The Volunteer Placement Program is designed to bridge student volunteers and local nonprofit organizations to address immediate community needs. This is a unique opportunity for students interested in pursuing an ongoing volunteer experience that will challenge them to grow and learn as active members of the Boulder community. Students who participate have the opportunity to network and build relationships, learn about and directly serve diverse community needs and get a strong start volunteering in CU Boulder community and in surrounding communities. Students apply to the program and are matched and placed with recognized community partners for a semester (or specific amount of time based on the needs of the community).
Organizations who serve as recognized community partners are connected with a small cohort of volunteers who agree to volunteer with the organization and who plan to volunteer on a weekly basis for about three hours each week. The number of volunteers placed with each organization is tailored to what is needed and manageable for the organization and our team works to recruit and place as close to that number as we can.
The Volunteer Placement Program provides coaching, placing and matching for student volunteers based on their skills and interests, a warm hand off to the organization students choose to volunteer with, opportunities to learn, serve and reflect, and support throughout the experience if student volunteers have questions about how to be effective as volunteers, solve problems, communicate effectively with their organization and/or need to process things they learn along the way.
Program overview
- Students apply for the Volunteer Placement Program by the application deadline.
- Applicants are matched with a recognized community partner based on their interests, skills and input.
- Students are presented with a placement and choose if they would like to accept and go through with the placement.
- Students commit to volunteering approximately three hours per week or 30 hours total during the semester. Please note some placements may have unique requirements. Please review the student agreement for more information on the full expectations for participants.
- The VRC provides intentional coaching and matching of volunteers, a warm hand-off to the organization and technology to track impacts and support at any point throughout the experience.
- Student volunteers agree to communicate with the organization and the VRC team, track their volunteer impacts and reflect on their experiences.
- After completion of the program, students choose to either continue volunteering or close the loop with their organization.
- Student volunteers and nonprofit organizations agree to practice ongoing communication to navigate scheduling, cancellations and/or adjustments to shifts, challenges and gaps in knowledge, and to answer questions throughout the program.
Application information and key dates
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Information regarding our fall 2023 dates and community partners will be available soon
Learn about the recognized community partners listed below, check out the student agreement before applying and/or inquire by emailing volunteer@colorado.edu.
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Watch our recorded information session!
Student applications will open on August 18
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Apply to the Volunteer Placement Program!
Recognized community partners
Recognized community partners are nonprofit organizations that work to address social and environmental justice issues in the Boulder community. As partners with the Volunteer Placement Program, these organizations provide training, support and weekly opportunities for participants to directly advance their organizational missions. Learn more about our recognized community partners below.
The Basic Needs Center is a campus care collective for CU Boulder students, connecting you to essential resources when you need them most. As a virtual and physical hub of services, we collaborate with on-campus and community partners to get you the care you need. The Basic Needs Center provides:
- Food assistance, including Buff Pantry, SNAP support and community resources.
- Housing assistance for short-term and emergency situations.
- Connection with on- and off-campus resources for health and wellness services, transportation, disability services, financial aid, legal assistance, career planning and more.
Food insecurity is the lack of access to affordable, nutritious and culturally relevant food in a quantity that supports the active and healthy lifestyle our students need to be successful. The Buff Pantry is the on-campus food pantry at the University of Colorado Boulder. Located in the University Memorial Center, CU students are welcome to visit the Buff Pantry one time per week and will receive approximately 20 pounds of food per visit. The Buff Pantry provides shelf-stable products, fresh produce and personal care items at no cost to students. Volunteering at the Buff Pantry is a way to directly serve and support CU students experiencing food insecurity. It is also a great opportunity to meet new people and make new friends!
- What do volunteers do? Volunteers will support general outreach efforts to campus to make the Basic Needs Center more visible to students in need and/or can volunteer to support the daily operations of the Buff Pantry, which includes staffing the Buff Pantry, restocking shelves, assisting clients and managing deliveries and donations. Students will begin training to volunteer in the Buff Pantry during the week of Monday, February 28. Volunteers will then shadow staff members or previous volunteers for two weeks after training. Once volunteers are comfortable, they are able to run the pantry independently and are able to reach out to staff members for assistance when needed. Volunteers will also assist with sporadic Feed the Stampede events throughout the semester, including Mobile Food Pantries, hot meal distribution events, and nutrition education events. The Buff Pantry placement requires volunteering for the full semester through the last day of classes.
- Volunteers gain knowledge about food insecurity and basic needs, and especially how it impacts college students at CU Boulder, experience doing outreach to help students connect with housing, emergency financial assitsance and food through outreach and/or working in the daily operations of a food pantry, customer service skills, communication skills and team work.
- COVID-19 information: This is an in-person, on-campus volunteer opportunity.
- Location: Volunteers will report to the Buff Pantry on campus in UMC 1B73 for their volunteer shifts each week. Bi-weekly volunteer meetings will be held over Zoom.
Community Food Share is a food bank fighting hunger in Boulder and Broomfield Counties by providing access to fresh, nutritious food through local partners and its onsite and mobile pantries. Community Food Share’s mission is to eliminate hunger in Boulder and Broomfield Counties through engagement, collaboration and leadership.
- What do volunteers do? There are multiple ways that our volunteers can assist our operations. Volunteers help to distribute food at our on-site pantry, repack bulk food donations, sort incoming food donations, help to keep our warehouse clean and perform any other assortment of jobs that pop up in a food bank! One hour of volunteering provides 90 meals to people experiencing food insecurity. Volunteers who can speak both Spanish and English are very needed in this organization.
- Volunteers gain customer service, teamwork, communication and experience working in a food bank addressing basic needs directly.
- COVID-19 information: This is an in-person volunteer experience and volunteers must be able coordinate their own transportation. Volunteer shifts are weekdays between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. MT.
- Location: 650 S. Taylor Ave., Louisville, CO 80027
*Please note this placement is not available during spring 2023. Visit COLOR’s community partner page on CUServes and/or contact Alexis directly to learn more about their one-time opportunities available this semester. Thanks!
Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR) is a community-rooted organization that works to enable Latinx individuals and their families to lead safe, healthy and self-determined lives. COLOR works to ensure that Latinx individuals and their families are accessing opportunities and resources for the health of mind, body and spirit. We value justice and equity for all people: creating awareness of intersectionality and the ways it is used to either support or marginalizes Latinx communities. We are a community rooted and work to create intergenerational opportunities and leadership. We model sex positivity and support Latinx individuals’ right to make their own decisions.
- What do volunteers do? Our direct services are in a hybrid approach. Volunteers will attend three training sessions to develop tools as a volunteer in order to assist with tabling, phone banking, texting campaigns, logistics of events (set up and tear down), sharing stories with COLOR and community members, identifying themes and trends of statistics, craft/creative projects and administrative work. Bilingual preferred but not necessary (Spanish/English); we welcome all who want to volunteer with us. Examples of the direct service opportunities students can assist with are listed below.
- Latino/a Advocacy Day: assist registration table, welcome guests, set up signs and tables, assist with childcare.
- Community involvement: engage with the community regarding what is COLOR, engage in narrative building and storytelling, deliver flyers, relational organizing and recruit new members.
- Tabling events: set up, tear down and staff the table at events like Pride Fest, Westword festivals, Reproductive Health (baby supplies and food) and Youth Activist for Abortion Access Summit (YAAAS).
- Reproductive Justice Policy campaigns: Get out the Vote (GOTV), phone banking, canvassing, texting campaigns.
- Volunteers gain basic organizing skills, basic Google Suite skills, basic Microsoft skills, administrative skills, basic public speaking skills, advocacy skills.
- COVID-19 information: It will be a hybrid approach as some areas can be done virtually, via Zoom or text. We will have in-person meetings and possible in-person events as restrictions from the pandemic are lifted.
- Mailing address: PO Box 40991, Denver, CO 80204
Colorado Reading Partners has been a part of the Colorado educational landscape since 2012, when Mile High United Way leveraged a federal Social Innovation Fund grant to help ensure more Colorado children could read proficiently by third grade. Since then, we have paired thousands of community volunteers with kids to help them master basic reading skills and narrow their opportunity gap. Our one-on-one tutoring empowers students to succeed while simultaneously empowering volunteers to make a lasting difference in our community through individualized personal attention to each student in our program.
- What do volunteers do? In this role CU students serve as mirrors and role models for elementary school students who need support with reading skills. The dedicated time and attention that volunteers give on a weekly basis helps these students increase their reading skills, social skills, confidence in their abilities and ultimately their own opportunities later in life. Volunteers will be paired with a student and will volunteer each week at the same day at a time that fits their schedule. Shifts are Monday- Thursday between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Students commit to volunteering until early December.
- Volunteers gain experience tutoring and working with youth, knowledge of Colorado public schools and resources to create more equity and individualized educational support for children of all backgrounds.
- COVID-19 information: Reading Partners will follow all COVID-19 school safety requirements and is prepared to offer in-person volunteer opportunities aligned with local guidelines. Volunteers from the Volunteer Placement Program will all be placed at the same school location so they can connect and support each other while volunteering.
- Location: Students will be able to choose from several elementary schools located in Westminister. Students can carpool, take the RTD bus (~1 hour ride) or drive individually if able.
*Please note this placement is not available during spring 2023. Visit Generation Exchange’s community partner page on CUServes and/or contact Matt directly to learn more about their one-time opportunities available this semester. Thanks!
Generation Exchange connects students and older adults in order to exchange knowledge and understanding about technology while creating new connections of engagement, purpose and leadership between generations.
Generation Exchange is an organization built on three beliefs:
1) We believe that technology should be easy and accessible for everyone: no one left behind, no exceptions.
2) We believe our rapid technological evolution has created a generation gap, to the detriment of all age groups. This gap disempowers and isolates older generations, while it creates barriers for younger generations to connect with the wealth of insight and experience older generations have to offer them.
3) We believe technology has the power to dramatically enhance the lives of older generations, and reconnect them as a resource to the larger community.
- What do volunteers do? Volunteers are paired with community members who are interested in expanding their technology skills, gaining confidence and making connections through one on one interactions. Volunteers help answer questions, provide support and encouragement, and provide coaching for basic technology skills. This one-to-one conversation is paced by you and your interests – no curriculum, no training program, simply answers for you, guided by you. Any device. Any question.
- Volunteers gain experience building connection across different generations, communication skills, problem-solving, relationship building, technology skills.
- COVID-19 information: This is an in-person volunteer experience that will take place in Boulder.
- Location: CMCI Studio, 1301 Walnut St., Boulder, CO 80309
Luvin Arms Animal Sanctuary provides exceptional lifelong social, emotional and cognitive care to rescued farmed animals, and advocates for those who have not been rescued by sharing our residents’ stories to inspire, educate and empower others to embrace a more compassionate and sustainable lifestyle. Since our founding in 2015, Luvin Arms has helped rescue over 717 animals, and has reached over 35,000 people in over 31 countries around the world. We have educational outreach programs in schools, including several in India. There are 113 rescued animals that currently call Luvin Arms home.
- What do volunteers do? Volunteers must complete three hands on animal care training sessions to learn safety protocols, animal care and are introduced to the animal residents as well as staff. In addition to animal care activities, volunteers also have opportunities to support our mission in facilities and grounds maintenance and assisting with various events that are taking place during the volunteer time. We require a respectful attitude toward our rescued residents and the ability to do physical work in all weather conditions. Much of the work is in the barns or outside.
- Volunteers gain knowledge and hands on experience related to animal care, farm animal rights and sustainability.
- COVID-19 information: This volunteer experience will be inperson at the animal sanctuary and volunteers must be able to coordinate their own transportation.
- Location: 3470 County Road 7, Erie, CO 80516
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Boulder County is an organization of families, friends and individuals whose lives have been affected by mental illness. Together, we advocate for better lives for those individuals who have a mental illness, and we offer support, education and advocacy as we do so. One in five American adults experiences some form of mental illness in any given year. 50% of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14, and 75% by age 24. NAMI offers the understanding that only those with lived experience of mental illness can provide. Together with our grassroots volunteers, we work every day to provide help and hope to millions of Americans.
- What do volunteers do? Volunteers will join our advocacy committee, community outreach committee or marketing and events committee. Each of these committees meet weekly to discuss various action items determined by the committee and volunteers are required to do 1-2 hours of individual work aside from the committee meetings each week.
- Volunteers gain experience working with community members and long term volunteers within NAMI and have opportunities to learn about and influence resources related to mental health.
- COVID-19 information: Committee meetings will be held virtually and students can meet up in person with eachother to carry out individual tasks and build connections while volunteering during the week if they would like to!
- Location: 3470 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80304 and on Zoom
Out Boulder County works independently and in collaboration, we facilitate connection, advocacy, education, research and programs to ensure LGBTQ+ people and communities thrive in Boulder County and beyond. We envision a world where LGBTQ+ people and communities thrive in an inclusive, equitable, just and connected world.
- What do volunteers do? Volunteers will support community outreach efforts, office administration work, event planning and adovcacy work.
- Volunteers gain experience in learning about diversity, equity and inclusion, working with community members, giving referrals to community resources, assisting in planning events, engaging in community outreach and more.
- COVID-19 information: Out Boulder serves as an information and resource hub for community members seeking resources related to COVID-19, masks, vaccine information and more. Volunteer activities will be in person.
- Location: 3340 Mitchell Ln., Boulder, CO 80301
The Fall 2023 application will be available soon.
Email volunteer@colorado.edu with any questions.