All Ages! Ages 8+ w/o guardian (under 8 with guardian)

Come by and craft a valentine (or two or three!) for our neighbors who are clients at HeartShare Services and for our furry friends at Animal Control Centers.

About HeartShare

HeartShare’s Developmental Disabilities Services nurture and empower children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, such as autism, Down Syndrome and cerebral palsy. From early childhood to adulthood, HeartShare supports people with disabilities to get a sound education and lead happy and fulfilling lives in the community.

Sometimes folks in these situations can feel excluded or unseen. Let’s make sure everyone feels loved and included by sending hand crafted notes of love and a sweet treat to these special neighbors this Valentine’s Day.

About Animal Control Centers

Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC) is a non-profit organization that provides shelter, food, and medical care for homeless, abandoned, and neglected animals in New York City. ACC’s mission is to end animal homelessness in the city. We’ll be participating in showing love to these adoptable pets by crafting hearts for every single animal in the shelter system and helping to raise awareness and donations for this amazing cause.

Suggested donation of $20 goes to The Service Collective’s general operating fund to help us continue to offer volunteer opportunities in our community.

Ages 13+

Help spread love this Valentine’s Day! Volunteers will work with kids and families at the Arbor Inn transitional homeless shelter to craft beautiful Valentine’s for themselves, and to trade with family and friends. We will create a festive environment full of love and even bring treats to share.

About the Shelter

Arbor Inn offers short-term housing for 44 homeless mothers, each with one child up to the age of eight. Families are referred by the NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS). Arbor Inn provides a secure environment where homeless women, many of whom have escaped domestic violence situations, begin to feel safe and achieve stability.

Residents receive assistance that includes case management, mental health counseling, on-site recreation, and nursing care, while regular support groups, parenting skills and household budgeting sessions, and vocational training classes are held as well. BCHS staff members help Arbor Inn moms find permanent jobs and permanent housing in the community.

This past year, 100% of the homeless families who were deemed housing ready by DHS were placed into permanent housing of their own in the community, with an average time to placement of 8 months.

All Ages! Ages 8+ w/o guardian (under 8 with guardian)

Come by and craft a valentine (or two or three!) for our neighbors who are clients at HeartShare Services and for our furry friends at Animal Control Centers.

About HeartShare

HeartShare’s Developmental Disabilities Services nurture and empower children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, such as autism, Down Syndrome and cerebral palsy. From early childhood to adulthood, HeartShare supports people with disabilities to get a sound education and lead happy and fulfilling lives in the community.

Sometimes folks in these situations can feel excluded or unseen. Let’s make sure everyone feels loved and included by sending hand crafted notes of love and a sweet treat to these special neighbors this Valentine’s Day.

About Animal Control Centers

Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC) is a non-profit organization that provides shelter, food, and medical care for homeless, abandoned, and neglected animals in New York City. ACC’s mission is to end animal homelessness in the city. We’ll be participating in showing love to these adoptable pets by crafting hearts for every single animal in the shelter system and helping to raise awareness and donations for this amazing cause.

Suggested donation of $20 goes to The Service Collective’s general operating fund to help us continue to offer volunteer opportunities in our community.

Each month we host a Community Dinner and invite community members to meet and make connections with newly arrived refugees. Our new neighbors will cook the main part of a meal, attendees will contribute side dishes, and we will all share in learning from and listening to each others stories. This gives the refugee family the chance to earn extra money and meet community members. Hosts and attendees get to sample international cuisine and make new connections.

Set up volunteers will be tasked with setting up the tables, making place cards, decorating, among other duties. You will help the refugee family warm the meal they bring and assist them in plating the food. You will act as hosts throughout the evening and also help clean up if you are able to stay through the end of dinner (encouraged, but not required).

We welcome youth ages 8-18 to sign up as SET UP VOLUNTEER . If you would also like to attend dinner (all ages!) set up volunteers should sign up for both set up (this listing) and also sign up for the DINNER project listing. You can find that HERE.

Hosting/Set Up: 4:30-6p (this project listing)

Dinner/Clean Up: 6p – 8:15p (please ALSO sign up for THIS project)

Join us for our monthly Community Dinner and share community, connection, and delicious food with recently arrived refugee families. Our new neighbors will cook the main part of a meal and you will contribute side dishes, salads and desserts. We will all listen to and learn from each others stories. This evening gives the refugee families the chance to earn extra money and meet community members. Hosts and attendees get to sample international cuisine and help make new connections with neighbors, new and old!

Kids can expect to have a blast running around and making art with their new friends. Everyone is expected to help clean up.

Closer to the date we will circulate a dinner theme and a way for you to sign up to bring a potluck dish to contribute. All ages are welcome so please bring the whole family!

Suggested Donation: $30 per person or $100 per family. Funds will go to covering the cost of food and compensating the refugees families for their contributions. You can donate HERE.

Ages 13+

Help spread love this Valentine’s Day! Volunteers will work with kids and families at the Arbor Inn transitional homeless shelter to craft beautiful Valentine’s for themselves, and to trade with family and friends. We will create a festive environment full of love and even bring treats to share.

About the Shelter

Arbor Inn offers short-term housing for 44 homeless mothers, each with one child up to the age of eight. Families are referred by the NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS). Arbor Inn provides a secure environment where homeless women, many of whom have escaped domestic violence situations, begin to feel safe and achieve stability.

Residents receive assistance that includes case management, mental health counseling, on-site recreation, and nursing care, while regular support groups, parenting skills and household budgeting sessions, and vocational training classes are held as well. BCHS staff members help Arbor Inn moms find permanent jobs and permanent housing in the community.

This past year, 100% of the homeless families who were deemed housing ready by DHS were placed into permanent housing of their own in the community, with an average time to placement of 8 months.

Ages 14+

Help package up donated laptops and desktop computers for local families who otherwise wouldn’t have the technology they need in their homes to do basic school, work and household functions. You can help level the playing field for these families by assisting in getting them the computers they need.

Our partners at TECHFin help narrow the digital divide by addressing a major hurdle to computer hardware ownership: its cost. By collecting PC-based laptops and desktop computers they are able to revitalize these machines and distribute them to low-income households at no cost to them. It’s sustainable, scalable, and cost-effective.

Ages 12+

Arrival: St. Ann & the Holy Trinity, 157 Montague St.

Distribution & Dismissal: CHiPS Soup Kitchen, 200 4th Avenue

Suggest donation fo $40/volunteer for this service helps offset our costs for food, staff, rental space, and insurance.

On a busy day, our local soup kitchen on 4th Avenue feeds 200+ people for breakfast and 400+ people for lunch. They’d really love our help in making sure no one is turned away without a meal.

Together we will make 200+ sandwiches and 100+ breakfast cups. We will hop on the train and set up and serve during lunch service. This is an amazing way to help support our hungry neighbors.

Distribution is OUTSIDE rain or shine! Please plan to dress for the weather.

Ages 13+

You will work alongside our staff to manage the compost turning and layering process at the Columbia Street Farm. Tasks may also include raking site maintenance and other farm duties. The farm work often includes moving objects around the site and working close to ground for extended periods of time. 

These are just some components of typical activities you would get involved in during either shift, but there are many other farm duties you can get involved in during your time at Red Hook Farms!

Additional waiver will be required prior to volunteering. You will receive an email 2 days prior to project.

About the Columbia Street Farm

Formerly a concrete baseball field, the Columbia Street Farm was founded in 2001 and is now a thriving 2.75 acre produce production, compost site and outdoor classroom that supplies our farms stands and CSA. We harvest over 15,000 pounds of produce each year, welcome hundreds of volunteers and host community events throughout the growing season.

5-60 Columbia Street
Brooklyn, NY 11231

Ages 10+ with guardian, 13+ without guardian

Our friends over at Sure We Can are expanding! They have a brand new site and are looking for some help settling in and making it feel warm and welcoming.

Swing by for an hour or more from 11a – 5p on 2/22 to help paint murals on the shipping containers that will house the new Sure We Can offices. Creativity encouraged!

About Sure We Can

SWC’S MISSION IS TO SUPPORT THE LOCAL COMMUNITY, PARTICULARLY ITS MOST VULNERABLE RESIDENTS, AND TO PROMOTE SOCIAL INCLUSION, ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS AND ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT. SWC HAS EVOLVED INTO A RECYCLING CENTER, COMMUNITY SPACE AND SUSTAINABILITY HUB.

ALL AGES! Youth 12+ may volunteer without a guardian.

Grocery shop for neighbors who are homebound, experiencing hardship, elderly, or otherwise lacking time, resources, or ability to shop for groceries themselves.  

Volunteers will shop for items on a provided list(s) and attempt to stay within the budget assigned by our partner, West Brooklyn Waterfront Mutual Aid. A WBWMA veteran volunteer will be there to assist you should you have questions. WBWMA will pay for the groceries at check out and deliver them.

Parent/guardian required for volunteers under 12 years old. Volunteers 12+ may come without a guardian. Waiver required for every participant under 18. Waivers are located in your profile – you will be prompted to set up a profile upon registration. 

About our Partner

West Brooklyn Waterfront Mutual Aid is a grassroots community collective created by neighbors, for neighbors. We aim to build solidarity in our neighborhoods by pooling resources, supporting each other’s needs and finding help for our most vulnerable neighbors. Donate to WBWMA HERE.