Best Places to Volunteer in Oklahoma City

“hands formed together with red heart paint” By Tim Marshall licensed under Unsplash

Are you looking to volunteer or intern at a nonprofit in Oklahoma City? Whether you’re a resident trying to change up your daily routine with some charity work or new to the city and want to learn about the charities, you’d be glad to learn that there are hundreds of nonprofits in Oklahoma City you can volunteer in. While some people donate money or items to charities, others donate their time. Here are some of the eight best places to volunteer in Oklahoma City:

Shiloh Camp

Situated on 40 wooded acres in northeast Oklahoma City, Shiloh Camp is where inner-city children convene every summer for a memorable Christian-based camp experience. Shiloh Camp’s main mission is to build confidence and teach the local children about Jesus Christ.

According to the organization’s Executive Director, Stephan Moore, Shiloh Camp was built to offer children a period of relief and peace in difficult situations. The organization is there to encourage, care for and help the kids see the value and potential inside them.

About 500 kids usually gather for the camp every summer, and others undergo year-round programs and leadership experiences. The best part is that anyone can volunteer for this organization.

United Way

Located at 1444 NW 28th St., Oklahoma City, United Way is an organization that is mainly focused on developing community-wide solutions to end poverty, hunger, and homelessness in the city. This organization is always in need of volunteers, especially during the holiday season. You can volunteer to help with serving food to veterans, serve as a receptionist, help with the kids’ day camps, among other things.

United Way is affiliated with other organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boy Scouts of America, and Salvation Army. The organization can also help you volunteer opportunities in these organizations.

City Rescue Mission Thanksgiving Banquet

The Oklahoma City Rescue Mission plans a large thanksgiving banquet for all families and residents in need every year. This thanksgiving banquet is located at 800 W. California Ave., Oklahoma City, and it usually attracts thousands of people every year.

You can volunteer to help set up the annual event, serve food, and clean up. The Oklahoma City Rescue Mission accepts nonperishable food donations for their annual Holiday Food Drive.

Calm Waters

The Calm Waters organization helps more than 2,500 families and kids who have suffered a loss of any kind every year. The organization offers free counseling at various schools in Oklahoma City. This nonprofit gives hope to children who have suffered due to the death of a parent, divorce, incarceration, deportation, deployment, or foster care.

The Calm Waters organization has helped over 27,000 people since it was founded in 1992. The organization is always looking for volunteers who are compassionate, great listeners, and love working with children and adults.

The Calm Waters organization also welcomes volunteers from all works of life and professions such as nurses, bankers, teachers, retirees, among others, to help provide grief support to the children. The organization is located at 4501 N. Walker, Suite 140.

Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma

The Regional Food Bank is an organization that helps feed the needy by serving meals and delivering boxes of grocery items. The organization is always looking for volunteers to help pack grocery boxes, cook or serve meals.

This organization also has a greenhouse to volunteer to help grow food for the Oklahoma City community. It’s located at 3555 S. Purdue St.

Infant Crisis Services

The Infant Crisis Services started from a Sunday School class in 1984 and now serves about 300,000 local babies and toddlers. The organization provides local babies from needy families with diapers, life-sustaining food, and formula. 

Infant Crisis Services understands that it can be quite difficult for low-income families to provide for their infant and toddlers’ needs. Therefore, the organization has prioritized alleviating such stress from low-income families with their donations. In Oklahoma City, one in every four children lives in poverty and faces food insecurity. However, with the help of Infant Crisis Services and thousands of volunteers, many infants and toddlers don’t have to worry about such problems anymore.

The organization has plenty of opportunities for people who want to volunteer from home and in person. For instance, if you prefer to volunteer from home, you can purchase food items and make food packs at home for different clients. You can find the Infant Crisis Services offices at 4224 N. Lincoln Blvd.

Positive Tomorrows OKC

Located at 901 N. Villa Ave., Positive Tomorrows OKC is an elementary school for children in financial need. The organization hosts several holiday events every year, and they’re always looking for volunteers to help. Positive Tomorrows OKC also hosts the Merry Market, which takes place from December 12-14.

This is a place where children and adults in financial need can shop free of charge for Christmas presents. You can always volunteer to help set up and run such events because they attract many people.

The organization also hosts the Christmas Carnival on December 15, and it usually features crafts and games for the children. Volunteers are needed to help run a booth or guide one of the craft activities.

Center for Children and Families

The Center for Children and Families has been for the last 50 years helping heal children wounded by relationship trauma and empowering the youth to reach their full potential. The organization also helps strengthen families struggling with various parenting challenges.

The organization was started in 1969 as a shelter for kids awaiting foster care placements and has since grown into a nonprofit organization providing different kinds of services, such as after-school programming, parenting education, and counseling.

Located at 1000 N. Broadway, the organization is always looking for volunteers who can offer counseling and emotional support to youth who have been impacted by neglect and child abuse.

So there you have it. Our experts at Eskridge Lexus have just listed eight of the best places to volunteer in Oklahoma City. Did you find our list satisfactory? Did we miss a favorite organization of yours — one that the residents love to volunteer? If we did, let us know! Contact us today, and we’ll be sure to add it to our list.