Holiday Volunteering Opportunities in NYC with New York Cares

Holiday Volunteering in NYC

• 💡 The holiday season is a time for giving, and this segment highlights numerous ways New Yorkers can contribute through volunteering and charity.
• 🗓️ WNYC is hosting a blood drive on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, at The Greene Space, with sign-ups available at nybc.org/wnyc.

New York Cares Initiatives

• 🧥 The New York Cares Coat Drive, running for nearly 40 years, accepts coat donations at public collection sites including fire battalion houses, transit hubs, churches, and schools. Donated coats are collected, sorted, laundered, and distributed to those in need across all five boroughs.
• 🤝 Volunteers can find opportunities through the New York Cares website (newyorkcares.org) by sorting by organization, day, borough, time, or issue area.

Food Insecurity and Clothing Assistance

• 🍲 Westside Campaign Against Hunger provides access to healthy food and supportive services, with volunteers sorting, packing, and distributing food, and assisting clients with SNAP benefits, housing, and healthcare.
• 👕 RMM (Rash and Bosch Metro Ministries) offers volunteer opportunities focused on winter clothing distribution, where volunteers help clients select appropriate outerwear.
• 🍎 New York Common Pantry uses a holistic approach, distributing pantry packages and hot meals while also supporting clients with financial education, wellness, benefits enrollment, and case management.

Youth and Community Support

• 🏃 KEEN (Kids Enjoy Exercise Now) provides free, non-competitive one-on-one physical activity and recreational programs for youth with disabilities, offering a joyful experience for both volunteers and children.
• 📚 Student Success programs support the educational and emotional development of students in grades 3-8 from low-income neighborhoods, with volunteers coaching kids through problem-solving and lesson plans to build resilience and academic confidence.
• 🎓 New York Cares also offers a financial aid assistance program where volunteers help high schoolers and their families complete the FAFSA form for college financial aid.

Other Volunteer Opportunities

• ♻️ Fab Scrap allows volunteers to sort recycled textiles from the fashion and interior design industries, offering fabric in return for their time.
• 🐶 Newark Associated Humane Society offers opportunities to interact with animals, such as petting cats and walking dogs, to provide comfort until they find forever homes.
• 🎭 Culture Lab LIC provides free arts programming and welcomes volunteers for various roles, including assisting with their annual gala.
• 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Life Force in Later Years (Lily) on the Upper West Side helps the elderly stay in their homes by assisting with tasks like phone use, medical appointments, companionship, and dog walking.
• 🎶 Music for Autism offers fully subsidized, autism-friendly concerts, with volunteer opportunities to support these magical and joyful events.
• 🍲 St. Luke's on 46th Street operates a soup kitchen serving many people weekly and also holds a coat drive for the homeless.