Big Sunday happily welcomes you to Our Really Big Community Calendar.
We try to include all kinds of volunteering and helping opportunities for all kinds of interests, talents, passions, and ages! As you’ll see, these include volunteering opportunities (one-time and long-term) as well as the chance to support a nonprofit by attending fundraising events. Plus, of course, we include all of Big Sunday’s homegrown events, too! Whoever you are, and whatever you do, there is someone out there who could use your help.
If you have questions about our calendar, or would like to add a listing, please contact calendar@bigsunday.org or submit your event/opportunity via the button below.
For years, Big Sunday Weekend—an incredible three-day festival of helping each May—has been our signature (and largest) event. In 2015, thousands of volunteers turned out—some as individuals, others with their families, still others as part of a class, church, synagogue, mosque, business or club—to lend a hand at hundreds of different projects from San Diego to San Francisco, making Big Sunday Weekend one of the largest regional community service events in America. In 2016, Big Sunday Weekend is expanding to A Month of Big Sundays. After 17 years, we’ve simply grown too big to contain everything in one weekend.
In May 2016, Big Sunday is hosting and/or sponsoring special events every single day of the month. Now we can take on even bigger projects, reach more people, make new alliances, and more easily fit in with everyone’s (and every organization’s) busy schedules. We’ll still have all kinds of events for every kind of passion and every type of talent. If you are at a school, faith group or business making your 2016 calendar now, please set aside any day during May 2016 and know that we’ll find a project that’s both impactful and fun for you to do. If you want to host a project, please select any day during May. Of course, we’ll still be bringing people together from all walks of life in the name of making the world a better place. For many people, A Month of Big Sundays (formerly Big Sunday Weekend) is just the beginning of an involvement that continues throughout the year. In the mea
ntime, if you have any questions or suggestions, please visit http://mobs.bigsunday.org/.
Women writers and directors in the entertainment industry constantly encounter roadblocks when attempting to advance their careers – even when they are just as talented and capable as their male counterparts. Women actors have a similar problem simply because the number of female roles is significantly less than for men. Friend of Big Sunday Amy Lloyd and her business partner Christina Gray have combined efforts to combat this issue with a special IndieGogo campaign for their production company “Chicks Who Make Flicks.” This organization is working to do its part to increase visibility and provide more opportunities for women. The production company creates films made by women, films that tell great woman’s stories, films that capture the voices of women from all over the world and at every stage of their life. Their goal is to create an environment that supports, encourages, and celebrates talented female filmmakers. For more info on how you can support this great cause, please visit https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/chicks-who-make-flicks-a-film-production-company#.
Join our friends at So Cal Quilts of Valor for their Sew Days held every Thursday (except on holidays). Volunteers are needed to help construct quilts to be awarded to veterans to thank them for their service and/or help them in their healing. For more info, please visit www.socalqov.org. They especially need long-arm quilters to complete the process. Please contact Barbara Winkler for more info or to sign up today!
Imagine LA works with volunteers and vulnerable families to break the cycle of homelessness, poverty, and neglect; and help every member thrive!
Their Family Mentorship Program matches a team of volunteer mentors from committed organizations to work directly with a family for 1-2 years. Imagine LA matches every family member with a one-to-one mentor; plus every family gets a Budget Mentor; and other volunteers help with tutoring, career development, childcare, healthcare, meal-planning and more. Imagine LA works.
Today, kids are excelling in school, parents are on career tracks, saving, maintaining budgets, and everyone remains in stable housing.
The Family Mentorship Program is a transformative experience for Families and Mentors alike. For families escaping the cycle of poverty, a mentor like you can make the difference between surviving and thriving.
All you need to do is take the first step –– please contact Outreach & Communications Manager, Tara Ignont at tara@imaginela.org or 323-944-0210 x412 for a Mentorship Application today!
NOTE: This is an ongoing, daily (M-F) volunteer opportunity!
Come meet the STAR volunteer readers Isaac and Savannah at John C. Fremont Library! Children are invited to read stories together and learn how to earn a free book. Books come alive for kids when they share the fun of reading with STAR library volunteers. For more info, please contact Children's Librarian Megan Katz at 323-962-3521.
The Fulfillment Fund is a college access organization with a 39-year history of helping disadvantaged students graduate from high school and access college. One of its key services is mentoring. Recognized as one of the best in the state, the Fulfillment Fund’s Mentor Program provides guidance from adult role models to students whose life circumstances challenge their opportunities for success. Each year the Fulfillment Fund Mentor Program shapes the lives of hundreds of young people. While there are many opportunities to volunteer with the organization, mentoring provides a direct avenue to create a meaningful impact by making a nominal investment of time. The Mentor Program provides the necessary structure for success in a mentor/mentee relationship; staff support, extensive training and amazing volunteers all play a role in the program’s success. The Fulfillment Fund is looking for mentors with the following:
- Minimum of 24 years of age
-
Able to commit to meeting with their stud
ent once per month on their own schedule
- Willing to commit to a mentoring relationship for a minimum of two years
- Able to pass a criminal background check
- Interested in helping a student achieve higher education
For more info and to complete the application form, visit http://www.fulfillment.org/mentor. Please email Volunteer Recruitment & Engagement Manager Betsy Ann Mudd at bmudd@fulfillment.org with any further questions.
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Are you an animal lover? If so, don’t miss the chance to volunteer with Ahead With Horses every Saturday (unless otherwise noted) at their Shadow Hills facility.
Please note AWH is CLOSED the following Saturdays: 2/13/16; 3/26/16; 5/28/16; 7/2/16; 9/3/16; 11/26/16; 12/24/16 and 12/31/16.
Volunteers will assist in providing our developmental therapy to children with disabilities.
Duties include: Leading horses, spotting (walking along side the horse), grooming, cleaning tack, weeding, raking, etc.
Volunteers must be at least 12 years old and if under 18, an adult must come to sign a liability release form at their first session.
Dress code: must wear closed-toe shoes, long pants and a shirt with sleeves (t-shirt is fine; no tank tops). If planning on staying the entire day (which is not mandatory), please bring water and a sack lunch.
Questions? Please call Michelle at 818-767-6373.
Once a month, volunteers and community partners come together at the Garden School Foundation’s 24th Street School Garden to have some fun in the sun, enjoy delicious, garden-fresh snacks, and get vital work done that keeps their living classrooms beautiful for the kids they serve. They also have a cooking or gardening workshop during each workday, where volunteers can learn & get inspired about food, from seed to table.
To volunteer, please contact Shelby Crowell at shelby@gardenschoolfoundation.
The Paseo Island Festival (or as they call it – PIF) is Paseo Del Rey Elementary's biggest event and fundraiser of the year, and is basically a fair with an Island theme. There's food, games, entertainment (music and dancers), and a silent auction. The event takes place from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm. Setup begins in the morning at 8:00 am and clean up until about 6:00 pm.
For the most part, volunteers are asked to assist with collecting tickets and staffing the game booths, jump houses, and food booths. In the morning volunteers will help set up tables, and if they are around at the end of the event, once the event's closed down, volunteers can assist with breakdown and cleanup. Volunteers will be provided vouchers or tickets for a meal; please dress comfortably and bring sunscreen.
It's a fun day overall with a lot of activity!
To help, please contact Heather Hart-Smith.
Join Family Rescue Center for their weekly Saturday distribution of organic food donated from the Calabasas Farmer's Market. They need happy, helpful volunteers to sort the fruits and vegetables and to hand them out at their center. Four to six volunteers per Saturday is preferable; teens and older, please.
To volunteer, please email your name, phone number, and preferred contact method (phone, text, email) to Julie Domingo at jewelsd2005@yahoo.com. Please state how often you can volunteer — once a month or whatever works for you!
