Harvard Club of Sarasota
Community Outreach Partners & Volunteer Opportunities
Make a difference in young students' lives and our local community! Partner with local nonprofits as a student mentor, or volunteer in other ways! Help teach the value of education! Share your expertise! Learn from others! Build relationships that last a lifetime!
Community Outreach & Volunteer Opportunities
- Children First, Sarasota
- Children's Guardian Fund
- Community Foundation of Sarasota County (CFSC)
- Just for Girls (Manatee County Girls Club, Inc.)
- Laurel Civic
- Nathan Benderson Park Conservancy
- Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Ringling College of Art and Design
- Sarasota Institute of Lifetime Learning (SILL)
- Take Stock in Children, Sarasota
- UnidosNow, Sarasota
- Visible Men Academy (VMA), Bradenton/Sarasota
Children First, Sarasota
About Children First
- Please go to http://www.childrenfirst.net​ to learn more about Children First's valuable programs.
- For upcoming Children First mentor & volunteer opportunities - CLICK HERE
- Learn more here about becoming a Guardian ad Litem: https://www.childrensguardianfund.org/get-involved/become-a-gal-child-advocate/
- Please consider making a tax-deductible donation today to provide a child in foster care with an academic tutor: https://www.childrensguardianfund.org/product/make-a-donation/ or contact the Children's Guardian Fund to get involved.
About the Community Foundation of Sarasota County (CFSC)
Mission: Since its founding by the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council in 1979, the Community Foundation of Sarasota County has been making the important connection between individuals’ personal memories, passions and dreams, and the fulfillment of their charitable goals. By actively listening to the desires of donors, we help create permanent charitable funds that ensure people of vision have an enduring impact on our community and the causes they hold dear. Our motto — “Be the One” — reflects our deeply-held belief that anyone can be a philanthropist and give back to our community, regardless of means.
Areas of Impact: Community Care, Empowerment and Success, and Belonging and Culture — These three impact areas guide CFSC's work to unite people and organizations to create opportunities for families (across generations) to improve their lives through cultural, educational, economic, and social support.
BECOME A SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE VOLUNTEER:
The Community Foundation of Sarasota County is excited to partner with volunteers from our community to review scholarship applications, which allows the Scholarship Committee to determine scholarship awards each year for deserving students from our area. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
Time Commitment: Approximately 8-10 hours reviewing and providing feedback on scholarship applications through our online committee review system. This virtual opportunity gives you the chance to give back and review applications in your own time within a two-week period.
THE GIVING PARTNER:The Giving Partner is a trusted source for informed charitable decisions for donors, funders and other entities for philanthropic research. This searchable database contains over 700 profiles of 501(c)(3), or specific 501(c)(4), charitable organizations serving Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte and DeSoto counties. These profiles reflect how nonprofit organizations are making a difference with their commitment to transparency, including core mission, programmatic impact, leadership, financial health, and more. Search here for Giving Partner program fundraising, matching, board member, and volunteer opportunities.SUPPORT SEASON OF SHARING & OTHER COMMUNITY INITIATIVES:
As a reflection of our belief that anyone can be a philanthropist regardless of means, Season of Sharing is an open invitation to all members of our community to give what they can to empower and help their fellow neighbors. To this day, Season of Sharing remains a grassroots campaign that depends on generosity at all levels. Click here to support Season of Sharing and to help make a difference in others' lives.OTHER COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FUNDS & INITIATIVES <--Please check out all of these other ways to help make an impact!
The Community Foundations National Standards (CFNS) accreditation seal represents a foundation's commitment to rigorous, sector-driven best practices that exceed federal and state law requirements, demonstrating accountability and excellence to communities, policymakers, and the public.
About Just for Girls
- Alternative Education: The alternative middle school is a haven for girls who have committed to turning their lives around after having had trouble succeeding in a traditional school; each year this program helps these girls map a new path to success, find their personal inspiration, and turn F's into A's.
- Before and After School Programs: Three centers keep girls safe during non-school hours, and caring staff help girls build internal strengths such as confidence, resiliency, empathy, and trust.
- Charter School: Just for Girls Academy for Kindergarten through 5th grades, opened in August of 2012 and is already making a measurable difference increasing the academic success of young students. The Academy's innovative programming includes character development, leadership training, and service learning, all of which boost academics as they work to strengthen girls' relationships with their peers, families, and community.
- Please go to https://myjfg.org/ to learn more about Just for Girls' valuable programs.
- For Just for Girls mentor & volunteer opportunities - CLICK HERE
Note: Volunteers in direct contact with students will be required to submit to fingerprinting and background security clearance. Administrative volunteer opportunities for events and awareness initiatives are also available throughout the year. Volunteers interested in working with the Leadership Team to plan and execute fundraising events may contact Andi Watson directly at Andi@myjfg.org or (941)202-2287.
About Laurel Civic
“With our partners, we build strong foundations through programs that empower children and families to lead successful lives.”Laurel Civic (LC) is a community-based organization that shapes foundations for successful lives, serving youth and adults of all ages in Sarasota County, through education, life development skills, personal empowerment, community awareness, and opportunities for growth leading to self-sufficiency.
The organization's foundation is to make life better through education and support for the disenfranchised and those lacking opportunities.Laurel Civic provides both Youth After-School Programs and Adult Empowerment Programs.
Youth After-School Programs
• Homework Assistance (Monday-Friday, 3:30-5:30pm) provides tutoring, exceptional teachers and volunteers, intensive learning, targeted identification of student deficiencies, and a track record of measurably increasing students’ grades and test scores. 2022 included the addition of three 86” Interactive Smartboards to better engage and teach students; as academic skills improve, so do students' confidence and sense of achievement.
• STEM, in collaboration with Pine View High School volunteers, helps 3rd-8th grade children develop a passion for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
• At Kids Café provides nutritious hot meals for all participants each day after school as well as weekend snack packs for participants to take home.
• Teen Empowerment, a seven-week proactive empowerment and prevention program, provides each participant with a post-high school graduate plan, supports personal growth through character development, and teaches teens to succeed by becoming lifelong learners, leaders, community role models, productive workers, and self-sufficient citizens.
• Earning By Learning, an incentive and performance-based summer reading program, helps prevent “summer slip” which often happens when children are out of school. In collaboration with the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, the program is designed for rising pre-K and elementary school students.
• Financial Literacy Training includes: Financial Wellness, Income & Lifestyle Choices, Spending & Saving, Managing Debt, Financial Peace of Mind
Youth & Adult Programs & Camps at NBP
NBP works to enhance the quality of life for all those in our comunity, connecting people of all ages while fostering a healthy, sustainable, and safe environment for all. NBP features activities for both youths and adults, promoting engagement, friendship-building, and healthy lifestyles. From camps and water sports to other enriching youth and adult programs, MBP provides unforgettable and life-changing experiences for all:
Camps | Rowing | Dragon Boat Paddling; Survivors in Synch & Warriors Cancer Survivor Programs | Safety Squadron
Volunteer at NBP
Looking for a great way to give back to your community and learn valuable leadership and life-long skills? Our Nathan Benderson Park Conservancy volunteers play a pivotal role in ensuring the success of valuable youth and adult programs along with assisting with the more than 30 large-scale community events run each year. The Conservancy Volunteer Program is committed to: encouraging community participation, providing community programs and events, teaching valuable leadership skills, enriching lives, and promoting mutually-rewarding relationships between park staff, event organizers, and volunteers who offer their talents, time, and skills.
The Conservancy Volunteer Program provides a range of opportunities to help support NBP's work and make measurable differences at all levels.
About OLLI at Ringling College of Art and DesignMission - The mission of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Ringling College is to enrich the lives of people who are 50 and better in Sarasota and Manatee counties by providing affordable and outstanding educational programs and social interactions that cover a broad spectrum of topics that are rich in intellectual stimulation, often interactive in scope, and worthy of academic consideration.What We Do - OLLI offers classes in-person and on Zoom. Course topics include: Art Appreciation, Arts and Entertainment, Music, History, Science, Current Events, Health and Lifestyles, Psychology, Technology, and more. There are no tests, grades, or credits. Classes are offered purely for the joy of learning.Location - OLLI at Ringling College is located at Sarasota Art Museum on the Ringling College Museum Campus, 1001 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34236. To become a member or to learn more about OLLI at Ringling College, go to https://olliringlingcollege.org/.
Stay Curious. Stay Connected.
About SILL
SILL features a stimulating and informative adult continuing education Global Issues Lecture Series, with impressive speakers on a wide variety of global topics, as well as a Music Mondays Conversation Series, with musicians from around the country who share their artistry as well as their unique stories as performing artists.
Volunteer support is paramount to SILL being in a position to continue offering the Global Issues and Music Series that audiences have enjoyed over the past 50 years. For every lecture, a full complement of volunteers is required to ensure everything runs smoothly. Volunteers include parking facilitators, ushers, greeters, ticket sales and/or logistics administrators, as well as others. While the Global Issues and Music Series run January through March, the SILL Board works throughout the year in preparation for future seasons. In many instances, volunteers work directly with SILL Board members in the areas of marketing, public relations, technical support, programming, recruitment, community outreach, and special events.
If you have an interest and desire to join the many volunteers who are already involved, or if you wish to learn more, please contact SILL at sillvolunteer@gmail.com. For SILL volunteer opportunities, PLEASE CLICK HERE!
- Learn more about how you can become a mentor and change the future for a local student at www.TakeStockSarasota.org.
- For Take Stock in Children mentor opportunities - CLICK HERE
About UnidosNow, Sarasota
- Please go to www.UnidosNow.org/ to help make a difference in a young person's life.
- For UnidosNow mentor and volunteer opportunities - CLICK HERE
About VMA
Through a firm foundation of intellectual and academic diligence, VMA students are equipped to meet and exceed the expectations of challenging high school environments and are eager and determined to pursue college education.
Through the rigorous modeling experience of the Visible Men Success Curriculum, VMA students gain vast exposure to future personal and career possibilities. These combine to cultivate within VMA students an unyielding sense of control over their futures – a critical orientation for lifelong success, personal fulfillment, and societal contribution.
- Please go to VMAcademy.org to learn more about Visible Men Academy's valuable programs.
- For mentor and volunteer opportunities - CLICK HERE
- For more information, please email Lori D. Benton, Director of Community Engagement/Development, or call her directly at (941) 758-7588.
Have questions or want to volunteer?
