Volunteer Project Catalog

City of Santa Monica

The Adopt-A-Stop program encourages Big Blue Bus (BBB) riders, local businesses, or civic organizations to “adopt” a local BBB stop to maintain, keep clean, and care for. BBB wants to empower “Adopters” to feel a sense of ownership and pride in their local BBB stop.

City of Santa Monica

Rising average temperatures and more frequent heat events are changing the landscape of the City of Santa Monica. The Office of Sustainability and the Environment is developing an Extreme Heat & Resilience Action Plan to create a roadmap toward a heat-resilient Santa Monica. In order to develop a thorough response to extreme heat, the City first must conduct strategic outreach to Santa Monica residents. Volunteers for this project will assist with canvassing efforts including tabling at community events, distributing a survey on extreme heat, and communicating basic information on heat risk as needed. All outreach events will be run with at least one City staff member present. Shifts will be created in advance of each event on an as-needed basis.

Farmers Market

Individuals who are enthusiastic about Farmers Markets, small farms, locally grown produce and community engagement are encouraged to apply. Markets typically have two volunteer shifts: 7:30am to 11:00am and 10:30am to 2:00pm and will be outdoors, assisting with providing customer information, collection of paperwork and general operations at one of four Farmers Market sites. Market locations are: Sunday Main Street (Main and Ocean Park Blvd), Wednesday and Saturday Downtown Santa Monica (Arizona Ave. between 2nd and 4th St.), Saturday Pico (Virginia Ave. Park on Pico and 22nd St.) Volunteer placement determined as need arises. Requirements: Must be age 18 or older LiveScan background check (cost covered if selected)

Community Gardens

Join us to volunteer in the Community Gardens! Opportunities include weekday garden workdays (Mon-Wed mornings; Mon, Wed, Thur afternoons), assisting at Saturday morning events, joining the Orchard Care Crew (every 1st Saturday), or doing general garden maintenance. Requirements: - free Live Scan fingerprint background check - free, online Mandated Reporter Training (If selected opportunity includes working with children)

City of Santa Monica

Want to help renters stay safe from extreme weather, poor air quality, and power outages? The City of Santa Monica has launched the Renter’s Energy and Cooling/Heating (REACH) Program, a new initiative offering free electric home appliances to Santa Monica residents! The REACH program will provide income-qualified renters with free electric appliances including air purifiers, portable heat pump HVAC units, and portable battery systems. Appliances will be shipped via FedEx directly to each participant’s home. We anticipate that some participants, especially seniors or folks with disabilities who live in multifamily housing, will need support getting appliances up to their homes, and we are seeking volunteers to be available to assist with this process. Duties would include arriving to one or more participants’ homes and helping to carry appliances from common areas directly to people’s doorsteps and potentially into their homes. Volunteers should be able to work in pairs to lift boxes weighing up to 85 pounds with the use of a dolly. This role may involve maneuvering boxes around corners and up flights of stairs. The City can provide volunteers with a dolly that can carry boxes upstairs. This program intends to serve roughly 250 Santa Monica households through a series of regular lotteries in 2026.