Opportunities From: Berkeley Lab

The Solano Stroll is the largest street festival in the East Bay, and it is a great way for the Lab to share with the local community more about who we are and what we do.  We are looking for volunteers to join us on Sunday, September 14th, to help staff the booth throughout the day.

Register for a shift below! 

Stand Down on the Delta is a “hand up” event dedicated to supporting homeless and at-risk veterans in Contra Costa County. Taking place September 12–14, 2025, at the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds in Antioch, CA, the event offers veterans services in medical, dental, housing, job placement, mental health, and drug and alcohol counseling.

Volunteer opportunities begin as early as September 8th. To explore available shifts and sign up, please register directly on the Stand Down on the Delta website.

Be A Mentor is dedicated to empowering youth by connecting them with caring, dedicated adults who can provide guidance, support, and encouragement. Be A Mentor programs include both in-person and virtual mentorship opportunities, where mentors commit just one hour a week for a year to build meaningful relationships that foster confidence, personal growth, and success. We seek volunteers who are compassionate, reliable, and eager to make a positive impact on young people's lives. Whether supporting educational goals, helping with community events, or simply being a consistent presence, our volunteers play a vital role in helping youth thrive.

Meals on wheels need volunteers to pack or deliver food to help ensure nutritious, fresh meals get to Berkeley’s homebound seniors. 

Sign up to volunteer with Meals on Wheels by reaching out to them by phone or email:

Volunteer by yourself or with a friend, and help brighten up a senior’s day.

Volunteers help pack and deliver meals for seniors across Berkeley. You can choose to pack meals, deliver meals, or do both.

You can expect to make 8-15 deliveries during your shift, which should take about an hour of driving.

You can also request a walking or biking route to make deliveries without a car.

Meals on Wheels volunteer shifts are on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. To volunteer to help pack meals, please arrive by 8:00 am. To volunteer to make deliveries, please arrive between 10:00 – 11:00 am.

You will begin your shift at the Meals on Wheels office:

1925 9th St.
Berkeley, CA 94710

 Requirements

You must be 18 or older to volunteer on your own. Volunteers under 18 are also welcome with adult supervision. Meals on wheels will conduct a background check on all volunteers.

To volunteer, you must provide proof of up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination. You are up-to-date on vaccinations if you meet one of the following conditions:

Please wear a mask while volunteering to protect the safety of our staff, seniors, and fellow volunteers.

To volunteer as a driver, you will need a valid driver’s license, a vehicle, and current auto insurance. You should be able to lift at least 25 lbs.

To start volunteering, please reach out to us by phone or email:

We will ask you to fill out a volunteer application form. We will also ask you to give consent for us to run a background check. Once those steps are complete, Meal on wheels will coordinate a day for your first delivery shift!

Meals on Wheels delivers meals to homebound seniors across Berkeley. These healthy meals help ensure that seniors are able to get the nutrition they need while living at home. Volunteers play a vital role in providing reliable and friendly delivery service.

The number of clients enrolled in Meals on Wheels has risen from about 140 in 2019 to around 220 today. In our 2021 fiscal year, we served 86,670 meals—a 33% increase from the previous fiscal year.

The program is open to any senior 60 and older who is unable to prepare a balanced meal for themselves. Learn more about how to sign up for Meals on Wheels and other nutrition programs for seniors.

Become a Tech Volunteer for Ashby Village

Ashby Village is a vibrant East Bay nonprofit organization that harnesses the power of a peer-to-peer approach to connect older adults with each other and resources to age well and to remain active and engaged in the places they call home.

Tech volunteers provide technical assistance to members who need support. Even if you consider yourself a basic technology user, your skills are valuable!

Here’s how you can help:

Volunteers get to meet and learn from other great volunteers with a wide range of skills and backgrounds, and have the opportunity to strengthen and broaden their skills by teaching others. Share in the joy villagers' experience when they learn something new or solve a problem, and get to know the wonderful people in the village community! Volunteer for as little as an hour or two a month. Those you help will be deeply appreciative.

To learn more about volunteering with Ashby Village contact Jessica Sterling, Volunteer Services Coordinator, at jessica@ashbyvillage.org or complete a volunteer application online here.

Homies Empowerment is an independent, grassroots community-based organization out of East Oakland. They started as a volunteer-run, Jefferson Award-winning, after-school program taking on an approach and a way of seeing gang-impacted youth through an asset-based lens. To provide spaces where youth can heal, thrive and self-actualize, they mirror the positive assets that attract young people to gangs: a sense of belonging, protection, rites of passage, and meeting basic needs. Their after-school program evolved to full-fledged Ethnic Studies and Leadership courses offered throughout Oakland schools.

With the onset of COVID-19, they went from being exclusively a youth-development and educational-focused organization to one that stands in solidarity with the entire community to help meet their urgent food and basic needs. Their Block Clean-Up Crew also came together to contribute to a clean and dignified community environment.

Currently, Homies is operating a Community Care Center, Learning Center, and several food access programs out of their FREEdom Store: Tuesday food distribution, Love Packages, and Loaves and Fishes.

Interested in Volunteering with Homies? Email VolunteerAtHomies@gmail.com or fill out the Volunteer form using this link. 

Share your enthusiasm for science and spark the imagination of visiting families and schoolchildren.

How to Apply

If you're interested in the adult STEM ambassador program, complete the application. You will be contacted for upcoming orientation sessions.

The date for our next adult volunteer orientation will be posted in 2021. Sign up today to attend the upcoming orientation.

The STEM Ambassador Orientation is a two-hour event for new volunteers to learn about the Hall’s mission, programs, and different ambassador opportunities. It provides new ambassadors with a chance to learn about the benefits and/or challenges of being an ambassador for the Hall. STEM Ambassadors will take a tour of the Hall, talk to current ambassadors, and see them in action facilitating in some of the areas where they will be working.

Benefits of Becoming a STEM Ambassador

What is the Commitment?

LEAP is a free program sponsored by the Richmond Public Library in which tutors and learners work one-on-one or in small groups. LEAP's purpose is to help adults develop the skills and confidence they need to achieve their individual goals.

In 1984, The Richmond Public Library started one of the original library-based adult literacy programs.  With the startling recognition that 1 out of 5 adults in our country lacked the basic literacy skills for full participation in community and economic sphere, funding became available for new programs.  Since that time, Richmond residents enrolled in LEAP for a variety of purposes. At first it was to improve basic reading and writing skills, but as time passed LEAP recognized community needs, expanding its services to GED preparation, English as a Second Language, math literacy and computer literacy.

To learn more about this opportunity, visit the LEAP website