Bringing joy to the world by assisting others may be the best gift you can give yourself
Adult Day Care Centers of Las Vegas and HendersonProvides support to senior citizens and their caregivers by a team of professionals that helps families avoid or postpone nursing-home admission by bridging the gap between home and nursing-home care.
Needs: Visit and assist clients; provide entertainment, event planning, fundraising, construction, facilities or other support services; lead a class or serve on a committee
Volunteer: 702-648-3425, adultdaycarelv.org
AFAN toy donation
Aid for AIDS of Nevada
Provides medical case management, medical transportation, education and prevention, housing and nutritional services for adults and children living with and affected by HIV/AIDS in Southern Nevada.
Needs: Seeking donations of new, unwrapped toys and games for children up to age 15 for annual toy drive; assist with gift-wrapping and annual Kids’ Holiday Party benefitting children infected or affected by HIV/AIDS
Volunteer: 702-382-2326, afanlv.org
Baby’s Bounty
Provides new and gently used infant clothing and gear to babies born to victims of domestic abuse, teen mothers and low-income families.
Needs: Help with collecting, sorting, cleaning and preparing clothing donations; fill diaper bags with receiving blankets, bottles, toiletries and any other vital equipment for distribution
Volunteer: 702-485-2229, babysbounty.org
Best Buddies Nevada
Creates opportunities for friendships through socialization programs; job coaching; and tools in leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Needs: Individuals in corporate and civic communities, colleges, high schools and middle schools willing to befriend a Best Buddies participant or become an email pen pal to a Best Buddies participant
Volunteer: 702-822-2268, bestbuddiesnevada.org
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Nevada
A mentoring network that provides children facing adversity with enduring, professionally supported, positive relationships that have a direct effect on their lives.
Needs: Volunteers interested in helping to shape a child’s future by enjoying fun activities together, such as playing sports, hiking, reading, etc.
Volunteer: 702-731-2227, bbbsn.org
Blind Center of Nevada
Assists the blind and visually impaired by focusing on personal development, social interaction and meaningful employment.
Needs: Helping to greet members, serve lunch, shop, assist with various daily programs and activities such as ceramics, music, keyboarding and more; help make edible goodies for holiday gift baskets sold to raise funds to support center’s programs and services; prep and wrap baskets for shipping
Volunteer: 702-642-6000, blindcenter.org
Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas
Helps boost a child’s self-esteem
Needs: Creating food baskets; wrapping toys; decorating for holiday celebrations; hanging with the kids as they make holiday crafts to take home
Volunteer: 702-253-2801, bgclv.org
Child Haven
A safe, nurturing child-care center for abused and neglected children with a goal of empowering families to break the cycle of abuse and neglect and create lifelong loving relationships.
Needs: Classroom volunteers; participants for group projects, such as Brighter Birthday and Giving Tree programs; event volunteers; spreading awareness
Volunteer: 702-455-6536
Clark County READS
An initiative of the Public Education Foundation, Clark County READS offers literacy programs to children and families.
Needs: Tutor struggling students in reading; help with general clerical work; pick up and deliver books
Volunteer: 702-799-1042, thepef.org
Goodie Two Shoes Foundation
Provides disadvantaged children and children in crisis with new shoes and socks, as well as other essential items for good health and positive development.
Needs: Assist with two or three distribution events per month during the school year; help participating children select a properly fitted pair of shoes; complete distribution process; assist with packing of backpacks, lunch, etc.
Volunteer: 702-617-4027, goodietwoshoes.org
Helping Hands of Vegas Valley
Develops, coordinates and delivers home-based supportive and assistive services to frail elderly residents.
Needs: Basic administrative help, making phone calls to seniors, driving, food pantry assistance, food delivery, packing goodie and grocery bags, pet food distribution; intake coordinator assistance
Volunteer: 702-633-7264 x 30, hhovv.org
Help of Southern Nevada
Help of Southern Nevada
Assists more than 1,200 families to receive a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, and more than 19,000 children in need to receive holiday gifts through its three signature programs: Adopt-A-Family, Turkey-A-Thon and Toy Drive/Holiday Assistance.
Needs: Adopt a family for the holidays in order to provide toy donations or donations of turkey and food/nonperishables
Volunteer: 702-369-4357, helpsonv.org
Jewish Family Service Agency
Supports people of all backgrounds by providing professional social services, including counseling, senior services, adoptions and emergency assistance.
Needs: Daily administrative tasks, food panty help, driving seniors, assistance with events and fundraisers held throughout the year
Volunteer: 702-794-0304, jfsalv.org
Las Vegas Rescue Mission
Provides children with Christmas gifts, as well as food and other essentials.
Needs: Aid with special events, serve meals, seek donations and collect items to distribute to those in need, drive residents to church, assist with chapel service, sort nonperishable items, gift-wrapping
Volunteer: 702-382-1766, vegasrescue.org
Lutheran Social Services of Nevada
Provides professional social services to people of all backgrounds, including counseling, senior services, adoptions and emergency assistance.
Needs: Help with assembling and distributing Thanksgiving dinners to seniors and families in need; Christmas Adopt-A-Family program; purchasing gift items from a supplied wish list; organizing and distributing the gifts; emergency services food pantry; office tasks, including answering phones, determining client eligibility for services, entering client information into the record-keeping system and general duties such as data entry, bookkeeping, filing, copying, etc.; cleaning of the pantry and offices; performing of maintenance at housing units and keeping the grounds clean; assembling and delivering baskets for holiday food drives; and fundraising efforts in support of numerous programs
Volunteer: 702-639-1730 ext. 510, lssnv.org
Marine Toys 4 Tots
Collects new, unwrapped toys and distributes them as Christmas gifts to needy children.
Needs: Toy donations; help with the transportation and storage of donated toys; warehouse assistance; help with meals and more
Volunteer: 702-632-1507, las-vegas-nv.toysfortots.org/local-coordinator-sites/lco-sites/local-contact-us.aspx
Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth
Provides youth services, including street outreach, 24-hour crisis intervention, full-time drop-in center and independent-living program.
Needs: Provide food, clothing, hygiene items, school supplies, available services information and other needed items in targeted, at-risk neighborhoods; bring supplies and assemble sack lunches for distribution; host a barbecue for homeless youth at the Drop-In Center; participate in monthly baking contest by preparing and decorating cookies, cupcakes and other confections; creating hygiene kits; answering phones and other clerical tasks; food pantry help; restocking of clothing closet; housing improvements including assembling bunk beds, painting, property maintenance, organizing, restoration projects and more
Volunteer: 702-383-1332, nphy.org
Opportunity Village
Opportunity Village
Serves people with severe intellectual and related disabilities by providing vocational training, community employment, day services, advocacy, arts and social recreation to help them seek independence.
Needs: Work with men and women with intellectual disabilities; assist with various events, including Magical Forest, which requires 70-90 nightly volunteers, such as ticket-takers, food and beverage servers, forest greeters, elves, train conductor and more
Volunteer: 702-259-3741, opportunityvillage.org
The Ronald McDonald House of Greater Las Vegas
Provide lodging, transportation and support to families while their children receive medical treatment.
Needs: Help with cleaning and organizing of house, family transportation, office work, building and grounds maintenance, hospital lunch program, dinner program, weekend breakfast program and clean up, special events, professional services and Wish List drives; driving of shuttle van and lunch program delivery
Volunteer: 702-252-4663, rmhlv.com
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army
Offers adult rehabilitation, emergency disaster, family, homeless, human-trafficking victim and veteran services, as well as vocational, prayer requests, summer camp and youth club programs.
Needs: Assistance with sorting and wrapping of donated Christmas gifts; unpacking, sorting, storing and bagging of food pantry donations; wallpapering, painting and cleaning kitchen; painting common areas, halls, lobby and bathrooms; sorting, organizing and packing donated items; building of shelving, wooden racks and wood bins for storage; organization of two clothing rooms; visiting senior care centers; serving food, passing out cups and utensils; cleaning up at community homeless meals
Volunteer: 702-870-4430, salvationarmysouthernnevada.org
The Shade Tree
Provides a safe shelter for homeless and abused women and children in crisis, and offers life-changing services promoting stability, dignity and self-reliance.
Needs: Help preparing and serving daily meals; organizing the pantry; assist in clinic; tutoring; teach life skills classes; organizing arts and craft projects; sorting donated items; providing transportation to appointments; cleaning, painting and yard work; assisting with special events.
Volunteer: 702-385-0072, theshadetree.org
Spread the Word Nevada
Advances early childhood literacy by giving books to children in at-risk, low-income communities.
Needs: Cleaning books; Books and Buddies mentors; reading companion and “model” providing individualized attention; help with Breakfast with Books event setup, sign-in and distribution of snacks and books; assisting with storytelling; lending a hand at one of many community events.
Volunteer: 702-564-7809, spreadthewordnevada.org
St. Jude’s Ranch for Children
Works with abused, neglected and at-risk children, young adults and families through residential foster care; pregnant and parenting teen; transitional living, housing and services for homeless 18-25 year-olds; child-focused sibling preservation; emergency placement; and child-nutrition programs.
Needs: Donations of holiday decorations, such as light-up figurines, prelit trees, garland; volunteers with tools to hang lights and decorate the outdoors of the ranch for Christmas on Nov. 14 and Nov. 21.
Volunteer: 702-294-7152, stjudesranch.org
Three Square
The Backpack for Kids program provides Clark County schoolchildren in need with bags of nourishing food for after school, weekends, during the holidays and school breaks.
Needs: Volunteers ages 10-plus to pack kid-friendly food into bags; stock food shelves; prepare bags for placement into school bins
Volunteer: 702-644-3663, threesquare.org
VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System
To help provide for the comfort and well-being of veteran patients and make their hospital stays more enjoyable.
Needs: Help with transportation of patients to and from medical appointments; dispatching of transportation; information desk; filing, answering phones, greeting and directing patients; making appointment reminder calls to patients
Volunteer: 702-791-9134, lasvegas.va.gov/giving
YMCA
Provides personal and social change through Christian principles and opportunities to learn, grow and thrive side-by-side, regardless of age, income or background.
Needs: Assistance with sorting and wrapping of toy donations; setting up the facility for its annual Reindeer Rock event and distributing toys at the event; raising funds; coaching sports teams and teaching classes; motivating youth to build skills and relationships that lead to positive behaviors, better health and higher education; helping adults who want to do more and live healthier
Volunteer: Las Vegas: Centennial Hills, 702-478-9622, Durango Hills, 702-240-9622, Bill and Lillie Heinrich, 702-877-9622; North Las Vegas: SkyView, 702-522-7500, ymca.net