Citywide Volunteer Program
Thank you for your interest in the City of Scottsdale's Volunteer Program. There are a variety of opportunities available for citizens to volunteer. Volunteer Program areas are listed below with contact information.
Adaptive Services
Email Adaptive Services
480-312-2234
Volunteer opportunities are offered year-round for coaching Scottsdale Bobcats Adaptive sports programs including swimming, golf, track & field, basketball, flag football and bowling. Those interested will work with individuals of all ages with a range of disabilities. Volunteer coaches will be required to commit for an entire 8-12 week season that includes once-a-week practices along with occasional weekends. In addition to practices, volunteers need to attend a pre-season disability awareness training, complete a series of online training sessions, attend two all-day competitions and join the team for an awards banquet. If this sounds like an opportunity that you may be interested in, please call or email us. Go Bobcats!
Adopt-A-Family
Each fall and winter, the Adopt-A-Family Program helps families for Thanksgiving and the holiday season. We support up to 500 families or individuals to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday with a holiday meal. We help match sponsors to families so they are able to have a special holiday. Help hand out food boxes and bags of toys.
Adopt-A-Road
Litter-free streets and roadways are a point of pride for the community and a reflection of local citizens' dedication to their quality of life. Select Scottsdale streets and roads are available for adoption by those enrolling in the program or those wishing to clean on a one-time basis. A litter clean up makes a great community service project with a big impact! Free vests, gloves and bags are provided, as well as project tips. Age restrictions apply, please visit here for more information.
Adopt-A-Senior
Each fall and winter, the Adopt-A-Senior Program serves low income, homebound, isolated seniors in Scottsdale by matching generous donors who "adopt" eligible seniors and supply gifts from their "wish list". There are many ways to contribute besides "adopting" a senior.
Ambassadors of Old Town
Are you people oriented? Excited about Old Town Scottsdale? Interested in sharing your excitement and knowledge with visitors who are new to the Old Town? Then consider volunteering as an Ambassador of Old Town.
Ambassador volunteers are asked to fulfill a 3-hour shifts at one of two information sidewalk carts, with time slots available between 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. or 1 to 4 p.m. During your shift, you will have the opportunity to interact with visitors to the Downtown area providing information on various restaurants, sites to visit and shopping venues.
Assistance for Department of Victim Services
The Department of Victim Services is looking for volunteer(s) who are warm, compassionate and interested in providing assistance to victims in the Criminal Justice System. Initial duties would include assisting Victim Advocates with administrative tasks such as victim notification letters, contacting victims for updated addresses when letters are returned, scanning and redacting restitution documents, etc. The Department will provide training and ideally, once the volunteer is comfortable, he or she would take on more duties including assisting victims with obtaining orders of protection, accompanying victims to court hearings, providing victim education on the criminal justice process and victim’s rights and participating in any outreach activities.
Back to School
Each year the Back to School Program helps Scottsdale school kids return to school with pride! The Back to School Program provides backpacks, school supplies, clothing, underwear, socks and shoes for up to 1,000 school children. You can help children return to school with pride by volunteering and helping organize school supplies and clothing before the event, or distributing items to school children the day of the event.
Beat the Heat
Every June, the Via Linda and Granite Reef Senior Centers provide a care package of summer goods for our isolated, frail and home-bound seniors. Accepted donations include:
- New reusable water bottles
- Nutritional supplement drinks (Ensure/Bounce regular & no sugar, Gatorade)
- Bottled water
- Healthy snack items
- Unused personal hygiene items (trial & regular size)
- Forever stamps
- Grocery store gift cards
Boards & Commissions
The City Council nominates candidates for vacant positions from the Scottsdale residents that apply to serve on the City's Board and Commissions. The Council relies on these citizen-based Boards and Commissions to research issues, listen to community input and recommend to the City Council policy direction on a variety of important city issues. Scottsdale residents can find information about the vacancies and functions of these boards and commissions on the city's website.
Brick by Brick
Brick by Brick is a program developed and coordinated by Scottsdale's Human Services department. Volunteers produce compressed earth blocks, which are adobe-like bricks, for use in Scottsdale's capital projects and for planned projects with stakeholders in the wider community. The activity combines volunteerism, community development, economic vitality, and environmental initiatives to develop awareness around the use of sustainable material to build quality, energy-efficient structures.
Business Services Department - Mail opening and sorting
We are looking for individuals to help open, sort, and prep a large volume of daily mail received within our Remittance Processing operations. This challenging opportunity offers volunteers a glimpse of the scale of operations needed to process payments submitted to the City and ability to work in a team environment. Volunteers are needed between the hours of 8-10:00 a.m., Monday - Friday, and asked to commit one day a week for a period of 12 weeks. Our office is located on the southeast corner of Indian School Road and Civic Center Blvd.
Capital Project Management
Capital Project Management (CPM) deals with all city owned property (new construction, remodels, streets, etc.), and is looking for an assistant to help with various administrative tasks pertaining to project files. This position requires attention to detail and strong computer skills. Doing research in the city's Land Information System (LIS) and document management system will be a regular part of the job, as well as scanning and uploading project documents. Hours and shift length are flexible.
Career Center
The Vista One Stop Career Center provides job development services for job seekers. Volunteers help individuals on a walk-in basis by providing assistance to job seekers with diverse skills and backgrounds and a variety of needs. Volunteers also maintain statistics, prepare data entry updates and reports, provide career guidance, and assist with the use of computers.
City Court Volunteer Clerk
Are you looking to serve the community? Are you people oriented? The Scottsdale City Court is looking for you. We are currently looking for volunteers to assist the co rt customers at our information windows. As a custodian of the court, you will be the first interaction with court customers at the information windows. Duties will include assisting and directing court customers to courtrooms, customer service windows, self-service center, Human Services office, and the MVD kiosk as needed. Processing outgoing mail for various court departments; including folding and stuffing envelopes. Assisting with jury preparation on jury call days; setting up refreshments and prepping jury clipboards. Court volunteers must be minimum age of 18 yrs and are asked to fulfill a 4-hour shift with time slots available between 8 a.m. to noon or 1-5 p.m.
Court Ordered Community Restitution
Must be 18 years or older to participate.
Court ordered community restitution is available to individuals on an appointment basis only. Tasks include litter removal, cleaning picnic sites and equipment, painting, and other maintenance duties. Physical labor is required. Work is conducted indoors/outdoors and under the oversight of Park staff. A typical shift schedule is 4 hours.
The program is under no obligation to accept all interested applicants.
Your failure to make a full and accurate disclosure of any prior conviction(s), or to answer the questions fully and accurately, may result in the rejection of any pending application or offer for court ordered community restitution work, or dismissal of court ordered community restitution assignment, as applicable.
The city will request a criminal history report by performing a background check before considering assignment. The City of Scottsdale does not allow individuals to participate in the court ordered community restitution program who have been convicted of a violent crime, a sex offense or a crime of dishonesty. A criminal conviction(s) however, does not constitute an automatic bar from participation. Factors considered in this regard include, but are not limited to, time of offense(s), the nature of the offense(s), and the relationship between the offense(s) and the assignment(s) for which you are seeking.
Apply and learn moreDay Relief Center
Volunteers are needed to help people who are experiencing homelessness feel dignified and respected.
The city of Scottsdale operates a Day Relief Center on Fridays from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. The Day Relief Center provides people experiencing homelessness with meals, showers, hygiene products, clothing, and navigators who help them connect with additional services. Around 10-25 people visit the Day Relief Centers every week. We are looking for volunteers to help with set-up and break-down, shower trailer operations, making and packing meals, sorting donations, and packing and distributing hygiene items. Shifts will be a minimum of two hours.
Diversity and Inclusion
Do you like engaging with people? Are you great with logistics, planning and details? If so, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion has a wonderful volunteer opportunity for you! Committed to promoting an inclusive, equitable and diverse work environment and community, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion coordinates programs, services and events that foster understanding, and values the richness in our differences. In partnership with the Human Relations Commission and the employee-based Diversity Advisory Committee, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion facilitates and participates in educational and cultural events that celebrate diverse communities. Volunteers will assist with planning meetings and events to support employee engagement and the Scottsdale community. Opportunities are ongoing.
Fire Department
Email the Fire Department
480-312-8000
Scottsdale Fire Department volunteers work directly with the public presenting programs that address community risks. These include fall and fire prevention for older adults, safety presentations for children, hiker safety efforts, and classes for bleeding emergency response and cardiac events. Volunteers also work at events sharing program and safety information and at our Headquarters taking care of administrative and customer service assignments.
Food Bank
The Vista del Camino food bank is licensed by Maricopa County Health Services. The food bank serves individuals and families, who live in Scottsdale and who are having difficulty meeting their food needs. Volunteers accept and sort donations, make food boxes, and assist with daily operations of the Food Bank.
Library
The library is an exciting place to work with many opportunities available between our four locations. We have volunteer jobs for those who like to work with people such as assisting or conducting story times, working in our Library Shops, providing triage customer service, doing outreach, assisting customers with computer questions and teaching computer classes. We also have a variety of jobs for those who like to be more behind the scenes such as checking in materials, organizing and shelving books, pulling customer holds and merchandising our library.
Little Red Schoolhouse - Scottsdale Historical Museum
Terry Erickson - Museum/Volunteer Coordinator
480-945-4499
The City of Scottsdale partners with the Scottsdale Historical Society, a non-profit organization that serves as the primary historical resource for the greater Scottsdale community. It provides support for the Scottsdale Historical Museum (the Little Red Schoolhouse), whose mission is to present, preserve, and interpret through research, exhibits, and educational programming, the prehistory, history, and cultural heritage of Scottsdale and the Southwest.
The museum’s volunteer docents are the face of the museum. They greet and orient visitors to the museum, answer questions, and encourage people to browse the gift shop. It’s a great way to meet people from nearby and from around the world while learning more about this community’s rich heritage.
Other volunteer opportunities with the museum include assisting with archiving documents and pictures, and helping with fundraising activities.
Mediation Program
Mediators assist with simple neighbor-to-neighbor issues by allowing two parties to come together in a safe environment and helping them to come to an agreed-upon resolution. The mediators do not make any decisions but are a facilitator of dialogue.
McDowell Sonoran Preserve
The City of Scottsdale partners with the private, non-profit organization McDowell Sonoran Conservancy that provides stewards for the preserve, educational programs & hikes. For more information on the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy visit www.mcdowellsonoran.org.
Volunteer opportunities in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve cover a wide of activities – almost all of which are outdoors in the Preserve itself. Projects such as cactus salvage and revegetation, mitigation of damaged or scarred areas within the Preserve, trail maintenance and sometimes minor trail construction, trash and litter pick-up and removal, invasive weed removal, natural habitat improvement, sign and fence installation, to name a few of the categories. Projects are completed in groups, most of which are trained, experienced Preserve volunteers.
Preserve staff provide all tools, materials and training to do the work – we just ask that you bring a good pair of work gloves, a water bottle (we have water for refills) and good, sturdy, closed toed shoes or hiking boots. Dress appropriate to weather conditions and work assignment.
Operation Fix It: Neighbors Helping Neighbors
This program provides assistance to qualifying homeowners or tenants who are physically or financially unable to maintain their properties. Operation Fix It teams volunteers and local businesses to provide labor and materials.
Parks & Recreation - Helping Hands
Interested in giving back to the community? There are several volunteer opportunities for those interested in working in a parks and recreation environment. Opportunities include volunteering for one-time special events at city parks and other locations throughout the city, in addition to various park maintenance projects! For additional information please email or call.
Parks & Recreation - Teen Volunteer Program
Paul Germinaro or Geoff Gerstel
480-312-2650
Are you a teen, ages 14-17, interested in fun volunteer opportunities? The Scottsdale Parks and Recreation Department offers teens with mentoring opportunities, on-the-job training, and leadership opportunities in Scottsdale Youth Summer Camps! For additional information please email or call.
Paiute Neighborhood Center
Paiute is always in need of volunteers for the following programs:
- Paiute Neighborhood Center front desk coverage to include answering phones, directing people to appropriate agencies on campus, making appointments for Paiute social workers, and various other responsibilities.
- Family Resource Center (FRC) works directly with families with children ages 0-5, and is looking for assistance with program implementation.
Pinnacle Peak Park
Pinnacle Peak Park is always seeking fellow hikers, trail runners, rock climbers, or nature enthusiast that love Pinnacle Peak Park and want to give back by joining our dynamic team of volunteers./p>
Opportunities include but are not limited to:
- Trail Rovers: Engage with other hikers along the trail.
- Trail Sweepers: Prior to closing, hike the trail and “sweep” visitors toward the parking lot to help ensure everyone is safely off the peak and out of the park at closing.
- Trail Maintenance: Repair and maintain the trail, keeping it safe and enjoyable for visitors.
- Visitor Center Attendant: Actively engage with park visitors.
- Interpretive Leaders: Lead interpretive hikes along the trail, or talks in the ramada.
Police Department
Police volunteers work within several divisions of the department in clerical support positions and assist patrol in vehicle transport. Volunteers must be citizen academy graduates before being eligible for any positions that may be available. Citizen academy applications can be located in the Police section of the website and two sessions are held each year. Volunteer applications are only accepted if a position is available and any and all openings are posted on the Police website.
Senior Centers
Granite Reef Senior Center - Ana Valadez - 480-312-5816
Via Linda Senior Center - Kevin Herrick - 480-312-1719
Scottsdale Senior Services provides an integrated system of services, resources and opportunities to help people improve their lives, neighborhoods and community through recreation, social services, and health and wellness services. Both Scottsdale Senior Centers, Via Linda Senior Center and Granite Reef Senior Center, offer various volunteer opportunities for you to make a difference. Some examples include concierge, blood pressure screeners, intergenerational programs, home delivered meals, lunch program, computer lab, peer support program, and special events.
Special Events
Special events host several events throughout the year including Fall Festival, Mighty Mud Mania, Family Fun Nights, and Paws in the park. The events usually take place on Saturday evenings and are located in parks thorough the City. Volunteers help in multiple areas including surveys, game booths, line attendants, and general event support. Volunteers are needed for the day of event support.
Volunteer Sign Team - VST
The Volunteer Sign Removal Program utilized volunteers in the removal of illegal right-of-way signs.
Contact Information
Brandon Chapman
Citywide Volunteer Program Coordinator
P: 480-312-2530
[email protected]
