How to Volunteer in Salt Lake City, Utah
Looking to volunteer in Salt Lake City, Utah? We’ve gotchu! This beaUTAHful state is pretty great—we’ve got fry sauce, it’s where Sandlot was filmed, and ironically it’s the site of the first Kentucky Fried Chicken. But did you also know that Utah has the highest volunteer involvement in the nation?! We simply love to see it 😍
Salt Lake residents deeply connect with volunteering and helping. There is no shortage of things to care about, either. Whether it’s our four-legged friends, assisting in breaking the cycle of poverty, supporting our young people, or caring for our incredible wildlands, we’re here to POINT you in the right direction to do more good in real life.
However, we don’t want you to be salty without volunteer opportunities (haha, get it? 😉 ), so check out the ways below to volunteer in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Ok, wait, 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 opportunities in Salt Lake.
Download free for iOS or Android, or get started on the web here.
Are you a nonprofit? Get started for free here.
Volunteer with Animals in Salt Lake City
Whether you like dogs, cats, fish, birds, or anything in between, there are many ways to volunteer to support animals in Salt Lake City, Utah.
You might find yourself volunteering in Salt Lake City by walking dogs, cleaning cat cages, or even socializing with bunnies.
- The Humane Society of Utah is dedicated to helping all animals find their forever homes. You would have the opportunity to work in partnership with staff as they work to save the lives of homeless pets.
- Tracy Aviary is one of two free-standing aviaries in the nation and has grown to become an SLC landmark. From hands-on education to conservation, Tracy Aviary has something to spark curiosity in everyone. You can cultivate that curiosity in our young people or maybe even help keep tabs on migratory birds throughout SLC.
- At Utah’s Hogle Zoo volunteers are instrumental to the conservation and education opportunities offered. You can help animal keepers with animal welfare and inspire conservation by volunteering.
- Community Animal Welfare Society is entirely volunteer-led and dedicated to animals throughout our Utah communities. You can help ensure that our furry friends have safe, loving, and forever homes.
- Ruff Haven Crisis Sheltering provides temporary homes to companion animals when their humans are experiencing difficult situations. You can help keep animals with their human families while decreasing the strain on our animal shelters.
- Intermountain Therapy Animals supports volunteers who want to bring their furry family members into therapeutic centers. Bring your furry friend along for this one!
Volunteer to Help End Poverty in Salt Lake City
In Salt Lake City, 1 in 5 people live below the poverty line. Compared to the rest of the state, SLC has a significantly higher percentage of residents living in poverty. There is no one-size-fits-all when addressing this in our communities and with those experiencing difficulty in life, but the organizations below do what they can to help.
Likewise, you can help lift this pressure by volunteering for an organization below.
- Volunteers of America, Utah, serves 8,000 young people and adults each year. They have opportunities for everyone’s schedule. From organizing donations to serving meals to gardening at their Center for Women and Children, you’ll definitely find a way to help that you’re excited about.
- Catholic Community Services supports those who are unsheltered, experiencing food insecurity, and refugees finding their way into a new life. You can find ways to be involved that align with the issues our world is facing that you’ree most passionate about.
- People Helping People is dedicated to supporting women in reaching their work goals. Breaking the cycle of poverty starts with supporting women to earn a living wage. You can help women learn new skills and build their networks.
- Utah Community Action provides in-depth support and resources to help individuals fight the cycle of poverty. Through educational opportunities for both adults and children, housing and utility assistance, and nutrition programs, there are many ways you can be involved.
- Circles Salt Lake facilitates building friendships and community for individuals and families experiencing difficulties in life. These supportive relationships help people move from surviving to thriving in an ever-disconnected world. You can be a part of someone’s journey out of poverty.
Volunteer to End Hunger In Salt Lake City
Did you know that 1 in 9 children in Utah have no idea where their next meal will come from? Tragic. There are so many incredible nonprofits in Salt Lake City fighting to end hunger.
Consequently, volunteers are needed to (literally) feed your neighbors
- Utah Food Bank provides meals to millions each year and depends on Utah volunteers’ giving nature (we have a powerful volunteer community here!). You can help in the warehouse, at family nights, running a food drive, or even help at Kids’ Cafes.
- The Green Urban Lunchbox is an urban garden that brings the community together to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to people experiencing food insecurity and hunger. You can help harvest fruit from neglected trees (think homeowners’ yards, orchards, etc.) or maybe become a Garden Apprentice to help our elders with their home gardens.
- Waste Less Solutions takes edible, good food that would end up in the landfill and distributes it throughout the SLC valley. You can be a food rescuer, go to food donors (restaurants, convention centers, hotels, etc.), and then deliver the food to nonprofits that work with those experiencing food insecurity.
- Crossroads Urban Center provides Emergency Food Pantries throughout the SLC valley. You can help at their downtown and westside food pantries supporting low-income and homeless community members with food boxes and bags.
- Thanksgiving Heroes wants to make sure that no family goes hungry on Thanksgiving. You can help deliver meals to families in need (meals are delivered the Saturday before the holiday).
Volunteer to Support Education In Salt Lake City
If “teacher” was your answer to the “what do you want to be when you grow up” questions when you were a kid, these volunteer in Salt Lake City opportunities are for you. Or for anyone else who wants to support education in Salt Lake City. We don’t gatekeep around here 🧡
As a result, you can help expand folk’s horizons with these organizations:
- Girl Scouts of Utah have been making the world a better place in Utah for 100 years! (that’s a long time 😳). When you volunteer, you prepare girls to empower themselves through activities like camping, community service, and earning badges. Ummm, sign us up!
- Neighborhood House supports all ages through summer programs for children and daycare and support services for adults who need supervised care during the day. You can get involved with senior activities (Bingo!) and school-age play, or if you are more of an organizer, you can even help keep their library organized for those new readers.
- English Skills Learning Center provides English language classes in libraries, schools, community centers, and even apartment complexes. They are meeting people where they are at. Can you imagine coming to a new country, trying to go grocery shopping, AND trying to learn a new language?! You can help our new neighbors learn English so they can confidently navigate their new country.
- TechCharities helps families and students with access to refurbished computers. After businesses and others donate the computers, you can help refurbish them to help those who would not otherwise have access to technology. Moreover, did we mention we lovveeee organizations that support nonprofits with tech? Aka, us, POINT 😉
- Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum was built for the many ways children learn and to help parents understand and support their children’s development. You will help families connect through play and hands-on activities.
Volunteer to Support Community Health in Salt Lake City
Healthy communities do not happen without prioritizing the health of individuals in those communities. These nonprofits know that, live it every day, and provide the full spectrum of support that we as humans need.
Most importantly, you can absolutely help save lives by volunteering in Salt Lake City with these nonprofits.
- Holy Cross Ministries responds to underserved communities’ need for health and well-being through early childhood education, health outreach, mental health counseling, and legal immigration support. You can get involved through their school readiness program, assist with translation (Spanish), or provide support to community health workers.
- Utah Health and Human Rights promote the health, dignity, and self-sufficiency of those who have endured torture and severe war trauma. They provide low-barrier, integrated services that support the growth and self-sufficiency of refugees and asylum seekers. You can help by providing transportation, childcare, or mentoring one of their clients.
- Utah Pride Center works with the LGBTQ+ community through education and support services. You can help with their annual pride festival and through their peer-to-peer mentorship program.
Healthcare focused nonprofits:
- Eye Care 4 Kids provides access to eye care to low-income, visually-impaired children and underserved families through vision screenings, mobile clinics, and finding the right glasses and contact lenses. You can be involved by assisting patients at clinics, dressing up as See-More Bear (OMG mascot volunteering!), or reading to children.
- Maliheh Free Clinic provides free, same-day urgent medical care services, including family healthcare, pediatric, medication access, immunizations, women’s health, and more. Opportunities for you to get involved include patient technicians, nurses, Spanish interpreters, resource access, medication assistance, and trainer/leadership positions.
- Project Embrace provides medical equipment and resources to low-income, isolated, marginalized, or low-resourced communities. You can help by cleaning and refurbishing donated equipment delivered to those who need it most but would not otherwise have access to it.
Volunteer to Support Equal Rights in Salt Lake City
The lived experiences of people throughout Salt Lake are varied, unique, and valid. We as a society will thrive when we are all created equal, regardless of race, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, lived experiences, or beliefs. However, there are still people experiencing unequal treatment and harm because of their differences.
To sum up, if this bothers you (it definitely bothers us), the nonprofits below need you to volunteer.
- Disabled Rights Action Committee focuses on the rights of people with disabilities, including access to affordable housing and helping people avoid unnecessary institutionalization. And keeping our state’s businesses, government, entertainment venues, and restaurants complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Together, you can help make sure the rights of people with disabilities are heard and protected.
- The INN Between works with adults experiencing homelessness who need hospice care, medical treatment, and a safe place to recuperate from illnesses, injuries, and surgeries. Accordingly, you can help by being a companion to adults experiencing homelessness. So that they can experience the end of life with dignity, recuperate from an illness, and receive life-saving medical treatment
- Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault builds relationships and collaborations that strengthen effective sexual violence education, prevention, and response in Utah. You can help with day-to-day tasks, tabling events, or research projects.
- Sego Lily Center for Abused Deaf assists and empowers Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf/Blind victims/survivors of abuse. You can join their board, help with events or in the office, or by becoming a victim advocate.
- MenHealing conducts healing workshops for men who have experienced sexual abuse or sexual assault. You can be a part of the community that serves, supports, and builds survivors.
Volunteer through Art in Salt Lake City
If you love museums, classical music, being creative through a DIY mindset, or being around a community of artists, SLC has what you need. You can volunteer in Salt Lake City with any of the nonprofits below.
As a result, grow your creative skills, bring more awareness to the importance of the arts, or maybe even add some punk to the S.T.E.A.M. world 🤘
- Craft Lake City brings DIY creators and local artists together throughout Utah’s arts community. Together, you can help at their Annual DIY festival (August), workshops and outreach events to bring innovative and imaginative people together.
- Mundi Project wants everyone (no matter their socioeconomic status or generational spectrums) to have access to musical classes, performances, and instruments. You can become an ambassador and share your love of music with others.
- Utah Symphony Utah Opera brings live performances to life that inspire creativity and love of the art. You can help at their events, ensuring everyone attending has a wonderful experience (and for each shift you work, you get a free ticket to a show!).
- Clever Octopus is reducing what goes into our landfills by repackaging and distributing donated arts and crafts supplies. You can help create take-home kits, research waste-based social enterprises, or bring a group and make an even bigger impact. AND volunteers receive some pretty sweet swag (check ’em out).
- S.T.E.A.M.punk Academy takes S.T.E.A.M. and flips it on its head through a punk filter (their events are “radically inclusive, howlingly irreverent, and wicked smart”). Subsequently, you can help create the next event that brings this vision to life!
Volunteer to help the Environment In Salt Lake City
Whether you are concerned about the Great Salt Lake drying up, are invested in the conversations around Bears Ears, spend your weekends along the Jordan River, or are an avid hiker, there are many ways to support the protection and improvement of our wild spaces. Check out the list of incredible organizations working to protect our environment.
- TreeUtah is on a mission to fill public spaces throughout Utah with trees and has planted over 400K with the help of 185K volunteers! You could be one of those volunteers (personally, we’d have FOMO not being one of those 185,000 climate activists!) by helping plant trees, being a team leader, or helping in their EcoGarden.
- Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance works tirelessly to preserve Utah’s red rock wild lands by working with concerned citizens. Yes, “concerned citizen” pretty much sums up how we feel about the current climate crisis. 🤯 You can help with stewardship projects, at outreach events, partnering with the Latinx community, and sharing your skills in audio and media production.
Additionally, if you have a few free hours after work or school, here are more ways you can help on your own time:
- Bring an extra garbage bag on your next hike and pick up litter along the way.
- When it rains, make sure your sprinklers are turned off (mother nature is watering for you!)
- Stay educated!
- The Utah Recycling Alliance works to create a Zero Waste way of life through, and if you’re the person at the party always picking beer cans from the trash and bagging them up to be recycled, this could be the opportunity for you! You can help with their Fix-It Clinics, Bag the Bag campaign, networking events, education and advocacy campaigns, film screenings, Pop Up! CHaRMs and their Zero Waste Awards.
- The Nature Conservancy brings people together to help solve today’s biggest challenges, from climate change and habitat loss to protecting clean water. Psst: did you know there are local groups of the Nature Conservancy all across the country? You can help with conservation projects, outreach events, and more.
- The Jordan River Foundation supports the maintenance of the Jordan River Walkway, including the development of recreation opportunities, water quality, and wildlife resources. We 🧡 the Jordan River, so let’s keep it clean and safe here, people! You can help with trailhead cleanups, storm drain clearing and maintenance, and restoration work.
Ok, wait, 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 opportunities in Salt Lake.
Download free for iOS or Android, or get started on the web here.
Are you a nonprofit? Get started for free here.
Volunteer in Salt Lake City, Utah
Hope this list was helpful. Did we miss a nonprofit or a volunteer opportunity? Let us know here, and we’ll update this blog!
There are so many ways to do more good in real life (stop doom-scrolling!) in Salt Lake City. Don’t forget to send us pictures of your volunteer experience or tag us on social @pointapp 🧡
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