Evidence shows volunteering helps people manage stress, feel connected, and increase self-confidence. Completing community service hours is more than checking a box off the to-do list... it’s learning about the joy of volunteering, learning new skills, and an opportunity to grow and discover new passions.
Learn about meaningful volunteer opportunities for youth! Print the attached list of opps in Santa Barbara County.
- PRINT: Volunteer Opportunities from our 2021 Aug Non-Profit Panel Workshop
- PRINT: Volunteer Opportunities in Spanish
Let's turn our empathy into action by serving the Santa Barbara community. Here are a few options in the county [Nov 2022]:
- Volunteer in your own neighborhood... walk someone's dog, visit with an elderly neighbor or offer to do their grocery shopping, tutor kids on your block, provide child care for a parent that could use a break, or go through your closets and donate clothes and toys that you are not using.
- - Get a group of friends or co-workers together and create Care Kits to keep in your car and give to those in need when you see them. PRINT: Create CARE KITS List
- - Cottage Health Hospitals: Consider spending your time at Goleta Valley, Santa Ynez Valley & Santa Barbara Cottage Hospitals. Volunteer opportunities include greeting or talking with patients, helping with aquatic therapy, sewing teddy bears, assisting in tasks for various departments, participating in the patient simulation lab, and much more.
- - Explore Ecology: Support environmental education and arts by taking photos, joining committees, beach pick-up or organizing their Creative ReUse Store. Open to high school students, college students, and adults.
- - Food Banks Santa Barbara County: Host a drive or donate food that encourages nutrition. Get more involved by volunteering in the warehouse, gathering leftover produce after a harvest, or providing help for community programs or events.
- - Santa Barbara Animal Rescue: Provide care to cats and dogs of SB County. Volunteers can choose from a variety of tasks that include feeding, training, cleaning, walking, foster care, or assisting at adoption events.
- - Santa Barbara County: Beach and Park Clean-Up Program: Help preserve our county’s coastal and inland resources! Form a group of 10 people that are a minimum of 10 years old for litter pick-up and bagging.
- - Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: Become an essential part of the museum. Youth ages 10+ can become exhibit interpreter volunteers, performing hands-on demonstrations and giving live animal presentations at the Sea Center. There are a variety of science teen volunteer programs. Adults can also present public planetarium shows, guide the Museum’s school programs, work with live birds, or assist with special events.
- - Santa Barbara Response Network: Become a caring volunteers with training in psychological first aid to provide compassionate social support in the aftermath of tragic events.
- - Santa Barbara Zoo: Form a group of at least 10 people that are ages 13+ to assist with horticulture, grounds, and maintenance staff. Another option for youth is to join the Teen Conservation Club, where teens spread awareness of local environmental issues and engage in conservation activities.
- - United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County: Support the county’s youth by becoming a tutor, mentor, sports coach, or referee. During this holiday season, lend a hand at their program events, including Thanksgiving Meal giveaway, Breakfast with Santa, and the Adopt-A-Family program.