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.

Big Sunday Event Giving Opportunity! One-time Volunteer Opportunity Ongoing Volunteer Opportunity
May
18
Wed
Baby & Toddler Storytime with the Librarian @ John C. Fremont Library
May 18 @ 10:30 am

Join our friends at the John C. Fremont Library for Baby & Toddler Storytime with the Librarian every Wednesday!  All ages welcome. Sessions are held at 10:30 and 11 am; both are the same. Enjoy stories, songs, rhymes, movement activities and more with Ms. Megan, the Children's Librarian. For more info, please contact Children's Librarian Megan Katz at 323-962-3521.

Baby & Toddler Storytime with the Librarian @ John C. Fremont Library
May 18 @ 11:00 am

Join our friends at the John C. Fremont Library for Baby & Toddler Storytime with the Librarian every Wednesday!  All ages welcome. Sessions are held at 10:30 and 11 am; both are the same. Enjoy stories, songs, rhymes, movement activities and more with Ms. Megan, the Children's Librarian. For more info, please contact Children's Librarian Megan Katz at 323-962-3521.

May
19
Thu
SoCal Quilts of Valor Sew Days @ SewVac Ltd
May 19 @ 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

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! 

May
20
Fri
Mentorship Program: Imagine LA @ Please contact Tara for more details.
May 20 – May 21 all-day

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!imaginela-logo-2014

STAR Volunteers: Read with Kids @ John C. Fremont Library
May 20 @ 3:00 pm – May 20 @ 5:00 pm

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.

May
21
Sat
Mentors Needed: Fulfillment Fund @ Varied locations, including South LA, Koreatown, near USC, etc.
May 21 – May 22 all-day

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 studFulfillment Fund, B-W Square Logoent 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.  

Volunteer: Ahead With Horses @ Ahead With Horses
May 21 @ 8:45 am – 2:00 pm

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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.

Volunteer: Starr Ranch Sanctuary @ Starr Ranch Sanctuary - Orange County, CA
May 21 @ 9:00 am – 12:30 pm

Audubon California’s 4000-acre Starr Ranch Sanctuary in southeast Orange County is pleased to invite you to join them as a volunteer "Weed Warrior." Weeds can alter habitats and have negative effects on wildlife. Volunteers help remove periwinkle, English ivy, and English plantain using non-chemical methods. 

No experience necessary. Training and tools provided. Please wear clothes that can get dirty, long pants, close-toed shoes and layers for changing weather. Bring snacks and a picnic lunch, if you wish. A personal water bottle, a hat and sunscreen are strongly recommended. 

Adults and children ages 8 and older are welcome. Children must be accompanied by adults. This opportunity fulfills community service requirements. Please take a look at their volunteer days from January 2016 through May 2016. Find the dates that work for you. Reserve your place by clicking this link http://goo.gl/forms/5AQCO3GsGm or by sending your name, available dates, number in party, source you found the opportunity from, and phone number to Sandy at sdesimone@audubon.org.

2016 Saturday Volunteer Days

9 am – 12:30 pm each date (*except April)

  • January 9 & 23
  • February 6 & 27
  • March 19 & 26
  • *April 9, 16, & 23 (1:30 pm – 4:30 pm)
  • May 14 & 21

If you can’t find a date that works for you and would still like to volunteer, it is possible to volunteer with the organization any day during the week, Monday – Friday. Please reply with a suggested date to Sandy at sdesimone@audubon.org and she will get back to you.

Crescent Farm Series @ Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden
May 21 @ 10:00 am

Instructors: Crescent Farm Staff- Leigh Adams, Yara Herrarte, John Latsko, and Horticultural Supervisor Jill Morganelli

Free for members  /  Free for non-members (with arboretum admission)
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Don’t miss the LA Arboretum’s Crescent Farm Series!

Learn about water conservation and sustainable gardening, with hands-on experience! The Crescent Farm, located in the heart of the Arboretum just west of Baldwin Lake, is a reclaimed landscape where they explore new and ancient horticulture techniques for water conservation and food production. This is an educational training series.  Please bring gloves, drinking water; wear close-toed shoes and a hat. 

LA County Arboretum logoMay 21 – Weaving Workshop

Learn to use your bio-mass (plant waste) to create garden structures.  Simple weaving techniques can use leaves as cordage, branches as trellises, tomato cages, shade shelters, and various long lasting leaves as weavers.  Design and build compost structures, plant guards and soil traps in your own Crescent Garden. 

June 25 – Crescent Farm Plant Tour

The Crescent Farm at the Arboretum horticulture team put their minds and imaginations together to create an amazing drought-tolerant plant palette.  We are happy to present our arid climate orchard and short-season fruit and vegetable production surrounded by a California native-based landscape of meadow and low water lawn alternatives.  Not only beautiful, these plants provide habitat for an amazing insect and wildlife population.  The flora and fauna here were sourced from local nurseries and are readily available for your own yards.  

For more information, please contact Education Manager Ted Tegart at 626-821-4624 or ted.tegart@arboretum.org or visit http://www.arboretum.org.

Volunteer: Family Rescue Center @ Family Rescue Center
May 21 @ 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm

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!

How it Works

You can SEARCH by scrolling through the Months or by selecting different Categories or Tag functions. For a totally different view, try the Posterboard or Stream options! Feel free to submit an item for the calendar by clicking the “Submit Your Event / Opportunity” button above at the right-hand side of the page. Questions? Email calendar@bigsunday.org.