Volunteer as a Group

There are so many ways your company or community group can help bring food and hope to our neighbors! We are experiencing an incredibly high demand for food and hygiene items; the need in our community is high.

As a non-profit we love our volunteers and deeply appreciate help from businesses and community organizations. Group volunteer experiences do take time and effort for us to plan and organize. The most helpful ways to offset this are to combine a monetary gift and/or in-kind donations with your volunteering session, and to stay connected beyond the one day.

We encourage groups to consider how they can contribute meaningfully and via a combination of food, funds, and time!

Hosting your own volunteer event

As we’re seeing more people than ever come through our doors, we don’t always have room for larger groups of volunteers onsite.

If you have a larger group - or want to make an impact as soon as possible - you can help by setting up an offsite activity such as purchasing and repacking first aid items, pet food, and other essentials!

Learn more about that here.

We can provide videos and other materials to share about Ballard Food Bank’s impact and may be able to send a staff member to speak to your group.

You can also host a food drive for employees or others in your community. At the end of your drive, celebrate with a repacking session or other team-building event and share ways individuals can get involved.

Volunteering onsite as a group

If you’re looking to have your group volunteer onsite at Ballard Food Bank, here are some things to keep in mind:

• Group opportunities tend to book out far in advance, so get on the calendar as soon as possible.

• We’ve reserved Friday mornings for volunteer groups to give back to the community and build camaraderie while packing home delivery bags and doing other tasks. We are currently fully booked for Friday groups through the end of 2024.

• If your organization is willing to break up into smaller groups of 2-5 volunteers we may be able to fit you in on a Tuesday or Thursday afternoon.

• Our group volunteer experiences are best suited to groups of 5-15. We can sometimes accommodate groups of up to 30, but do not have the capacity for groups larger than that.

• If you are scheduling a volunteer opportunity for your group, consider running a donation drive first – when you arrive, you can stock your donated items directly on the shelves!

To inquire about group volunteering opportunities, please contact jeehyek@ballardfoodbank.org.

Other ways companies can help

Support Employee Volunteering

Offer regular volunteer time during business hours, or provide grants to organizations where employees volunteer.

Match Employee Donations

If your business is able to match employee donations, this is a wonderful way to have a bigger impact. And if you do offer donation matching, make sure your employees know how to apply for it!