a wonderful way to experience locally lead solutions to food access and nutrition education in your community. You can find a list of organizations we have supported here. We recommend reaching out to the Team Member who nominated the organization to coordinate a volunteer activity. Search through Team Members by grant year here.
Having the following information ready will help you in planning the best experience:
Inspire your fellow Team Members by hosting your own volunteer event! Help Team Members learn more about Whole Kids and Whole Cities' work to take action and get involved.
Explore ideas for volunteer activities and discover resources to create your own unique and localized activities.
If you're a Global Team based in Austin, we have some great partners that host standing volunteer days to join. Austin’s Public Radio Station (KUT) also has a Get Involved feature where they spotlight a different organization using volunteer support each month. Check out this link for information and stories!
Austin Organizations with Regular Volunteer Opportunities:
* Recent grant recipients.
Stay up to date on our grant programs and how our favorite schools and organizations are doing!
Stay up to date on our grant programs and how our favorite schools and organizations are doing!
