From pet care to supporting families, volunteering is at the heart of what makes the Pittsburgh region so vibrant. Older adults looking for ways to give back to their local community by sharing their time and talents can find a diverse array of opportunities that fit their interests and availability.
Food Rescue Heroes
412/724 Food Rescue is a food recovery nonprofit that transports surplus food from grocery stores, restaurants and farmers markets to organizations that help people in need. Download the Food Rescue Hero app, which sends a notification to your phone when a food rescue in your area becomes available. If it works with your schedule, you can claim it and complete the rescue. Volunteers can sign up for a regular rescue, which takes place on the same day around the same time each week.
Foster Love
The Foster Love Project welcomes volunteers to staff its free shopping center in Dormont, which serves all foster families in western Pennsylvania by providing clothing, diapers and all the gear needed to welcome a foster child into a new home. The center is completely run by volunteers, whose duties include sorting new donations, restocking inventory, cleaning and miscellaneous other tasks. Volunteers will need to complete an orientation and fulfil all child abuse and criminal background clearances.
Global Links
At Pittsburgh-based medical relief and development organization Global Links, volunteers of all ages and abilities sort, assess and prepare medical materials rescued from the U.S. healthcare system, turning the region’s surplus into life-saving and life-improving donations that improve the health of communities in need. Volunteer shifts are available for individuals, groups and families.
Pittsburgh Parks
Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy is always looking for garden volunteers, volunteer naturalists and docents to support its mission of maintaining the city’s historic parks. With training and support from organizations throughout Pittsburgh, Urban EcoStewards are long-term volunteers who visit their adopted park sites as often as possible throughout the year to remove invasive plants, care for trees, and clear trash.
Animal Rescue
Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh seeks foster parents and volunteers at its Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and two domestic shelter locations. Roles at the East Side and North Side shelters include dog walkers, cat cuddlers, and shelter operations support. Each position has specific training, schedule and physical requirements. Wildlife volunteer opportunities include animal care, quality care and nursery attendant.
Cooking for a Cause
Ronald McDonald House Pittsburgh invites volunteer groups to come to its location next to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and to cook a meal on site for families staying there. Volunteers bring the ingredients and prepare the food at the building’s full kitchen, then have an opportunity to meet some of the families who are there.
Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
Available at locations throughout the region, the volunteer program at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh offers roles that enhance the patient experience and support the inpatient units by visiting with priority patients, feeding babies and reading books or playing games with kids.
Still Looking?
Food banks, local libraries, community gardens and housing nonprofits like Habitat for Humanity are always seeking volunteers, and cultural mainstays like the Heinz History Center, the National Aviary and Phipps Conservatory rely on unpaid docents to keep visitors informed. Or search by zip code for volunteer needs using an online resource like VolunteerMatch. Wherever you decide to lend a hand, your efforts will make a big difference in improving the world around you.
Envisage® is an experienced leader in aging services and in-home care community support. Designed for those older adults who want to age in their homes and avoid moving to a nursing home or assisted living community, Envisage supports your goal of aging successfully in the place you call home. Schedule a 1:1 conversation today!