Opportunities From: University of California, Riverside

Volunteers are needed indoors for 4 hours for inspecting, sorting, boxing and labeling food donations. Through your service, Feeding America is able to help more than 400,000 men, women and children each month in the Inland Empire. Feeding America supports food pantries, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, daycare centers and senior food programs.

Date: Friday, February 20

Time: 8 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Location: Feeding America

2950 Jefferson St. Ste B

Riverside, CA 92504

Join your fellow Highlanders, families, and alumni to help with needed beautification tasks at our world renown Botanic Gardens. Volunteers will be asked to help with general landscaping, weeding, planting, debris removal, and more garden specific tasks.

Date: Friday, February 20, 2026

Time: TBD

Location: Botanic Gardens 1 Botanic Gardens Dr, Riverside, CA 92507

Parking: Lot 13

*All volunteers must be at least 18 years old.

All instruction and needed tools are provided. Please wear closed toe shoes and clothes you don’t mind getting dirty. Dress in layers, and bring a bottle of water. If you’re sensitive to sun, don’t forget your sunscreen and hat.

UCR Shirts are not guaranteed for registrants who RSVP after Monday, February 16.

Join the Black Alumni Chapter for a California Citrus State Historic Park for a citrus cleanup! Help us bag the citrus fruit that has dropped to the ground around and under the trees in the varietal grove.  Volunteers should be prepared to stand, bend, and kneel for the duration of their volunteer service. 

Date: Saturday, February 21, 2026

9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. 

Time:  Please plan to arrive at 8:30 a.m. to check in. Upon arrival, all volunteers are required to complete a liability waiver. 

Address:  9400 Dufferin Ave Riverside CA 92503

Parking: The California Citrus State Historic Park is located off of Dufferin and has dedicated parking.

Meeting location: We will have a UCR Alumni & Family point person in the parking lot (indicated on the map by the red pin) from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. The meeting spot is at the amphitheater, circled in the image above.

What to Bring: Closed-toed shoes, comfortable, active and weather-appropriate clothing, sun protection (e.g. Hat, Sunglasses, Sunscreen, etc.), heavy-duty garden gloves, and a reusable water bottle.

What Not to Bring: dogs, wagons, flip flops

UCR Shirts are not guaranteed for registrants who RSVP after Monday, February 16

Join the Inland Empire Alumni Network for a "Keep Riverside Clean & Beautiful" Adopt-a-Street cleanup! We will clean up University Avenue between Iowa Ave. and Canyon Crest Drive. Together, we can help clean and maintain this important gateway connecting UCR to the City of Riverside!

Location: The meeting location and free parking is at Lot 50 (enter from University Avenue). The entrance is to the left of the construction fencing.

Trash pickers, trash bags, vests and gloves will be provided.

What to bring: Please wear comfortable, weather-appropriate clothing and sun protection.

UCR Shirts are not guaranteed for registrants who RSVP after Monday, February 16

Join Bay Area alumni and families to work on habitat restoration at Golden Gate Park! 

Date: Saturday, February 21

Time:  10 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

Location: Meet at the Blue Heron Boathouse

50 Blue Heron Lake Dr
San Francisco, California 94118

All instruction and needed tools are provided. Please wear closed toe shoes and clothes you don’t mind getting dirty. Dress in layers, and bring a bottle of water. If you’re sensitive to sun, don’t forget your sunscreen and hat.

UCR Shirts are not guaranteed for registrants who RSVP after Monday, February 16

We are rolling up our sleeves to beautify the planters near the Fine Arts building on campus! 

Attire: Please wear long pants and close-toed shoes. Long sleeve shirts are also recommended. If you have gardening or work gloves, please bring them, but we will have a limited number available as well.

UCR Shirts are not guaranteed for registrants who RSVP after Monday, February 16.

Join the UCR Asian Pacific Islander Alumni Network to volunteer at the Eastvale Lantern Festival! This event, celebrating Lunar New Year, will be held on Scholar Way in front of Eleanor Roosevelt High School. Volunteers will help set up tables and tents, and prepare the space for the festival which begins at 10 a.m. After the shift, all volunteers are invited to enjoy the event together!

Date:  Saturday, February 21
Time: 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

Please plan to arrive at 7:30 a.m. to check in.

Parking: There will be free parking on-site

What to Bring: Closed-toe, comfortable shoes, active and weather-appropriate clothing, and sun protection.

UCR Shirts are not guaranteed for registrants who RSVP after Monday, February 16

Riverside LGBTQ+ Pride has adopted Merrill Avenue and we need your help to keep it litter free! We will be meeting at VIP Nightclub and Restaurant parking lot. Trash bags, pickers and gloves will be provided. Thank you for helping us Keep Riverside Clean and Beautiful!

Date: Saturday, February 21, 2026

Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. 

Location: 3673 Merrill Ave. Riverside, CA

Parking: Free in the VIP Nightclub lot.

What to wear and bring: Volunteers must wear closed toed shoes and long pants. Volunteers should also be comfortable walking and bending for the duration of their service. We will have water jugs available. Please bring your own water bottles, sunscreen, and hats.

Casa de Amparo is a recognized leader in the treatment and prevention of child abuse and neglect and provides intensive clinical services and community-based resources to help build brighter futures across San Diego County and beyond.

Volunteers will engage in landscaping and/or furniture building for the refurbished residences that serve foster youth.

Date: Saturday, February 21

Time: 8:00 a.m.

Location: Casa de Amparo

325 Buena Creek Rd.

San Marcos, CA 92069

What to bring: Please wear closed-toe shoes, and bring work gloves and safety goggles if you have them.

Join us to contribute to the maintenance and beautification of the R'Garden! We are looking for volunteers who enjoy working in the garden pulling weeds and helping with beautification projects to add more artistic appeal to the space. We encourage participants to come prepared with closed-toe shoes, long-sleeve shirt and pants, protective sun gear (sunscreen, hats, etc.), and refillable water bottles.

We are located in the parking Lot 30 section 3, and participants can park in that area for free on the weekends.

Date:  Saturday, February 21

Time:  10 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

Location: Lot 30 (R'Garden)

All instruction and needed tools are provided. Please wear closed toe shoes and clothes you don’t mind getting dirty. Dress in layers, and bring a bottle of water. If you’re sensitive to sun, don’t forget your sunscreen and hat.

Lend a hand or two and help distribute fresh groceries to our community members! Upon arrival, community members will proceed in a line through a series of tables, or “stations” that have been set up by volunteers. Sorting, Packing, and Clean-up: Volunteers working in the food stations will help unload boxes of food from pallets and sort them into categories of produce, dairy, meat, etc. Once the food has been sorted and inspected, volunteers will pack a variety of these items into bags. Volunteers will also help replenish the pre-packed items on the tables with any overstock available on remaining pallets of food. Once the last community member has gone through the line, volunteers will also help with the clean up of the distribution area.

Date:  Saturday, February 21

Time:  7:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. 

Location: 1271 W Capitol Ave. West Sacramento, CA 95691

All instruction and needed tools are provided. Please wear closed toe shoes and clothes you don’t mind getting dirty. Dress in layers, and bring a bottle of water. If you’re sensitive to sun, don’t forget your sunscreen and hat.

Volunteers at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank will help with various projects, such as: assembling shelf-stable food packages; assembling 5 lb. produce bags; or sorting through bread and assorted goods.

PLEASE NOTE: Arrive 15-20 minutes early to allow time for parking and check-in. Free parking available on-site; however, is very limited and operates on a first come first serve basis. Carpooling, being dropped off, or bussing in together is strongly recommended. All volunteers are required to register individually and ahead of time; no walk-ins will be accepted. The minimum age requirement to volunteer is 18. For your safety, headphones/earbuds cannot be worn in the production/volunteer area.

DRESS CODE: All volunteers must wear closed toe/closed heel shoes. Casual, comfortable, and layered attire is recommended. Please be prepared to work in a warehouse with cooler temperatures. Ex: t-shirt, jeans, sweater/jacket, tennis shoes For safety reasons, please no shorts or tank tops Mask are no longer required; however, are strongly recommended. Gloves will be provided on-site.

DEADLINE TO REGISTER: Monday, February 16th, 2026

Date:  Saturday, February 21

Time:  9 a.m. - 1 p.m.  (arrive by 8:45 a.m. for check in)

Location: 2300 Pellissier Place, City of Industry, CA 90601

The Old Zoo Picnic Area in Griffith Park is a very special location. It cements itself in the history of Los Angeles as its first zoo that was operational from 1912 to 1966. There are picnic tables throughout and even within old enclosures. Not only will you be doing community service with litter cleanup, you will be doing so at one of Los Angeles’s most unique and off-the-radar public retreats.

Date:  Saturday, February 21

Time:  10 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

Location: 5400 Griffith Park Dr. Los Angeles CA 90027

Parking: There is free parking, GPS "Spring Canyon Griffith Park" or "Merry Go Round Lot 2)

Join the Highlander Family Network and fellow UCR Alumni to help the Western Eagle Foundation's Food Bank! Volunteers will be asked to help with a variety of tasks such as sorting donations, assembling food banks, stocking, and interacting with guests and other volunteers. Volunteers should be 16 years old or accompanied by a parent or guardian on the day of the event.

Date: Saturday, February 21, 2026

Time: TBD

Location: Western Eagle Foundation Food Bank 40940 County Center Drive, Temecula, CA 92591

All instruction and needed tools are provided. Please wear closed toe shoes and clothes you don’t mind getting dirty. Dress in layers, and bring a bottle of water.

Volunteer at the Diaper Bank of the Inland Empire by sorting and bundling diapers for distribution. The Diaper Bank of the Inland Empire provides free diapers monthly to families and student parents to keep their children dry and healthy.

Date: Saturday, February 21

Time:  9 a.m. - 12 p.m. 

Location: IE Diaper Bank

1159 Iowa Ave. Suite M

Riverside, CA 92507

Join the UCR School of Public Policy and the Rivers & Land Conservancy for our coastal sage scrub habitat restoration/maintenance project. Volunteers will assist with weeding and watering pre-existing planting sites at the Mary Vagle Nature Center.

Date: Sunday, February 22, 2026

Time: 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Location: Mary Vagle Nature Center - 11501 Cypress Ave E, Fontana, CA 92337

PLEASE NOTE: This project will require volunteers to be able to walk 1-2 miles over uneven and dirt terrain. All instruction and needed tools are provided. Please wear closed toe shoes and clothes you don’t mind getting dirty. Dress in layers, and bring a bottle of water. If you’re sensitive to sun, don’t forget your sunscreen and hat.