Our local communities desperately need volunteers. Read about some new volunteer opportunities. You can sign up for them and learn about local agencies all through a free service available to you as a member of the BC community.
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As we continue to move towards a new normal, local non-profits, faith-based agencies, advocacy groups, and government offices can use a lot of help.
Volunteering is a great way to learn about your community while making an impact. You can sign up, log hours, earn badges, and create a volunteer resume, all through a free service available to you as a BC student. Make your community a better place.
The RISE Learning Institute: Rise partners with nearly 200 local non-profit and government agencies from North Shore to North Bend, from Maple Valley to Pioneer Square, many of which have volunteer opportunities available to you. Some are in-person, and others virtual. Some require long and deep commitments, and others occur once. Below are some examples of upcoming and urgent opportunities:
21 Acres: Want to help our community access books? We need an individual or a small group of volunteers willing to steward our campus library by inventorying books, maintaining our online library software (Librarika), and processing new donations in our physical library at the 21 Acres building.
Essentials First: Come and learn about the issue of hygiene poverty and how it impacts low-income families and refugees. Participate in packing events and join a growing group of advocates who are increasing awareness of this issue.
Racially Restrictive Covenants Project: This is a great opportunity to experience in-person archival work and work with primary source documents. Our project needs help looking through Kitsap County property records to find and record racial restrictive covenants. These restrictions were used in the past to exclude non-white groups from living in many neighborhoods and communities.
Renewal Food Bank: Join Renewal Food Bank on a weekly basis! There are two types of shifts: Grocery Ride Along and Operational Hours. For Grocery Ride Along, you partner with our Transportation Manager to pick up food from our grocery partners. For Operational Hours, you help families as they shop at our grocery-style food bank.
These are just a few of many volunteer opportunities listed in BC’s online volunteer portal, BC in the Community. This portal is free for anyone at the College, and registration is very quick (start with “LOGIN” at the top!). Once in, you can learn about the many community organizations we partner with, see more volunteer opportunities, log hours after you volunteer, create a volunteer resume, and earn digital badges. Volunteering builds lifelong skills, exposes you to different communities and identities, and looks great in a resume!
The RISE Learning Institute has some short user guides and instructional videos to help you make the most of your visit to BC in the Community. Additionally, if you would like to talk with someone at the RISE Learning Institute about how to find the right opportunity for your interests and location, how to build your volunteer experience into your resume or LinkedIn, and/or how else you can make an impact on your community, send us an email.
Organizations need your help. We hope that you find a way to head out into your communities and make a difference.
Last Updated January 18, 2023