Volunteer for SPLAT! on July 11

🤎 Splat! – Saturday, July 11, at Gans Creek Recreation Area. Volunteers are needed to assist with the aid stations and course support for this youth mud run. Volunteer shifts are available beginning at 7:45 a.m. The event will be complete by noon.



Additional Opportunities with Columbia Parks and Recreation....

☀️ Family Fun Fest – the third Wednesday of the month, May to September, from 5:45-8:00 p.m. - July 15, August 19, and September 16. Volunteers are needed to help support children’s activities and supervise inflatables during these fun, family-friendly Parks and Recreation events. July will be held at Twin Lakes Recreation Area, August at Cosmo Park, and September at Albert-Oakland Park.

🚲Kaleidospoke – Saturday, August 22. Join the glowing fun! Volunteers are needed to assist with this nighttime bike ride from Flat Branch Park to Twin Lakes Recreation Area, along the MKT Trail. Volunteers assist with registration from 5:45-7:00 p.m., provide course support from 6:30-10:00 p.m., and glowing fun from 7:00-10:00 p.m.

🍂 Heritage Festival - Saturday, September 19, and Sunday, September 20 at Nifong Park. Volunteers will be assisting with parking, children’s activities, the hayrides, and more! Volunteer shifts are available for this annual cultural event that runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. 

👟 Blue Thunder Track Club – Fall track season is quickly approaching! For the September-November season, volunteers with a passion for running are needed to assist the head coach in guiding youth who are new to the sport! Workout and practice plans are already in place. A background check is required for this volunteer position.

✅ Parks and Recreation is looking for adults to teach a variety of classes at the Armory, 701 E. Ash, including art, cheer, dance, jump rope, knitting and crochet, and other activities and hobbies. If you have a skill to share, we would love to talk with you! Contact Mary Dewey at Mary.Dewey@como.gov to get involved. 

✅ Share your time with Special Olympics! To get involved, email Tyler Armstrong at Tyler.Armstrong@como.gov. We prefer that volunteers commit to helping throughout the season; skill in the sport is desired but not required. Volunteers should be positive and supportive of the athlete.

To volunteer, email volunteer@CoMo.gov or self-schedule.

Volunteer with Love Your Block

Ten Love Your Block mini-grants were awarded this year for neighborhood projects. Projects started in April and will continue through the end of August. Here are three ways you can volunteer with Love Your Block!

1️⃣ Avant Supported Living: Love Our Neighborhood Community Beautification Project

Join us for Love Our Neighborhood, a community volunteer initiative dedicated to enhancing the outdoor spaces at Avant Supported Living in north central Columbia. This project will bring community members together to create a cleaner, more welcoming, and more accessible environment for residents.

Phase 1 — Thursday, July 9 - 9 a.m.

Help us prepare and restore the outdoor grounds by:

• Clearing debris and weeds
• General groundskeeping and cleanup
• Installing weed-barrier landscape fabric on cleaned areas

Phase 2 — Saturday, July 18 - 9 a.m.

Assist with final beautification and outdoor setup efforts:

• Assembling lawn furniture
• Distributing wood chips and pavers
• Assembling and mounting outdoor shades

Location: Avant Supported Living, 2207 Holly Ave. Lunch will be provided! Volunteers of all skill levels are welcome.

2️⃣ Nora Stewart Early Learning Center Workday

Saturday, July 25, 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. 505 E. Ash Street

The Nora Stewart Early Learning Center is preparing to reopen and needs volunteers to support its revitalization. Nora Stewart is a historic nonprofit early childhood organization that has served Columbia families for generations. This July, we're getting together to refresh the building's exterior, clean up the grounds, and get it ready to welcome children and families again. Come ready to lend a hand and be part of the reopening effort. Food will be provided to volunteers!

Volunteer tasks include:

• Refreshing the main entrance painting, hardware, planters, and signage
• Weeding, edging, and replanting the front flower beds
• Power washing the building exterior and playground equipment.
• Touching up worn brick, siding, doors, and gutters
• Clearing overgrown bushes
• Cleaning and decluttering the back playground and play area

3️⃣ Help with Care Cupboards

One of the mini-grant projects from last year were the Care Cupboards located at the Blind Boone Center and the Boys and Girls Club to provide easy access to menstrual products.

We are looking for volunteers who can help monitor and restock the cupboards.

Want to get involved with Love Your Block? If you would like to help with the workdays at Avant Supported Living, the Care Cupboards, or other Love Your Block projects, please email volunteer@CoMo.gov and we will get you connected!

The Douglass Park Neighborhood Festival was held June 6 on Switzler Street. The event focused on the history of the Henry Kirklin Home and included food and flowers for neighborhood residents. Thanks to Michelle and Clay Schiefelbein who applied for a Love Your Block mini-grant and organized the event.

Join us for Youth In Action this summer!

Youth In Action, for those 12-15 years of age, has had a great summer with one project each week. On June 3, participants volunteered at The Food Bank (pictured), repackaging food for our neighbors. There is still time to participate in a few upcoming projects!

Events on the calendar that have openings include:

• Saturday, July 11 - Splat! at Gans Creek Recreation Area - 7:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
• Wednesday, July 15 - The Food Bank - 12:30-2:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, July 29 - Park Project and Wrap Up Party - 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

To learn more, email volunteer@como.gov or self schedule.

Litter Team: Cleanup Columbia is year-round!

Monthly litter cleanups are held in various areas of the city. Volunteers meet our team leader to receive supplies and directions to clean up the surrounding area. Share your time and enthusiasm to care for the City, and we will do the rest!

Drop-ins are welcome! Those under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Litter Team events are not intended for large groups. Please let us know if you have a group, and we will support a litter service specific to your group. 

• Saturday, July 11 – 9:00 to 11:00 a.m., meet at Bear Creek Trail (3201 Creasy Springs Rd.)
• Saturday, August 29 – 9:00 to 11:00 a.m., meet at Faith Baptist Church (3909 Brown Station Rd.).

➡️ Become a Litter Event Leader: Engage fellow volunteers in caring for our environment! Tasks include: arriving at the event 15 minutes early, bringing and distributing the provided supplies, and reviewing the instructions. Please let us know if you would like more information. 

To get involved, self-schedule, email volunteer@como.gov, or just drop in!

 A motivated crew from Schneider Electric embarking on their Adopt-A-Spot litter service.

Join our Household Hazardous Waste Paint Team!

Columbia's Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) collections are held the first and third Saturdays through October. This is a fun and popular assignment to do with family and friends.

HHW is held at the Grissum Building, 1313 Lakeview. Volunteers assist with paint consolidation working in two-hour shifts: 8:15-10 a.m. or 10 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Coming dates, July 18, Aug 1 & 15.

Pictured below are the Bomer and Jones/McClain families pitching in at HHW. The three CPS students earned volunteer hours for their CPS Science Department Grand Tetons trips.

Start composting; every day is a great day to begin.

Composting isn’t limited to those who garden. Gardeners love composting for its production of Black Gold, a nutrient-rich soil amendment, but multitudes of people compost to reduce waste and live more sustainably. Diverting organics will greatly reduce what goes into your trash to be landfilled. Composting is a fun and easy step everyone can take to reduce their carbon footprint. Learn the how, what, and why of home composition at our last workshops of the season.

Register Here 

Composting 101- A great place to start

Tuesday, August 11

6:00-7:00 p.m.

Britt-Hall Community Garden, Churchill Dr

Bokashi Composting- An anaerobic fermentation process done in sealed buckets. With this process, even meat and dairy can be composted. 

Tuesday, September 8

5:30-6:30 p.m.

Capen Park Compost Demonstration Site

Vermicomposting-  A process done with specialized, red wriggler worms. It can be done indoors in closed bins or outdoors in large open bins. 

Thursday, September 10

5:60-6:30 p.m.

Capen Park Compost Demonstration Site

An engaged audience at the March Science of Composting Workshop held at the Columbia Public Library. Experienced volunteers and staff educate our community on successful composting!

City of Columbia

Volunteer Programs

11 N. Seventh Street

www.CoMo.gov/volunteer

573-874-7499

Self-Schedule here