By Catherine Hudgins
Relocating to a new community can be isolating without the built-in networking a job provides. Luckily, the metropolitan San Antonio area offers a myriad of volunteer opportunities that not only deliver needed help to nonprofit organizations, but are a great way to meet people, to learn about and get involved in the local community and to have fun.
Participation need not become another job—or it can extend or replace a career. And whether the volunteer tasks employ previously acquired skills or new ones, the experience is bound to refresh the participants’ perspective and expand their horizons.
In particular, those who are interested in sharing their time and energy to support community arts programs and encourage rich cultural diversity will find that opportunities abound.
Culture & History
Serving as a docent at one of the San Antonio area’s numerous museums is a great way to become part of the region’s cultural life. Among the many institutions that welcome docents are the McNay Art Museum, the San Antonio Museum of Art and The DoSeum (formerly San Antonio Children’s Museum).
History buffs will find exciting volunteer opportunities with the Texas Transportation Museum; The Alamo itself uses volunteer living historians as well as docents. In addition, you can serve as a living historian at the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, which consists of four major Spanish frontier missions. The sites offer a variety of volunteer opportunities—from operating a grist mill to assisting in archaeology projects.
Organizations seek to preserve historical architecture as well. Nearly every community boasts a conservation society whose mission is carried out by volunteers. The Seguin Conservation Society, for example, maintains and operates two properties, The Dietz Doll House, and Campbell-Hoermann Log Cabin in addition to its work of supporting local preservation efforts. Also in the Seguin area are the Sebastopol State Historical Park and the Guadalupe County Heritage Museum, which might provide the perfect volunteer opportunity for a new arrival.
The Witte Museum and the UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures in San Antonio also welcome volunteers with an enthusiasm for Texas and its diverse cultural history.
Fine Arts
The San Antonio area boasts many organizations that support and help disseminate information about local fine art, music and dance projects. Most are more than happy to accept help from volunteers whose interests match theirs.
In Boerne, check out the Hill Country Council for the Arts (HCCArts). In San Antonio, the Carver Community Cultural Center seeks to showcase diverse cultures with an emphasis on African-American heritage.
The Lyric Opera of San Antonio, Winters Chamber Orchestra and the Alamo Metro Chorus, all of San Antonio, and the Mid-Texas Symphony in New Braunfels and Seguin might be good volunteer choices for music lovers. Musical skills are always valued, should you wish to share your abilities, perhaps with preschool children at Respite Care of San Antonio or by performing at nursing homes throughout the area.
Don’t forget your local library as a venue for supporting the community’s cultural life. For example, both San Antonio and Boerne boast Library Foundations whose efforts aim at upgrading the region’s available intellectual opportunities. The San Antonio foundation, for example recently gifted the Alamo City’s Central Library with a spectacular glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly to commemorate the Library’s 100th birthday in 2009.
Other local communities as well, including Bulverde/Spring Branch, support literature and reading through Friends of the Library organizations.
Children & Families/Education
Children are the future, yet their needs begin now and volunteers who are reading enthusiasts, retired educators or simply understand the value of education to the community’s future, can fill vital roles in the next generation’s development—through both direct contact and by assisting parents as they learn new skills and ways of fulfilling their roles more successfully.
Family Service is one of several organizations that seek to help families grow strong and healthy. Another is ChildSafe. Volunteers are indispensable parts of their delivery systems from greeting first time arriving families to serving as parent educators.
Of course, children temporarily or permanently without families can benefit greatly from contact with caring mature adults. The Children’s Shelter always needs people who can play, read, do art or just spend time on a regular basis with kids ages 2-12. Their Infant Shelter also has a Rock-a-Bye-Baby program: volunteers provide newborns to two-year-olds with a vital human touch by cuddling and rocking the babies.
Several organizations operate mentoring programs to enhance the educational success of at-risk children. SA Youth, and Communities In Schools of San Antonio sponsor one-on-one mentoring for elementary and middle school kids. San Antonio Youth Literacy finds volunteer tutors for children in after-school programs and the San Antonio Jewish Federation’s Tu-To-R! Program (Tune Up-Turn On-Read!), recruits adults to mentor Title I students (low socioeconomic standing) in many schools.
In Boerne, at-risk teens who live at Roy Maas Youth Alternatives (RMYA) Meadowland Campus also benefit from mentoring and adult companionship.
Outdoors
Those who wish to enhance the community, but prefer to be outdoors will also find opportunities aplenty. The San Antonio Zoo welcomes docents, service volunteers and Lory volunteers, who facilitate people-bird interactions.
Gardeners, avid or beginning, can expand and share their interests by volunteering at the San Antonio Botanical Garden or while becoming a Master Gardener through the Bexar County Texas Agricultural Extension Service.
The Cibolo Nature Center in Boerne can always use help too. It is a great place to learn about native plants and xeriscaping principles.
General Opportunities
Of course, most well-known national nonprofit organizations operate year-round volunteer-staffed programs in the San Antonio area.
The Salvation Army, American Red Cross, United Way, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Sierra Club, Habitat for Humanity and others are happy to welcome willing volunteers into their midst—and put them to work. From administrative support to framing a house, from conducting a wildlife census to mobilizing aid after a major flood, these organizations facilitate an individual’s efforts to make a difference in his or her community.
One of Catholic Charities Archdiocese of San Antonio’s programs—Volunteers Organized to Welcome Refugees—assists newly arrived immigrants (who often arrive with political-refugee status) by providing housing set-up, airport reception, English as a Second Language instruction, transportation help and perhaps most importantly, friendship.
Seasonal Activities
If a long-term commitment is not of interest, there are a number of volunteer opportunities of limited duration; many seek to meet the special needs of specific holiday seasons.
Volunteers provide much of the magic along the San Antonio Riverwalk. From checking each bulb on the hundreds of strings of Christmas lights that fill the trees lining the river to decorating the barges and selling sodas and beer during the Holiday River Parade, participation in volunteer work is a great way to meet people and get a sense of true South Texas fun.
The Raul Jimenez Thanksgiving Dinner, which serves free turkey-and-all-the-trimmings dinners to the community, is an all-volunteer effort—from food preparation to serving to live entertainment for the guests. In December, locally headquartered H.E. Butt Grocery Company sponsors a similar Feast of Sharing that also relies on volunteers to help feed approximately 12,000 guests.
Another local holiday initiative that has grown over the last three decades is the Elf Louise Project that delivers Christmas joy in the form of toys to underprivileged children. Interested volunteers can help with gift-wrapping—this year, wrapping will take place from December 5 through December 13—and with Santa deliveries.
Summary
Whether you like black-powder shooting or ballet, babies or first editions and whether you have an hour a month or three days a week to spare, the metropolitan San Antonio area offers a rich variety of opportunities in volunteering as a way to become part of their community—and to make it an even better place to live.
Please note: The programs mentioned here welcome donations as well as volunteers and some may require membership in the sponsoring organization. Many other equally deserving organizations exist in the area and can use your help.
Contact information for organizations in this article:
| Culture & History | |
| McNay Art Museum | (210) 824-5368 |
| San Antonio Museum of Art | (210) 978-8183 |
| DoSeum Childrens Museum | (210) 212-4453 ext 1306 |
| New Braunfels Museum of Art and Music | (830) 625-5636 |
| San Antonio Living History Association | (210) 273-1730 |
| Texas Transportation Museum | (210) 490-3554 |
| The Alamo | (210) 225-1391 |
| San Antonio Missions National Historical Park | (210) 932-1002 ext 223 |
| Seguin Conservation Society | (830) 401-1971 |
| Sebastopol State Historical Park | (830) 379-4833 |
| Guadalupe County Heritage Museum | (830) 372-0965 |
| Witte Museum | (210) 357-1900 |
| UTSA Institue of Texan Cultures | (210) 452-2205 |
| Fine Arts | |
| Carver Community Cultural Center | (210) 207-7211 |
| Opera San Antonio | (210) 673-7270 |
| San Antonio Public Library Foundation | (210) 225-4728 |
| Boerne Library Foundation | (830) 249-3053 |
| Mammen Family Public Library in Bulverde | (830) 438-4864 |
| Children & Families/Education | |
| Family Services Association of San Antonio, Inc. | (210) 657-4748 |
| Alamo Children’s Advocacy Center | (210) 675-9000 |
| The Children’s Shelter | (210) 212-2500 |
| Youth Achievement, Inc. | (210) 590-3100 |
| Communities in Schools | (210) 520-8440 ext. 226 |
| Roy Maas’ Youth Alternatives, Inc. / Meadowland Campus | (210) 340-8077 |
| General Opportunities | |
| The Salvation Army | (210) 352-2000 |
| American Red Cross | |
| United Way | (210) 352-7057 |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas | (210) 225-6322 |
| The Alamo Group of the Sierra Club | |
| Habitat For Humanity of San Antonio | (210) 223-5203 |
| Catholic Charities Archdiocese of San Antonio | (210) 222-1294 |
| Outdoors | |
| San Antonio Zoo | (210) 734-7184 |
| San Antonio Botanical Garden | (210) 536-1400 |
| Bexar County Master Gardener Program | (210) 631-040 |
| Cibolo Nature Center | (830) 249-9027 |
| Seasonal Activities | |
| Raul Jimenez Thanksgiving Dinner | (210) 352-7077 |
| Elf Louise Project | (210) 224-1843 |
