Opportunities From: Helpline Center Volunteer Connections

Balloons Over Brookings is a new, free community hot air balloon festival taking place July 17–19 at Fishback Soccer Park in Brookings. Hosted by the South Dakota Balloon Network, the weekend will feature hot air balloon flights, balloon glows, tether rides (weather permitting), and family-friendly activities. This is an inaugural event, and the team is excited to lay the foundation for what they hope becomes a long-standing annual tradition and regional attraction for the Brookings community.

They are looking for volunteers to help in a variety of roles throughout the weekend. If interested, please register by July 17th. No prior ballooning experience is necessary—they will provide any training needed. Volunteers are welcome to help with as much or as little of the weekend as they’re able, though their greatest need is during the evening events on Friday and Saturday.

Opportunities include:

If you have questions or are interested in volunteering, reach out to Dan Strutz at dan@flypheasantland.com or call 605-215-5899.

*Note: This volunteer opportunity is through South Dakota Balloon Network, not the Brookings Area United Way. Contact Dan at the email above for more information*

**THIS SIGN UP IS FOR GROUPS OF 7 TO 12 PEOPLE.  IF YOU ARE AN INDIVDUAL WANTING TO PACK, PLEASE REACH OUT TO RAEANN - DO NOT SIGN UP**

Every Wednesday, over 430 bags of food and snacks are packed and distributed to Brookings County schools and Head Start. 

We recommend groups of 7 to 10 people and it takes an hour or less.  Due to high demand for groups wanting to participate, please limit sign up to twice. Thank you for understanding!

We would love to host groups during working hours - if that would work better for your group please let RaeAnn know.  Typically, we pack bags at 5pm, but if there's a different time that would work better for your group, do not hesitate to let RaeAnn know.

Children must be 9 years old and accompanied by an adult.

You can always add your name to the waiting list. 

**Please note Oct 6th and Dec 15th are Tuesday Packing Dates.**  

For more information, please e-mail RaeAnn at volunteersbbp@gmail.com

Become a Better Choices, Better Health®-South Dakota (BCBH-SD) Lay Leader

Are you passionate about helping others improve their health and well-being? SDSU Extension is seeking volunteers to become trained Better Choices, Better Health®-SD Lay Leaders.

Lay Leaders facilitate evidence-based self-management workshops that help individuals living with chronic conditions gain the skills, confidence, and support needed to better manage their health. No healthcare background is required—just a desire to help others and a willingness to learn.

As a BCBH-SD Lay Leader, you will:

Requirements:

Time Commitment:

Benefits:

Interested individuals are encouraged to apply (Volunteer Application: https://bttr.im/egfti) to be notified of upcoming training opportunities. Trainings are scheduled as interest levels allow, typically when a sufficient number of prospective leaders are identified.

Born Learning Trails - Painting Volunteers Wanted!

Each summer the Brookings Area United Way promotes an active learning opportunity for young children and their families through the Born Learning Trails program in Brookings County.

This summer, multiple learning trails through Brookings County are in need of a refresh! We are in need of 15-20 volunteers to help paint these trails: 

If you are interested in volunteering time to sprucing up an environment that encourages outdoor exploration, learning, and imagination, sign up for spots on the Jotforms linked below the designated trail, email Brynn Olverson at brynn@brookingsunitedway.org, or give us a call at 605-692-4979!

Info here!   Check out a dog for an outing! 

Our fostering needs have changed a bit since we were a completely foster based rescue. Most of our “adoptable animals” do well in our shelter environment so we no longer send them to foster homes. It’s much easier to facilitate adoptions when they stay in shelter. Our foster program has shifted to care for animals that need a bit more round the clock care than can be provided during staffed hours at the shelter. These animals include:bottle/slurry/gruel aged kittens and puppies, special medical needs animals, Senior animals that need a little more TLC, special behavioral needs animals that are not thriving in shelter.

Monday - Friday 12-6, Saturdays 11-4

Do you enjoy meeting new people and sharing your interests with others? Advance is looking for volunteers to spend time with people we support. We'll match you with someone based on shared hobbies and interests so you can build a meaningful connection while enjoying activities together. Just a few hours a month can make a difference in their life and yours. Contact us today to learn more about becoming a Community Companion.

Volunteers will help clean out and reorganize our garage space. We will be disposing of unusable items, organizing overflow, and loading items that can be distributed to other organizations into a moving truck. Breakfast will be provided!

Please note that some tasks may involve lifting furniture, boxes, and other heavier items.

Mobile Food Distribution Volunteer Opportunity

Make a difference by distributing food boxes and bags to individuals and families facing food insecurity in local communities.

Key Responsibilities:

As a volunteer, you will assist with various tasks to ensure the smooth distribution of food to the public. Duties may include:

Support and Training:

Qualifications:

Age Requirements:

Important Notes:

A garden volunteer assists with planting, weeding, picking up trash, and other various garden-related tasks.  

Brookings Summer Arts Festival is July 11th and 12th, 2026. Volunteers are needed from Friday evening set up to Sunday afternoon in a variety of areas to help make the event a success. Volunteer areas include:

To volunteer, sign up at bsaf.com or contact Shari; wsbavery@yahoo.com or 605-692-2787 (leave a message or call in the evenings).

Brookings Summer Arts Festival is July 11th and 12th, 2026. Volunteers are needed to assist in artist hospitality. Hospitality volunteers will deliver cold bottled water to artist and vendors throughout the park. Volunteers will be given a specific route(s) to deliver, and must be able to walk throughout Pioneer Park while pulling apull-up cooler on wheels. Volunteers should also have general hospitality skills: ability to interact positively with artists and vendors, friendliness, and attention to detail. Volunteers can discuss length of volunteer time with Shari.

To volunteer, sign up at bsaf.com or contact Shari; wsbavery@yahoo.com or 605-692-2787 (leave a message or call in the evenings).

Brookings Area United Way is in need of volunteer(s) to keep our landscaping looking great this summer. All equipment will be provided!

June 1st - 3rd is our current need for weed removal and lawn work!

Have some time and are interested in helping us out? Email uw@brookingsunitedway.org or call our office at 605-692-4979!

Make a difference in your community and join our Board of Directors! The Board of Directors provides governance, strategic leadership, and oversight to ensure Margo's Place fulfills its mission. Each member is eligible to serve two consecutive 3-year terms and will serve on a committee as needed.

Learn more and apply at margosplace.co/careers.

Every Thursday we hold support group for both clients and community members seeking support. To help create an accessible space, we hope to provide childcare for participants during the group.

We are looking for a responsible individual to supervise children with support and intermittent oversight from staff. A background check will be required.

We are seeking compassionate individuals to assist with crisis call coverage for the shelter. Calls will be forwarded to a provided phone during your scheduled shift. Responsibilities include answering calls, offering supportive listening, and helping connect callers to appropriate resources.

Training and ongoing staff support will be provided. A background check is required.

This position packs visitor welcome bags with printed materials and promotional pieces to uplift our great community. Hours are available between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays

To coordinate a time, please email director@downtownbrookings.com. 

Keep Clean Downtown Brookings is a volunteer effort to remove litter in the Downtown Brookings neighborhood. Anyone can volunteer, including all ages and group sizes, during most daylight hours, seven days a week. Year-round opportunities are available, but depend on the weather and temperature. All supplies and instructions will be provided at the event - just bring yourself and a friend or two!

Volunteers must complete a waiver before volunteering. Waivers will be sent in advance or completed on-site. If under 18, parents must sign the waiver and an adult must accompany them during cleanup.

To coordinate a clean-up time, please email director@downtownbrookings.com. 

Join us for one of our residents' favorite pastimes! As a Bingo Helper, you'll assist residents in finding and marking their numbers and most importantly, bring the energy and excitement that makes each round memorable. This is a wonderful opportunity to share in the fun and put a smile on someone's face.

Volunteer Application will need to be completed prior to volunteering.

Behind every great nursing home is a team of dedicated volunteers keeping things running smoothly! As a Receipt Logger, you'll help our staff by organizing and recording Hy-Vee receipts on an Excel spreadsheet. This is an ideal role for detail-oriented individuals who would like to contribute their organizational skills to support our residents and staff behind the scenes.

Do you have a talent to share? Whether you play an instrument, sing, perform magic, or have any other entertaining skill, our residents would love to experience it! As a Musician or Entertainer volunteer, you'll bring joy, laughter, and a little bit of magic to our community by performing for our residents. Music and entertainment have a powerful way of lifting spirits and sparking cherished memories, making this one of the most impactful ways you can give back. Solo acts, duets, and groups are all welcome — we'd love to have you on our stage!

Need: We are looking for someone who is interested in serving in a back-up capacity for delivering Senior Commodities boxes.

Program Details: The Senior Commodities program supplies adults 60 and older and living on a limited income with a monthly pre-packaged box of non-perishable food items each month that is designed to supplement nutrients that are typically lacking in their diets.

Volunteer Details: The volunteer interested in this position will need to be able to lift 30 pounds, take/pass a background check, and drive with a current license. This position will serve more as a back-up capacity in case a current driver will be unavailable during the typical delivery time (1pm-3pm, on the 3rd Tuesday of the month). The volunteer will be trained under the current drivers.

If you are interested in this, please call the Brookings Area United Way office at 605-692-4979 or email uw@brookingsunitedway.org.

Our location is 908 Hope Drive, Brookings, SD 57006. This building is new & map systems have a hard time locating our building. We are located just north (or behind) First Lutheran Church (337 8th St.). Please use our entrance off of Harvey Dunn St

Our clients rely on local food resources, such as Feeding Brookings. We are looking for an individual who is willing to drive through Feeding Brookings (2030 3rd St) every Thursday at 3PM and pick up an avg of 5-7 boxes of food. It's an easy drive-through- we'll text you in the morning how many boxes we need, you'll let the organization know you're from Margo's Place and how many, and they'll load up your car with the boxes to be delivered to our shelter.

You'll feed families and impact your community in under an hour of your time. 

Do you write or speak another language? Margo's Place serves all walks of life - we are looking for any individual who is willing to translate our shelter and program documents, or is willing to be available to translate for clients. All languages accepted - a background check will be required for any direct client work. 

Margo's Place assists with emergency shelter, support groups, client needs, crisis intervention, community outreach, and more. If you're interested in supporting victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and stalking but don't see a specific opportunity, please connect here.

If you would also like to assist with last minute help - such as emergency moving, volunteer fill in, or unforeseen circumstances, connect here.

Margo's Place receives donations of clothing, household items, and more to assist with client needs in building independence. Help us process and inventory donations and organize them in our shelter to efficiently serve our clients. 

This opportunity is at the shelter, but can be done anytime from 9AM -9PM for any duration of time. 

ICAP’s 60’s Plus Dining is an adult meal program serving quality nutritious meals to any person aged 60 or over, and their spouses. There is no income, or health guidelines to participate. Our goal is to prevent malnutrition, and isolation, which are major causes of health problems for our aging society. 60’s Plus Dining began serving meals in 1973, and currently has over 3,000 clients throughout 10 counties in east-central South Dakota. There are 4 main options for meals, Congregate, Star Card, Home Delivered, and Frozen Meals.

Congregate meals are offered for lunch Monday through Friday, at senior centers, cafés, and apartment complexes throughout our service area. A variety of balanced meals, mostly comfort foods, are served in a group setting to provide quality nutrition, and socialization.

Home Delivered hot meals are provided Monday through Friday to clients who are unable to travel to, or meet at, our congregate or star card locations. A visit from one of our volunteers, offering a hot nutritious meal, often is the only social contact that many of our homebound clients receive each day, helping ease the problem of isolation.

Five Pack Frozen Meals are the perfect solution for both seniors on the go, as well as for those South Dakota seniors that live in isolation, or in areas that do not have even the basic food options. Many rural areas are considered food deserts. Without access to healthy foods, people living in these areas may be at higher risk of diet-related conditions, including malnutrition. Frozen meals have been a great tool to reach seniors in our rural food desert areas, where services were discontinued years ago.

We need meal providers to feed our volunteers as they work on construction projects. We have volunteers at our construction site every Wednesday and Thursday who all love a nice lunch! You can either drop lunch off with our crew at the construction site, or you can drop it off at our office and we can run it out if you don't have time! Reach out and we can set up a day for you to feed our crew!

Volunteer Service Bank is seeking passionate leaders to join our nonprofit board! If you have experience in HR, marketing, or fundraising, we'd love your expertise to help us grow.

The Volunteer Service Bank connects community volunteers with neighbors needing rides to medical appointments, ensuring access to care and support for healthier, stronger communities.

What you'll do as a board member:

Commitment:
Board terms typically last 3 years with meetings quarterly.

If you're ready to use your skills to give back and help our organization be the best it can be, we'd love to hear from you!

Please contact Molly at vsbcoordinator@gmail.com OR (605)692-6102

BBP is seeking a volunteer to pick up food from Hy-Vee and deliver to our site.  In addition, help put away food that's delivered on Thursdays from Feeding South Dakota.   Delivery from Feeding South Dakota is usually at 9am.  This is 3 Thursday's a month.  If you don't have a vehicle large enough for the order from Hy-Vee, we have options available! 

Volunteer opportunites would include sweeping and mopping floors, cleaning bathroom and public waiting area. Other duties would include washing windows, cleaning blinds and wiping out refrigerators. Other opportunities would include stocking shelves with food items and marking cans/boxes as needed.

Hope Haven International Ministries has an exciting new volunteer shop in Brookings, SD. At this shop we will be refurbishing wheelchairs to be repurposed and given a new life. This job is trainable and will be very easy to catch on. There is no time commitment for this opportunity, we just ask that you let us know if you plan on coming so that we can ensure someone is available to work with you! Come help make a difference in the lives of others!

Volunteer with BCYMP as a Mentor to a young person! 

Volunteer Mentors with BCYMP are caring, committed adults who meet one-on-one with a local youth once a week to build a trusting, supportive relationship. Mentors are role models who listen, encourage, and empower their Mentee to grow in confidence, connection, and emotional well-being. We provide training and ongoing support to ensure every match is successful and meaningful. Just one hour a week can make a lifelong difference in a child's life.

Girls on the Run (GOTR) is an afterschool program for 3rd - 8th grade girls. During an 8-week season we focus on lessons that build social, emotional and physical skills. The program sets girls on a path toward lifelong healthy habits, empowerment, and inclusion. After each season, participants become equipped with essential tools to navigate life’s challenges with empathy, grace, and courage. From there, they become changemakers who lead with compassion, kindness, and resilience.

Join the GOTR impact by volunteering this season as a coach or junior coach (16 - 18 year-old's in high school). You do not have to be a runner to volunteer! There will always be two coaches at each practice leading a group of 8 - 15 girls through the curriculum. Coach commitment is once a week for 1.5 hours. New coaches will attend new coach training to learn more about the program, best practices, and how to facilitate the curriculum. We have two seasons you can choose from. Our spring season starts in March - May and our fall season starts in September - November. 

Sing up to coach today! - www.embe.org/gotr

Every Thursday, we need a group of volunteers to help us pack boxes of food, starting at 2pm. The main job is to pull a wagon and fill boxes with food items (bread, cans, eggs, and other items), then bring the box outside to stack on a pallet. We do also need some volunteers to help us distribute the boxes. Guests drive up between 3pm and 5pm to get a box.
Please sign up on this Sign up Genius: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0f49aeaa2fa57-volunteers#/
We couldn't do this every week without volunteers!

Since 2015, Lutheran Social Services has brought older adults ages 60 and up together with trained volunteers. The LSS Better Together program matches older adults with volunteers in Minnehaha, Lincoln and Brookings counties. This program is part of our independent adult services and helps to establish trusting relationships and regular social opportunities between older adults who live on their own and LSS volunteers.

Since 2015, Lutheran Social Services has brought older adults ages 60 and up together with trained volunteers. The LSS Better Together program matches older adults with volunteers in Minnehaha, Lincoln and Brookings counties. This program is part of our independent adult services and helps to establish trusting relationships and regular social opportunities between older adults who are living independently and LSS volunteers.

We would love to find character coaches for area high school teams. These people would come alongside athletic coaches and offer faith-based support and encouragement. 

Volunteers must be 18 years of age

Help make mealtimes more welcoming and enjoyable for our members. This volunteer opportunity is available Monday through Friday from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM. Choose the days that work best for you. Tasks include carrying food to tables, clearing dishes, and connecting with others through friendly conversation. It's a simple way to make a meaningful impact.

Every Thursday, we deliver 40-50 food boxes for Feeding Brookings. Driver needs assistance in handling/delivery of food boxes to individuals who cannot make it to the food pickup site.

Volunteers with Hope Haven International Ministries refurbish used wheelchairs for distribution to people in need in developing countries.  The work may include cleaning, simple mechanical work (if you can unscrew a bolt, you can do the work), greasing bearings, or optionally more complicated mechanical work, depending on the state of the wheelchairs on hand.  Preferred work times are Tuesday and Thursday mornings, but other days or times are possible.  Please call or email ahead of time, because I’ll need time to organize the work.  This particular listing is for volunteers who don’t plan to return weekly.  See a separate listing for a regular-returnee opportunity.

Come help us build homes, communities and hope! Brookings Area Habitat for Humanity is always looking for volunteers and volunteer groups to come and assist on the home build site, no training required! We can customize this experience to the individual or groups volunteering so please reach out and schedule your volunteer build today! 

Volunteers with Hope Haven International refurbish used wheelchairs for distribution to people in need in developing countries.  The work includes cleaning, simple mechanical work (if you can unscrew a bolt, you can do the work), greasing bearings, and optionally more complicated mechanical work.  Preferred work times are Tuesday and Thursday mornings, but other days or times are possible.  This particular listing is for volunteers who will regularly return.  See a separate listing for one-Ime opportunities.

The Volunteer Service Bank is looking for compassionate individuals to provide transportation to medical appointments for those in need. A few hours of your time can make a impact on someone in our community!

Are you passionate, inspired, and want to make a difference in the fight against Alzheimer's disease? Become an Alzheimer's Association Community Educator. Alzheimer's Association Community Educators are volunteer public speakers who provide Alzheimer's Association education programs to community audiences.  The education programs have been developed by the Association and use scripts and PowerPoint presentations. The Alzheimer's Association provides training, information and electronic or printed materials to assist in your efforts. Orientation includes several hours of online learning, self-study and shadowing or mentoring by local Alzheimer's Association staff and volunteers. Prospective volunteers should enjoy connecting with people in their community and be comfortable speaking in front of groups. To apply to be a community educator volunteer, visit volunteer.alz.org or express interest below. For further information, call (605) 339-4543 ext. 8228.