San Mateo County Directory of Volunteer Opportunities for Homeschooling Families
Volunteer in San Mateo County
The organizations listed in this resource guide welcome kids and/or families as volunteers.
While there are well over 100 organizations listed we have
undoubtedly missed some great opportunities. If you know of any organizations that should
be added to this list or if you find broken links or incorrect information please
E-mail Diane Flynn Keith.
Special thanks to Melissa Grush of
Dry Creek Roots and Shoots, for compiling
this wonderful list of volunteer resources.
San Mateo County Directory
of Volunteer Opportunities for Homeschooling Families
Brief description of Organization: We plant trees in Redwood City in
cooperation with the City. We are a nonprofit, volunteer organization.
Brief description of volunteer need: We have several tree plantings
throughout the year on Saturdays. One child had their birthday party with us
and donated the money for the tree. We also have pruning events.
General area volunteer opportunity is located: Peninsula
City where volunteer opportunity is located: Redwood City
Fees required: Free
Age requirements: Any age, under 15 with adult supervision.
Contact Person: Paulette
Phone Number: 650-556-9380 ext. 4
Category: Environment
Brief description of Organization: Overlooking the San Francisco Bay,
Coyote Point Museum for Environmental Education provides a multi-sensory
introduction to the natural history of the Bay Area, with an Environmental Hall,
Wildlife Habitats and walk-through Aviary housing over 50 live animals, and
beautiful themed gardens. We seek to educate and engage our visitors and inspire
them to take care of our earth wisely.
Brief description of volunteer need: Teen and parent teams create memorable
visitor experiences by serving as roving weekend guides in the Wildlife Habitats and
by training to bring out some of our smaller education animals and interactive exhibits.
Teens may also assist with Camp Coyote in the summer as Leaders in Training.
General area volunteer opportunity is located: Peninsula
City where volunteer opportunity is located: San Mateo
Fees required: Roving guides are asked to participate in Wildlife and
Nature Interpretation training (3-part series; $40 fee per pair)
Age requirements: Age 13 and over
Contact Person: Lee Cauble
Phone Number: 650-340-7580
Category: Environment and Human Community
Brief description of Organization: The ReStore is a volunteer driven retail store that funds building Habitat homes by selling donated home improvement items to the public. Also, each month, ReStore recycles over 80,000 pounds of material, the equivalent weight of 4 semi-truck.
Brief description of volunteer need: Volunteers assist staff and regular volunteers with the daily operations of the store. Some days, this means sorting donations. Other days, this means arranging merchandise. At times, this means performing basic cleaning tasks or special projects.
City where volunteer opportunity is located: San Carlos
Fees required: None
Age requirements: We take volunteers 14 and older. Those under 16 need to have a parent with them, and anyone under 18 needs to have a minor waiver completed.
Contact Person: Michelle Kanda
Phone Number: 650-847-4000
Category: Environment and Human Community
Brief description of Organization: The Midpeninsula Regional Open
Space District's purpose is to purchase, permanently protect, and restore lands
forming a regional open space greenbelt, preserve unspoiled wilderness, wildlife
habitat, watershed, viewshed, and fragile ecosystems, and provide opportunities
for low-intensity recreation and environmental education.
The District works to form a continuous greenbelt of permanently preserved open space
by linking its lands with other public parklands. The District also participates in
cooperative efforts such as the Bay Trail, Ridge Trail, and Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail,
which are regional trail systems in the Bay Area that include District lands.
The District has permanently preserved over 57,000 acres of mountainous, foothill,
and bayland open space, creating 26 open space preserves (24 of which are open to
the public). The District covers an area of 550 square miles and includes 17 cities
(Atherton, Cupertino, East Palo Alto, Half Moon Bay, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills,
Los Gatos, Menlo Park, Monte Sereno, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Portola Valley,
Redwood City, San Carlos, Saratoga, Sunnyvale, and Woodside).
Brief description of volunteer need: Each year, over 500 volunteers
commit thousands of hours preserving and protecting open space lands by participating
in a variety of ways such as educating and inspiring visitors, constructing and
maintaining trails, and removing invasive, non-native vegetation.
General area volunteer opportunity is located: Peninsula & Santa Cruz Mountains
City where volunteer opportunity is located: All Cities in the greater
San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz Counties
Fees required: none
Age requirements: Age 14 and over for most projects; some allow younger
children. Requirements exist regarding parents working with their children (i.e.,
no drop offs allowed)
Contact Person: Paul McKowan, Volunteer Programs Coordinator
Phone Number: 650-691-1200
Category: Environment
Brief description of Organization: Guided by the humane ethic we build
healthy relationships between people and animals. Each year thousands of animals
pass through our doors. We provide a warm bed, nutritious food, veterinary care
and a gentle touch for the lost, stray, unwanted and injured domestic and wild
animals in our community.
Brief description of volunteer need: Various volunteer opportunities are
available. [Click here for details]
General area volunteer opportunity is located: Peninsula
City where volunteer opportunity is located: San Mateo
Fees required: none
Age requirements: 13-17 per program guideline outlined on our website.
Contact Person: Brian Probst
Phone Number: 650-340-7022 ext. 328
Category: Animals
Brief description of Organization: Save The Bay is the oldest and
largest organization working exclusively to protect, restore and celebrate San
Francisco Bay. As the Bay's leading champion since 1961, Save The Bay is committed
to making the Bay cleaner and healthier for people and wildlife.
Brief description of volunteer need: Save The Bay gives your family
the opportunity to help restore wetlands of San Francisco Bay! Our restoration
programs utilize community volunteers to plant native plants along the shoreline,
remove non-native weeds, collect native plant seeds, grow plants in our nurseries,
and help cleanup trash along the shoreline. These restoration activities improve
habitat for fish, birds, and other wildlife, and enhance our region's quality of
life. Our restoration programs can be a great learning experience for the whole
family. We welcome your children as long as you maintain control and responsibility
for them and their actions.
General area volunteer opportunity is located: East Bay, North Bay, Peninsula/South Bay
City where volunteer opportunity is located: Oakland, Hayward, Palo Alto,
Redwood City, and Mill Valley.
Fees required: No fee for land-based programs. For the Bair Island canoe
restoration program the price is $25 per person for Save The Bay members, $35 for
non-members.
Age requirements: None for land-based programs. For Bair Island canoe
restoration program the minimum age is 10 years old.
Contact Person: Sarah Lyons
Phone Number: 510-452-9261 ext. 119
Category: Environment
Brief description of Organization: Second Harvest Food Bank of
Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties has been providing services to the community
for 35 years. We are the single largest nonprofit provider of food to low-income
households in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties and are the seventh largest
food bank in the country. We provide food to an average of 163,000 individuals
each month. Of those we serve, 67% are families with children and 12% are seniors.
Brief description of volunteer need: Help sort food at our warehouses.
Volunteers inspect and categorize donated food products, label food packages and
repackage food items donated by individuals and food companies. Training is
provided at the beginning of each shift.
General area volunteer opportunity is located: Peninsula and South Bay
City where volunteer opportunity is located: San Jose, San Carlos
Fees required: none
Age requirements: none
Contact: Kristin Sulpizio
Phone Number: 408 694-0011 (direct); 408 266-8866 x 230 (main)
Category: Human Community
Additional Environmental Volunteer Opportunties on the Peninsula
Additional Human Volunteer Opportunties on the Peninsula
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