Volunteers are the heartbeat of the world.

Every organization below started with someone willing to show up. Volunteering takes a willing heart and a little time. You never know whose life you might change, including your own.

Click on the organizations below to learn how they began and who they serve.
If you want to get involved, a volunteer link is included to help you take the next step.

Food Bank

On January 16, 1981, the Edmonton Gleaners Association, more commonly known as Edmonton's Food Bank, received its official charter of incorporation — and Canada's first food bank was born. Edmonton's Food Bank collects food such as bread, pastries, fruits, vegetables, and near-dated dairy products from grocery stores, food producers, and warehouses. This food is edible but not marketable for a variety of reasons, such as label or branding changes. Between 60%–80% of the food distributed by the Food Bank is gleaned from the food industry, including warehouses, grocery stores, farmers, and local growers. Join their volunteer team and help create a community where no one goes hungry.

Hope Mission

In 1929, Reverend Harold Edwardson established a soup kitchen in Edmonton's inner city, serving meals to hundreds of people struggling with unemployment and homelessness at the onset of the Great Depression. From that modest beginning, Hope Mission has grown into a not-for-profit Christian social care agency providing daily meals, shelter, addiction recovery, and life-changing care to thousands of men, women, and children across Alberta. Today Hope Mission is recognized as the largest provider of shelter and hot meals for those experiencing homelessness in Edmonton — hope truly begins with a meal.

Humane Society

The Edmonton Humane Society enriches the lives of people and companion animals through animal sheltering, programs and services, and community engagement. You can support the Edmonton Humane Society by giving your time to support our mission of enriching the lives of people and companion animals. Our volunteer team is integral to all aspects of EHS’ work, from animal care and enrichment to fundraising and more. Whether it is dog walking, cat cuddling, bonding with bunnies, dishes, laundry, coin counting, administrative and event assistance or even cutting the grass — lend a paw to help animals in need at EHS!

MOMS Canada

(Single) MOMS Canada was founded in 2009 as a Christ-centered non-profit with a simple purpose: to make sure no single mom walks her journey alone. Founder Meda Weir saw single mothers in Alberta's Parkland area struggling without consistent support, and modeled her new organization after M.O.M.S Minnesota, a charity that had been helping single moms in St. Paul since the early 1980s. From that starting point, MOMS Canada has grown into a network of support across the province — offering programs like Empowered MOMS, a 12-week group program run in partnership with churches, along with one-on-one mentorship, childcare support, and referrals to community resources. Today it continues to empower, encourage, and equip single moms and their children so they can move from surviving to thriving.

Bissel Centre

Working with communities, we empower people to move from poverty to cultural, social and economic prosperity.

A Community Without Poverty. Our commitment is to end poverty in our community. Impossible? Can’t be done? These are the same things that were said to Edison and the Wright brothers. Where would we be today if they believed those things could not be accomplished? When we believe something is impossible, we act as if that is true and as a result, we make it true—it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

However, if we believe something is possible, we begin to take actions that align with that belief, and that’s when interesting things begin to happen—just ask the 6,000 people that have found homes in Edmonton through the 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness.

CASA

CASA volunteers are everyday people – teachers, business people, retirees, stay-at-home parents, and grandparents – who are committed to making a difference for children who might otherwise slip through the cracks in an overburdened foster care system. They are appointed by judges to guide one child or one set of siblings and their family during their time in the child welfare system. CASA volunteers research case records and speak to each person involved in a child’s life, including family members, teachers, doctors, lawyers, and social workers. They monitor the progress of the child and family throughout the case and advocate for the child’s current and future needs in court, in school, and in agency meetings. Their independent evaluations allow the court to make better informed decisions.

Because CASA volunteers serve on one case at a time, they truly get to know the child and family and can give each case the sustained, personal attention it deserves.

Santas Anonymous

Santas Anonymous began in 1955 when CHED radio production manager Jerry Forbes learned there were many children in Edmonton who simply went without a gift during the Christmas season. Jerry's dream was simple: "Wouldn't it be great if there would be no needy kids and every kid had a present?" From those humble beginnings, run out of his own office with his staff, the program has grown into a beloved Edmonton tradition, now delivering new toys to over 25,000 children each year — powered entirely by thousands of volunteers and donors across the city.

YESS

We are so proud to be part of the Edmonton community for over 40 years! On September 1, 1981, YESS was officially incorporated after years of work from the community in Bonnie Doon.

Over the years we have moved from the crisis focus of emergency shelter to a prevention focus that provides everything from shelter to resources to trauma support. We even changed our name to Youth Empowerment and Support Services in 2012.

What has stayed constant is the importance of community in our mission to walk beside youth on their journeys towards healing.

It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.