Volunteer Directory
A list of volunteer opportunities in Houston. Please keep in mind that the organizations must be contacted directly for all volunteer appointments.
For additional volunteer opportunities, please visit the Metropolitan Volunteer Program.
If your RSO is looking for volunteer opportunities or one-time projects CSI serves as a resource. Contact serve@uh.edu with your request. Large group projects (more than 25 participants) generally need to be planned a semester in advance.
Opportunities
BARC Animal Shelter & Adoptions
BARC is the City of Houston's Animal Shelter and Adoption Facility. BARC is the only
city shelter in Houston required by law to accept every animal that comes through
our doors regardless of breed, temperament, health conditions, and circumstance.
Citizens or Animal Protection (CAP)
Citizens for Animal Protection is a non-profit organization, founded in 1972, which
shelters, rescues and places homeless animals for adoption with loving families. CAP
advocates respect and compassion for animal life and provides humane education to
help prevent cruelty to animals.
Friends for Life Animal Shelter
Friends for Life is Houston-grown, and here to help neighbors care for the pets they
love by innovating, imporving, and tracking results to find the most effective ways
to save lives.
Houston Humane Society (HHS)
The Houston Humane Society strives to protect and improve the well-being of animals,
the people who care for them, and our community by providing compassionate support,
essential resources and education to help pets and wildlife live their best lives.
Houston Pets Alive! (HPA!)
Houston Pets Alive! (HPA!) is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that
focuses specifically on saving at-risk cats and dogs in the Greater Houston area through
adoption, foster, and lifesaving shelter support programs.
Houston Zoo
Houston Volunteers support every department of the Zoo including animal care, education,
and guest engagement.nteers support every department of the Zoo including animal care,
education, and guest engagement.
Children's Museum of Houston
The Houston region has one of the largest child populations in the United States and
the Children's Museum Houston serves an audience of more than 1 million children and
families each year.
The Health Museum
The Health Museum welcomes volunteers year-round from individuals, institutions, and
corporate groups who are passionate about supporting our mission through special events,
general museum operations, or science education.
Holocaust Museum Houston
Docents are at the heart of the Holocaust Museum Houston's mission. They lead tours,
engage visitors in meaningful conversation, and help ensure the stories we preserve
are never forgotten.
Houston Museum of Natural Science
The Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS) is looking for volunteers aged 18 and
above to lead tours and engage in educational programming with children at our main
campus in Hermann Park.
Lawndale Art Center
Lawndale is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center that engages Houston communities
with exhibitions and programs that explore the aesthetic, critical, and social issues
of our time.
Multicultural Education and Counseling through Art (MECA) Houston
MECA is a community-based non-profit organization committed to the healthy development
of under-served youth and adults through arts and cultural programming, academic excellence,
support services, and community building.
The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston
Welcome to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. I hope you find mfah.org an inspiring
guide to the wonderful experiences in store for you at the Museum, and I am delighted
to invite you to explore all of the exceptional exhibitions, installations, and virtual
programming.
Space Center Houston
Whether it’s on the museum floor or behind the scenes, Space Center Houston has a
volunteer position to fit your interests.
Workshop Houston
Workshop Houston was built on the belief that learning is more than just what happens
in a classroom.
BakerRipley Community Developers
Think of your family. Your neighbors. Your community. The people and places in your
life that have impacted you, connected you, and helped you succeed.
Dress for Success
Since 1998, we’ve been dedicated to our mission of empowering women to achieve economic
independence by providing a network of support, professional attire, and development
tools to help women thrive in work and life.
IM Houston
We are a Nonprofit LEADER of DIVERSE INDIVIDUALS who COME TOGETHER to PROVIDE EDUCATION
and THE SERVICES you know and rely on, to SUPPORT and EMPOWER THOSE IN NEED.
Southeast Houston Transformation Alliance
Leaders of the Southeast Houston Transformation Alliance (SEHTA) and other stakeholders
make up the Steering Committee that leads our efforts to transform OST/South Union
into a healthy, safe, vibrant and economically stable community.
The Guild Shop
Our mission is to enrich the community as a Christian ministry and resale shop, dedicated
to awarding financial support to organizations that serve the elderly.
United Way for Great Houston
For nearly 100 years, United Way of Greater Houston has brought together diverse partners
and approaches to get to the root of complex challenges holding people back.
Volunteer Houston
Volunteer Houston, a program of IM Houston, connects people with meaningful opportunities
to serve across Greater Houston. We bring together volunteers, agencies, and companies
to strengthen Houston’s culture of service and build a more compassionate city.
American Red Cross
The Texas Gulf Coast Region provides life-saving services to more than 9 million people
in cities such as Corpus Christi, Beaumont, Harlingen and Houston.
Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse
The safety of victims of domestic violence is our greatest priority, and keeping our
staff healthy and safe to respond to those needs is of paramount concern to us. We
continue to serve survivors of domestic abuse with free legal representation and counseling.
Houston Area Women's Center
HAWC provides safety and comprehensive, life-saving services to survivors of domestic
and sexual violence, empowering individuals, families, and communities to transform
trauma, achieve independence, and stop abuse before it happens.
The Children's Assessment Center
The Children's Assessment Center (The CAC) provides a safe haven to sexually abused
children and their families – a place where they can receive the kind of care and
treatment they so richly deserve.
Women's Home
We currently have four unique programs: a residential treatment and transitional housing
program, two permanent supportive housing programs, and a collaborative service center
that offers support services to help prevent and end homelessness in our community.
Buffalo Bayou Partnership
Buffalo Bayou Partnership is the non-profit organization leading the planning, design,
activation, and stewardship of inspiring spaces along the 10-mile stretch of Buffalo
Bayou from Shepherd Drive through downtown and eastward to the Port of Houston Turning
Basin.
Houston Parks Board
Houston Parks Board is a nonprofit that works to connect all Houstonians through public
greenspaces.
Keep Houston Beautiful
Through education and community partnerships, we foster resident and neighborhood
awareness of the important role citizens can play in preserving the natural beauty
and visual amenities of our city.
Serve for Good
Serve for Good includes more than 130 nonprofits in the Houston area that offer interesting
opportunities for students.
Agape Development
Transforming our neighborhood by preparing Christ-following, independent, community
leaders.
Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church
The Son's of Hope is the ministry of the associate ministers of the our church. The
purpose The Associate Ministers assist the ministry of our church in fulfilling a
wide range of activities.
Holman Street Baptist Church
We are a community of imperfect people, for imperfect people, discovering life together.
We strive to create an authentic environment. We believe God has a purpose for your
life, and that's what drives us.
Wesley Community Center
Wesley Community Center invests in the potential of individuals and creates opportunities
to strengthen families and build neighborhoods.
Bread of Life, Inc.
Bread Of Life, Inc. is on a mission to change the lives of those living in the Houston
community by providing food and shelter for those who are in desperate need. With
your donation you can help us further our impact.
Emergency Aid Coalition
Founded in 1983, in Houston, Texas, the Emergency Aid Coalition is an interfaith organization
that collaborates to provide temporary assistance in the form of food, clothing, and
other basic needs, with an emphasis on serving the working poor.
Houston Food Bank
Houston Food Bank distributes food and other essentials to those in need through a
network of more than 1,600 community partners. In addition, we also provide programs
and services aimed at helping families achieve long-term stability including nutrition
education, health management, and help in securing state-funded assistance.
Interfaith Ministries
Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston (IM) brings people of diverse faith traditions
together for dialogue, collaboration, and service, as a demonstration of our shared
beliefs.
Kids' Meals
Kids’ Meals is ending childhood hunger by delivering free, healthy meals to the doorsteps
of Greater Houston’s hungriest preschool-aged children and, through collaboration,
providing their families with resources to help end the cycle of poverty.
L.I.F.E. Houston
Since 1988, L.I.F.E. Houston has been feeding Houston’s hungry babies by providing
an emergency supply of formula to families in crisis and offering education on proper
infant and early childhood nutrition.
Lord of the Streets
Lord of The Streets is a church community that Welcomes, Restores and Rebuilds lives
through relationship-focused ministries with the homeless and formerly homeless.
Second Servings of Houston
Second Servings is Houston’s only prepared and perishable food rescue organization.
Since 2015, we’ve been redirecting unserved and unsold food from retailers, sports
venues, distributors, hotels, etc., to the people who really need it at shelters,
soup kitchens, low-income housing and many other nonprofits
Allies in Hope
Previously AIDS Foundation Houston, Allies in Hope has been a community leader for
over 40 years with the mission to end the HIV epidemic in the greater Houston area.
Let’s eliminate the stigma behind HIV and STIs. We encourage everyone to get tested
and know their status. Allies in Hope offers free HIV and STI testing that is fast,
simple, and completely confidential. To better serve our community, other programs
are also available including supportive housing, a food pantry, case management and
onsite clinic.
Medical Bridges, Inc
To bridge the healthcare gap worldwide by procuring and distributing medical equipment
and supplies to undeserved communities.
Ronald McDonald House Charities
Ronald McDonald House Charities Greater Houston supports families on their children’s
medical journey with a community of comfort and hope.
San Jose Clinic
To provide quality healthcare and education to those with limited access to such services
in an environment that respects the dignity of each person.
The Center for Hearing and Speech
The nationally renowned Center for Hearing and Speech is the most comprehensive resource
for pediatric hearing loss in Texas and the only facility in the region that offers
health services and spoken language education for children with hearing loss under
one roof.
The Beacon
The Beacon is a non-profit organization that serves the Houston homeless community
through daily services, civil legal aid, counseling and mentoring, and access to housing.
Bread of Life, Inc.
Bread of Life, Inc. began in September of 1992 with a simple mission to serve hot
meals to homeless men and women in downtown Houston.
Coalition for the Homeless
The Coalition for the Homeless offers four programs to direct homeless services providers
and the community-at-large.
The Council on Recovery
Addiction only gets worse as time goes by. That's why you should contact us now. If
you or a loved one has a problem, The Council on Recovery has the solution.
Covenant Houston
Covenant House Texas (CHT) opened its doors in 1983 to provide shelter for homeless,
abused, and abandoned youth ages 18 – 24.
Emergency Aid Coalition
Founded in 1983, in Houston, Texas, the Emergency Aid Coalition is an interfaith organization
that collaborates to provide temporary assistance in the form of food, clothing, and
other basic needs, with an emphasis on serving the working poor.
Lord of the Streets
Lord of The Streets is a church community that Welcomes, Restores and Rebuilds lives
through relationship-focused ministries with the homeless and formerly homeless.
Project Row Houses
We empower people and enrich communities through engagement, art, & direct action.
SEARCH Homeless
Since 1989, SEARCH has been providing hope, creating opportunity, and transforming
lives for thousands of men, women, and children who are trying to break free from
the cycle of poverty and homelessness. At SEARCH, we maintain a vision of a Houston
without homelessness.
Greater Houston LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce
The Greater Houston LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce is a leading economic voice in the
greater Houston region.
Human Rights Campaign Houston
By empowering and mobilizing people at the grassroots level, HRC Houston Texas Chapter
aims to create impactful change, conveying advocacy of Human Rights Campaign's national
mission & work on the ground. Houston Chapter is a dedicated team of volunteers who
use their experience & talents to develop a more affirming, inclusive, and equitable
community.
The Montrose Center
The Montrose Center empowers our community—primarily lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,
and queer (LGBTQ+) individuals and their families—to live healthier, more fulfilling
lives.
Pride Houston 365
Pride Houston 365 is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to celebrating,
promoting, and enriching the LGBTQ+ community in Houston, Texas.
Tony's Place
Tony’s Place provides a diverse set of services to meet the needs of LGBTQ+ youth
age 14 to 25.
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
Established in 1987, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) is a voluntary
health organization that gives those affected by suicide a nationwide community empowered
by research, education and advocacy to take action against this leading cause of death.
AFSP is dedicated to saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide,
including those who have experienced a loss.
Bo's Place
Bo's Place exists to offer support and community to those who have experienced the
death of a loved one. A non-profit, free-of-charge bereavement center, Bo's Place
offers multiple grief support services for children, families, and adults, and provides
education and resources for those who assist people in grief.
Mental Health America - Houston
Mental Health America of Greater Houston, is the area's longest-serving mental health
education and advocacy organization focused on shaping the mental health of people
and communities in the areas of children and education, integrated health care, veterans,
and community education. We actively work to replace stigmas about mental illness
with compassion and proper treatment.
NAMI - Houston
NAMI Greater Houston is a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit organization established in 1988
by a group of dedicated and caring family members of those living with difficult,
yet treatable, mental illnesses. By becoming a volunteer, you will be creating a lasting
impact in the lives of those who are working towards regaining their health, but most
of all, regain their purpose and hope.
The Council on Recovery
Addiction only gets worse as time goes by. That's why you should contact us now. If
you or a loved one has a problem, The Council on Recovery has the solution.
Idealist
Idealist supports people in their quest to build a better world, be it through a job,
volunteer opportunity, or by working with neighbors to solve a local problem.
Interfaith Ministries
Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston (IM) brings people of diverse faith traditions
together for dialogue, collaboration, and service, as a demonstration of our shared
beliefs.
United Way for Great Houston
For nearly 100 years, United Way of Greater Houston has brought together diverse partners
and approaches to get to the root of complex challenges holding people back.
Volunteer Houston
Volunteer Houston connects individuals, groups, and companies with nonprofit agencies
to transform the greater Houston community for good through volunteerism.
Wesley Community Center
Wesley Community Center invests in the potential of individuals and creates opportunities
to strengthen families and build neighborhoods.
Big Brothers Big Sisters
Big Brothers Big Sisters helps children realize their potential and build their futures.
Through youth mentoring we nurture children and strengthen communities. And we couldn’t
do any of it without you. Volunteer to become a Big and mentor a waiting child in
your local community. Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star serves youth in Collin County,
Denton County, Dallas County, Houston, Tarrant County, Abilene, Stephenville, and
Wichita Falls.
Books Between Kids
Books Between Kids strives to change this scenario by collecting gently used books
and distributing them to children in need.
Books for Development
At Books for Development, we are driven by a simple yet powerful mission of addressing
the book shortage that plagues many developing countries, preventing children and
adults alike from accessing the transformative power of literacy.
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)
Recruit, train, supervise, and retain culturally responsive volunteers who advocate
for the “best interest” of deprived children in Houston County; one child at a time.
C-STEM
When founder Dr. Reagan Flowers was working as an educator at a Houston area high
school, she won a grant from NASA that was able to provide her students the opportunity
to build a robot.
Houston ISD Apollo 20 Fellows
The Apollo 20 Fellows Program is a service opportunity that places passionate full-time
tutors in schools across HISD.
Houston reVision
The mission of Houston reVision is to break the cycle of juvenile justice involvement
and homelessness among youth in Harris County by leveraging the power of community
to connect them with mentors, positive peers, life-changing resources, and opportunities
for artistic expression.
Small Steps Nurturing Center (SSNC)
Small Steps Nurturing Center provides high-quality education, social and emotional
support, a nurturing Christian environment, transportation, and nutritious meals to
economically at-risk children ages two through six.
The Nehemiah Center-Houston
The Nehemiah Center's mission is to provide assistance to low-income families who
are invested in seeking a better future for their children through education, emotional
wellness, and spiritual enrichment.
Additional Volunteer Databases