Custom Service Opportunities or Events for Teams or Employee Engagement

See our group volunteering guidelines for corporate and organizational partners:
  • Advance Planning: Please submit your request at least 4–6 weeks before your desired date to allow time for coordination with our nonprofit partners.
  • Group Size: Ideal group sizes vary depending on the type of activity. We will help identify a service project that suits your group’s size, goals, and interests.
  • Cost Consideration: While our public programming remains free for families, we are a nonprofit ourselves. Customized group service experiences include a programming fee to support staff time, planning, and any necessary materials.

Indirect Service Projects

These are projects you can do at home to help various organizations. Visit www.generationserve.org/projectideas or websites for Doing Good Together or The Volunteer Family for comprehensive resources. Always contact recipient organizations before starting to confirm needs and guidelines. The listed resources are collections of referrals to other organizations that may assist you in planning their group volunteering needs.
  • Make care kits or toiletry kits for those in need: Car kits are simple Ziploc bags with some basic needs items like socks, water, crackers/granola bars, and hygiene products. Toiletry kits are Ziploc bags filled with basic grooming items. For either kit, add a homemade card to give it a personal touch. Deliver these to homeless shelters or human services agencies or keep them in your car to give our when appropriate.
  • Make a birthday kit for a foster or homeless child: An organization called Pop Up Birthday wants to ensure that every child has a birthday party. Volunteers prepare a “birthday box” with cake mix, icing, sprinkles, paper goods, decorations, and a card. Visit popupbirthday.org.
  • Make a move-in kit for formerly homeless or refugee families: Local Austin shelters need Move In Kits for people and families who have just been placed in their own home. Often, they are starting out with very little or even nothing. Move In Kits usually include the basic necessities, like a new trash can filled with towels, toilet paper, a few kitchen necessities, and a “welcome home” card, but needs vary by program. Contact Natalie at nfreeburg@fronsteps.org or Maureen at maureen.engle@lifeworksaustin.org if you are interested in kits for homeless clients of Front Steps or LifeWorks, or contact Patti at posadaesperanza@casamarianella.org if you want to make kits for refugee families at Casa Marianella.
  • Make cards for Cards for Hospitalized Kids: Brighten a child’s day with a fun, cheerful, handmade card! This organization sends uplifting cards to children in hospitals across America. Please see cardsforhospitalizedkids.com for guidelines.
  • Make blankets for Project Linus: Share comfort with a child in need by making a blanket to donate. This organization gives blankets to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need. See projectlinus.org for specifics.
  • Make dog/cat toys or blankets for local animal shelters
  • Adopt a garden plot or a local park to keep clean and beautiful: Visit austinparks.org/programs/adopt-a-park/. Support the military: Visit amillionthanks.org or texvet.org/partners/military-moms-texas for ideas.

Direct Service

Contact these organizations directly to find out what opportunities they might have for your group. If you’d like to arrange for us to design a private group volunteering experience for a programming fee, contact development@generationserve.org for more details.

Organizations Focused on Food & Hunger Relief:

Central Texas Food Bank

centraltexasfoodbank.org Austin’s largest food bank, the Central Texas Food Bank welcomes groups to help with a variety of tasks. See their volunteer opportunity page for information. This is for ages 8 and up only.

Mobile Loaves & Fishes

mlf.org Opportunities, including gardening, harvesting, truck make-ready teams, and meal delivery are available to support Mobile Loaves & Fishes efforts to provide food, clothing, and dignity to the homeless in need.

Meals on Wheels Central Texas

mealsonwheelscentraltexas.org Deliver meals or grocery shop in support of Meals on Wheels’ efforts to nourish and enrich the lives of homebound families and individuals through programs that promote dignity and independent living.

Organizations Focused on Environmental & Parks Work:

Keep Austin Beautiful

keepaustinbeautiful.org Visit the Keep Austin Beautiful website to view an online volunteer calendar or to get information on how to organize your own clean-up.

Austin Parks Foundation

austinparks.org Sign up via their website to join one of their three big work days – It’s My Park Day (Mar.), National Trails Day (Jun.), and National Public Lands Day (Sep.), or smaller work days throughout the year.

Opportunities in Senior Care:

Assisted Living & Memory Care Residences

Many assisted living, memory care, and adult day care facilities welcome groups to do arts and crafts, games, or read with their residents. Simply call and inquire.

Opportunities in Other Categories:

Foundation Communities

foundcom.org Volunteers can make lunch for residents and assist with other tasks in support of Foundation Communities’ mission of providing quality, affordable housing and support services for thousands of low income families and individuals.

Hands On Central Texas

Sponsored by the United Way of Greater Austin, this is a great hub for many volunteer activities. Activities are sortable by interest area, age of the volunteers, and the size of the volunteer group.