All posts by Sara Gladwin

Environmental, Philadelphia

The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education

The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education seeks to promote an appreciation and connection between people and the nature around us. The center focuses on Environmental Education for the surrounding community through their four main departments; Education, Land Restoration, Wildlife Rehabilitation, and Environmental Art.

The Center offers a variety of volunteer opportunities working with nature, wildlife, art, and education. For general inquiries, contact Claire Morgan 215-482-7300 ext. 120 or cmorgan@schuylkillcenter.org. For examples of their extensive volunteer programs, check out their job/volunteer page at http://www.schuylkillcenter.org/jobs/

The Schuylkill Center is located at 8480 Hagy’s Mill Road, Philadelphia PA

Health, LGBTQ, Philadelphia

Mazzoni Center

1 Comment

The Mazzoni Center is a health care provider that specifically targets the needs and wellness of LGBT individuals located in Philadelphia. In addition to primary health care, Mazzoni supports through providing mental and behavioral health services, LGBT legal services, HIV and STD testing, food bank and housing subsidies for families and individuals affected by HIV, support groups, outreach and education programs.

Volunteers help support the Mazzoni Center by promoting various programs and engaging the public in community-wide events. There are a variety of ways you can help at the Mazzoni Center, such as data entry, social media support, receptionist, and outreach volunteers.

Click here to learn more and submit an application: http://mazzonicenter.org/contribute/volunteer

Mazzoni’s main office is located at 21st South 12th Street, Philadelphia. For more information, call 215-563-0652.

Environmental, Philadelphia

Fairmont Waterworks Education Center

The Fairmont Waterworks Education Center (FWW) is a National Historic Landmark that sits on the East Bank of the Schuylkill River. FWW stresses the importance of clean waterways and environmental sustainability through educating citizens about Philadelphia’s urban watershed. Additionally, the organization works in collaboration with partners to foster respect and appreciation for the connections between our lives and our environment.

FWW’s Core Values, as stated by their website:

  • “We care about Clean Water for all living things. We recognize that clean water starts with each individual’s actions and we nurture a sense of personal responsibility for the conservation of our watersheds and the health of the planet.
  • We take a Personal Approach to guide visitors in thoughtful exploration of our historic site and to engage their intellect.  Every visitor is warmly greeted and treated with courtesy.
  • We believe that Collaboration is the way to bring creative people, sound science, and great ideas together to cultivate excellence in all we do. We accomplish this by developing Strategic Partnerships with those individuals and groups who share our values and aspirations.
  • We provide Experiential Learning that engages all visitors in understanding the concepts that pervade our messages, programs, and exhibits.  Our approach is both “hands on” and “minds on,” for all audiences, recognizing that people come to us through different “gateways.”
  • We value the History that has shaped our lives, informs our messages, and inspires our future. Our National Historic Landmark setting, exhibits, and programs celebrate Philadelphia’s past and the engineering marvel that was and is the Fairmount Water Works.
  • We care about Our People, value their individual contributions and seek to attract and retain the very best staff, volunteers, and advisors.”

If you are interested in volunteering at FWW, call 215-685-0723

Fairmont Waterworks Education Center is located at 640 Waterworks Drive Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19130

Arts, Philadelphia

Village of Arts and Humanities

The mission of The Village of Arts and Humanities is to support the voices and aspirations of the community through providing opportunities for self-expression rooted in art and culture. The Village inspires people to be agents of positive change through programs that encompass arts and culture, engage youth, revitalize community, preserve heritage and respect the environment.

From the Village of Arts and Humanities website:

“As an organization and as individuals:

We value integrity, honesty, openness, personal excellence, constructive self-criticism, continual self-improvement, and unwavering mutual respect.

We regard all the North Philadelphia community as our neighbors, partners, friends, and colleagues.

We are committed to improving the physical, emotional, and social well-being of the people and the community as a whole.

We value art as a vehicle to create place, build self-esteem, and engender mutual respect. Art encompasses both the visual and performing arts as well as creativity in thinking, methodology and implementation.

We are committed to preserving the social and cultural heritage of the African American community in which we reside, while simultaneously fostering a sense of multiculturalism that reflects the needs of today’s culturally diverse community.

We embrace what society disdains and throws away, creating a new sense of possibility and hope in the community.

We believe that the strongest leadership is found within the community. Therefore, our programming supports and grows youth and adult residents into community leaders.”

Volunteering

Volunteers are integral to The Village’s programs. The Village of Arts and Humanities would love to hear from creative and reliable individuals who would like to serve as mentors to our teens, host workshops, visit as guest speakers or help staff events at The Village. To find out how you can get involved, visit http://villagearts.org/give. For more information on volunteering, visit http://villagearts.org/contact and indicate your interest.

After-School, ELL, Norristown

ACLAMO Family Centers

Updated 10/25/2019

ACLAMO, located in Norristown, is the only bi-lingual social service agency in Montgomery County. Aclamo Family Centers provides educational, health, economic, social, and cultural opportunities to low-come individuals and families in Montgomery County, especially those of Spanish-speaking heritage. Aclamo was initiated out of a necessity to support the Latino community and families. The program has since grown to encompass a much wider community. ACLAMO offers access to programs in employment, housing, supplementary education/drop-out prevention, family literacy, early prenatal care and primary care health services and parenting education.  There are a variety of Educational services provided by Aclamo that college students can volunteer their time and effort, such as the after-school and summer school programs.

Check out their website here: https://aclamo.org/

Fill out an online volunteer application here: https://aclamo.org/volunteer/

For more information, call 610-277-2570. ACLAMO is located at 512 W Marshall St, Norristown PA, 19401

*This site is accessible via public transportation from the Bryn Mawr campus.

Please see transportation reimbursement policy.

College Access, Mentors, Philadelphia

Philadelphia Futures

Updated 10/25/2019

The mission of Philadelphia Futures is to provide low-income and first generation college students with the necessary tools and resources to achieve success in college and beyond. Philadelphia Futures provides the opportunity for committed volunteers to pair with a high school student through their mentoring program. A mentor is expected to provide support for one young adult by exposing them to new social, cultural and educational experiences. The friendship and guidance that can be provided by a mentor is critical to student success. Mentors communicate regularly with their student and meet up at least once a month. Mentors are required by state law to undergo a child abuse clearance and as well as a criminal record check.

Learn more about volunteer opportunities here

Learn more generally about Philadelphia Futures: http://www.philadelphiafutures.org/home

After-School, Philadelphia, Tutoring, Urban, Writing

Mighty Writers

Mighty Writers offers after-school tutoring, night classes and weekend classes to Philadelphia kids between the ages of 7 and 17. These programs are designed to raise literacy amongst youth and develop strong, creative writers.

There are various volunteer opportunities, including tutoring, mentoring, workshop leadership roles, and internships available at Mighty Writers.

Website: http://www.mightywriters.org/

Find Volunteer opportunities here: http://www.mightywriters.org/volunteer/

Mighty Writers is located at 15th & Christian and 39th & Lancaster.

Health, LGBTQ, Philadelphia

Youth Health Empowerment Project (Y-HEP)

The Youth Health Empowerment Project began in an effort to reduce the risks of spreading HIV and STDs among Philadelphia’s young adults. The project has grown to encompassing a range of community-wide health issues, as well as encouraging leadership development among youth. Y-HEP offers volunteer opportunities in the Peer Education Academy. Peer Education Academy strives to mainstream the education it delivers, create networks for youth to access various resources, provide skills for young adults to build upon for future endeavors, and support Philly youth when faced with challenges such as peer pressure and teen pregnancy. Y-HEP is comprehensive adolescent and young adult program that offers holistic health services, sexual health education, drop in day services, and leadership activities to over 3000 high-risk/high promise, low-income, urban youth ages 13-24 living in Philadelphia.

Volunteers at the Youth Health Empowerment Project assist the staff in being able to provide youth with better services while engaging in a unique experience to interact with Y-HEP incredible participants. All volunteers are expected to carry out Y-HEP’s mission to empower young people by maintaining the Y-HEP rights and responsibilities and interacting with the participants as a role model.

Please contact Don Russell, Program Director, drussell@fight.org if you are:

  • interested in volunteering at Y-HEP or your organization wants to bring larger groups for a day of services,
  • a part of an organization that provides free or low-cost activities or workshops that our youth might benefit from. We love to bring in other organizations to offer new educational, arts, or therapeutic opportunities for Y-HEP youth.
  • an artist, musician, dancer, yogi, or have a talent to share and wish to volunteer with us, we’d love to have you as well!

Website: http://www.y-hep.org

Location: 1417 Locust Street, 3rd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19102

Contact: 215-564-6388

 

Music

Musicopia

 

Musicopia is a nonprofit organization that works with approximately 100 of the Philadelphia region’s professional musicians to present a wealth of music education programs. Musicopia is also the leading advocate for restoring and improving in-school music instruction throughout the Greater Philadelphia area.

Musicopia has a variety of volunteer opportunities, including Special Events Volunteers, Program Observers and organizing an instrument donation drive. To learn more, click here: https://www.musicopia.net/volunteer

Environmental, Gladwyne

Riverbend Environmental Education Center

Mission:

Situated on 30 acres in Gladwyne, PA, Riverbend Environmental Education Center “teaches environmental principles to children in Southeastern Pennsylvania through a direct connection with nature, inspiring respect for our natural world and action as aware, responsible and caring citizens”. Learn more at  http://www.riverbendeec.org/.

Services/Programs Provided:

Riverbend offers a variety of programs for the community, including educational programs for K-12 aged youth, summer and year round campus, Scout programs, nature clubs and additional family themed events.

Student Opportunities:

Riverbend relies on the talents and skills of volunteers who contribute to the Center in various ways. Opportunities in the areas of Special Events, Habitat and Facilities, Animal Care, Marketing, Administrative Support, and Education have been available in the past. To learn more and view up to date listings, visit https://riverbendeec.org/how-you-can-help/volunteer or contact Jeanne Angell at (610) 527-5234 ext. 110, or jangell@riverbendeec.org.

 

Riverbend Environmental Education Center
1950 Spring Mill Road
Gladwyne, PA 19035
Phone: 610.527.5234
Fax: 610.527.1161