20+ Places to Volunteer in Austin, Texas
There are so many ways to help in Austin, Texas!
Everything’s bigger in Texas, including the love y’all have for your communities. We are honestly impressed at your passion for making Austin such a great city. And now, you can sign up for events to volunteer in Austin on POINT!
What is POINT?
POINT is a free app that lets you pick the causes you care most about, and curates a feed for you with volunteering opportunities for nonprofits working on those causes in your city. Just tap “go” and show up! It’s basically ClassPass for volunteering, with metrics on your profile that track your impact. Keep scrolling to find a list of volunteer events in Austin you can sign up for with a tap.
Download free for iOS or Android, or get started on the web here.
Are you a nonprofit? Get started here.
Volunteer in Austin for food security
Pre-COVID, over 4 million Texans were food insecure. Now, that number is around 5 million. We all will be feeling the economic effects for a long time, so making sure everyone in our community is fed is really important. If you can donate food to a local food pantry, do that, or pitch in to help distribute!
Nonprofits for food security in Austin
Meals on Wheels: You might know that they deliver meals to homebound seniors, but did you also know they have programs to help seniors care for their pets, provide in-home care, and fund home repairs? Pretty awesome. Volunteer on POINT!
Central Texas Food Bank: They feed an average of 200,000 clients per month, and have lots of other things to get involved with–a community kitchen, a garden, advocacy groups, and programs to help feed the kids that qualify for free and reduced lunch over the weekends and summers.
Volunteer in Austin for education
There are so many ways to get involved in tutoring, mentoring, or the arts. If you love helping kiddos learn and grow, check out these opportunities!
Nonprofits for education in Austin
E4 Youth: This awesome organization engages, educates, employs, and empowers creative youth in Austin. They have clubs in area high schools and the University of Texas at Austin. Volunteer on POINT!
Code2College: This program has after school trainings and workshops to provide education, experience, and exposure to technology and other STEM industries. They focus on engaging low-income, female, Latinx, and Black students. Volunteer on POINT!
Side by Side Kids: Austin’s only free Christian after-school program which aims to empower disadvantaged kids through academic excellence and faith-based programming. They serve nearly 300 kids across 4 elementary schools. Volunteer on POINT!
Andy Roddick Foundation: Pro tennis player Andy Roddick started this foundation 20 years ago to help kids explore possibilities in sports, STEM, art, and literacy to find their passions, and make sure that they are engaging their minds and bodies during the summer months when statistically, they’re more likely to fall behind. Volunteer on POINT!
Girlstart: Are you passionate about introducing girls to the wonderful world of STEM? Because same. Their high quality, innovative, informal education program provides year-round skills development for K-12 girls.
American Youthworks: Their mission is to give young people opportunities to build careers, strengthen communities, and improve the environment. You can volunteer as a career mentor, guest speaker, tutor, or volunteer your skills like maintenance or event photography.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas: One of the biggest predictors of success is having a supportive adult in a child’s life. If you love cultivating relationships with people, this is right up your alley.
Volunteer in Austin for the environment
Climate change is going to make places like Texas even hotter and drier, so it’s more important than ever to support the environmental groups in Austin. You can help rehabilitate wild spaces, plant trees, establish community gardens, clean up parks, and more! Here’s a starting POINT for ya (get it?!).
Nonprofits for the environment in Austin
Urban Roots: Cultivate future leaders AND food for your neighbors by volunteering at this urban farm. Get down and dirty while providing thousands of pounds of fresh food for the community and hunger relief agencies.
Keep Austin Beautiful: It’s the woooooorst when people treat the Earth like a trashcan. Why not do something about it? Clean up and beautify public spaces, or educate others in your community on environmental topics!
Austin Parks Foundation: Public parks are great, and you can help make them healthier, safer, and more accessible for everyone in Austin! Currently, they aim to help correct Austin’s past racist policies, and are supporting parks and working with communities in underserved areas to address their needs.
Volunteer in Austin for equality
Black lives matter, love is love, and representation matters. If you’re passionate about social justice and (finally) achieving equality in the United States, check out these opportunities.
Nonprofits for equality in Austin
The New Philanthropists: Nonprofits predominantly serve communities of color, and this organization works to create more racially diverse and inclusive nonprofit boards by building a pipeline to leadership. Volunteer on POINT!
Out Youth: They provide safe places for youth of all sexual orientations and gender identities to be themselves to promote the educational, mental, emotional, physical, and social development of LGBTQ+ youth.
Volunteer in Austin for Poverty
Since 2001, the cost of rent has risen by 3% each year, while the average income has actually dropped by .1% annually. More families are struggling to meet needs, and benefit from a supportive community.
Nonprofits for poverty in Austin
Austin Sunshine Camps: When you give children the chance to go to camp and interact with the beauty of nature while forming new friendships, you invest in their development and success. These 5-day camps are free for kids who qualify for free or reduced lunches, or who are in foster care. Volunteer on POINT!
Volunteer in Austin with animals
Nothing feels better than a fluffy little bundle of joy wagging its tail or purring when it sees you. Give yourself a boost, volunteer with animals!
Nonprofits for animals in Austin
Austin Pets Alive!: Leaders in the no-kill movement, they are a shelter determined to provide every animal in Austin with a true chance at life. You can foster animals (adorable) or volunteer at the shelter (so fun)!
Volunteer in Austin for community development
With our communities still trying to get #overCOVID, we all need to pitch in to help the people in our cities recover. Volunteering to help with community housing, support, or development initiatives is a great way to get involved and engaged in your city.
Nonprofits for community development in Austin
Habitat for Humanity: Get in a workout while building or repairing homes, or have some much-needed human interaction at Habitat’s discount home improvement shop, ReStore.
Hill Country Community Ministries: Be a good neighbor and volunteer here! You can help out at the food pantry or the thrift store.
SaulPaul Foundation: With a mission to help kids make better choices to create better lives, they use entertainment, tech, and school programs to empower students to achieve great things in STEM, the arts, and physical fitness. Volunteer on POINT!
Volunteer in Austin for health
Are you an aspiring medical student? Or do you love helping your friends get healthier? Have you watched every episode of Grey’s? If you said yes to any of these, then check out these great organizations below.
Nonprofits for health in Austin
Ronald McDonald House: For decades RMDH has been helping the families of sick kids stay close by, giving them needed resources and places to rest. There are plenty of ways to volunteer, including bringing or cooking food for meals for the families staying there.
People’s Community Clinic: They provide affordable primary care to 17,000 people. You can volunteer in their Resource Room, or apply to be a resident, researcher, or intern.
Colin’s Hope: Their mission is to provide water safety awareness and prevent children from drowning. They host an annual non-competitive children’s triathlon every year — how cute is that!
There’s no shortage of ways to volunteer in Austin!
Check out these great organizations, and follow us @pointapp on Instagram and Twitter to keep up with the growing number of nonprofits on our platform.
If you know of a nonprofit that you think should be on POINT, scroll down on our homepage and invite them!
If you are a nonprofit, check out all of our features here. We exist to make your lives easier, please reach out! If you are a school or a company interested in using POINT to engage your students/employees, we would love to chat with you! Book a time with our Head of Outreach, Stephanie.
We love seeing you #domoregood 🧡
POINT
P.S. We also have a whole list of ways to get involved in Columbus and Cincinnati!
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