There are a wide variety of volunteer opportunities for Fresno City College students. One of which include Care Fresno.

“You have a heart to give wherever you go,” says Care Fresno director Randy Mewhirter.

Volunteers for this organization have the opportunity to help children and families in high needs communities and establishing relationships with them.

Many of their volunteers include FCC students as well as students at Fresno State.

There are volunteer fairs that take place once every semester to give students a chance to make a positive impact on the community.

“You get out of life what you give many times,” says FCC Program Specialist Maile Martin, “being kind of pushed to do [volunteer work] is good because we’re always in our comfort zone.”

Volunteer opportunities and internships are beneficial for people to find out what interests.

Here are some of the few that Fresno City promotes:

• Saint Agnes Hospice takes in volunteers that are willing to be of assistance to caregivers, relieving them from the stress of their jobs as well as proving the love and care that patients and their families need.
• Poverello House is a shelter for the homeless that offers a wide variety of volunteer work such as serving all day meals to the homeless, food preparation, cleaning the kitchen and arranging special events and projects.
• Valley Animal Center includes volunteering to care for dogs and cats, helping to clean up after them, assisting dog trainers, assisting with large groups of students for camp or tours along with other opportunities. The animal center offers five different committees for people who would like to get more involved.
• Tree Fresno has a mission to continue to grow and eventually transform the San Joaquin Valley with new trees and new landscapes. They have four different sources of volunteering which include greenway care, tree planting, community engagement events and become a member of the tree team.
• Boys & Girls Club of Fresno County’s goal is to enable the high-needs youth to have full potential as caring and responsible citizens. Volunteers may usually help out with club areas such as tutoring, sports clinics, game room activities in groups, serving daily meals and many others.
• CARE Fresno, mentioned above, is available to anyone in the community with a clean background. Opportunities include picking up or making food for children, tutoring, run special events and more. There are five separate locations around Fresno in the high need areas so it’s easily accessible for those families.

It’s never too late to become a volunteer for any organization. It’s a very convenient way of making a difference in your own community and may help each person grow as a person. Charles Dickens said, “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”