Service Opportunities

  • We understand that fulfilling the service hour requirement may be challenging.  We encourage our students to get creative in finishing hours. For example, students may do things like yard work for their neighbors who cannot get out. In addition, we have students who are writing letters to people who are working on the front lines or people who are the nursing homes, or collecting and disposing of neighborhood trash/litter, reading books and posting them for children. All of these activities would be appropriate and would meet our service learning expectations.
  • Visit this website for more ideas on how to help others from home.
  • Volunteer with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.  Go here for more information.
  • Digital volunteers with the Smithsonian.  Go here to learn more.
  • Volunteer with zooniverse.  Go here for more information.
  • 9/11 Day of Service also provides many opportunities for our students.  Go here to learn more.  Also, here.
  • There is a volunteer event for Bradley Elementary to assist them with their engineering program.  For reference, this is every Thursday from 3:45-5:00.  Below are links to the project, as well as the signup page. 
 
 
 
  • Volunteer for the 2025 ASC Dinner Banquet!

    Join us as we celebrate the life and community of A Soldier's Child Foundation
    The 16th annual "A Life Worth Celebrating" ASC Dinner Banquet is Friday, May 9, 2025
    Location: Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) Student Union Building: 1768 MTSU Blvd. Murfreesboro, TN 37130
    Volunteer for the 2025 ASC Dinner Banquet!
  • The Central Magnet middle school baseball team is looking for two volunteers per game this season.  This will be a relatively easy 2 and a half or 3 hours of work.

    Volunteers have to show up at 3:30 and sit at a table behind the back stop and take money as people walk up.  Volunteers should be of driving age.  

    They have 12 home dates.  For questions, contact Coach Brian Summar at [email protected].    

    We play our home games at Barfield Park on the south side of town, out 231 off of Veterans Parkway

    697 Veterans Pkwy Murfreesboro, TN 37128-642

    https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094EA8AC23A1F49-55080708-baseball

     

     

  • I wanted to let you know about some upcoming volunteer opportunities we have here at United Way. These are great for students – Born Learning is on Wednesday nights from 5-7 and Storybook Breakfast is Saturday, March 1.

    Born Learning is a series of six free workshops that help turn everyday activities into early learning moments. Workshops are held in the evening at Black Fox Elementary. We can use help with dinner assistance and childcare. Childcare is held in the gym and already has 3 adult staff, so it is just having some fun with kids while parents attend the workshop! This workshop will be held February 12- March 19 and volunteers can sign up for as many shifts as they would like.

    Born Learning Childcare | United Way of South Central Tennessee

    Born Learning Dinner Assistance | United Way of South Central Tennessee

    Born Learning Childcare and Dinner Assistance | United Way of South Central Tennessee

    Storybook Breakfast is where favorite storybook characters come to life!  Attendees will have the opportunity to meet seven popular storybook characters, including Pete the Cat, Peter Rabbit, Maisy, Ladybug Girl, Curious George, Bluey, and the Berenstain Bears. Enjoy breakfast, crafts, story time and more interactive family fun. This is an all-hands-on deck event, with many ways to help listed below.

    Storybook Breakfast 2025 | United Way of South Central Tennessee

     

    Thank you so much. Please let me know if you have any questions!

    Rachel Hagler, Coordinator of Early Childhood Development

    United Way of South Central Tennessee

    E: [email protected]

  • Rutherford County 4-H is looking for students who are currently in 9th-12th grades to volunteer as Teen Leaders at their 4-H Junior Camp this summer.

     

    The 4-H Junior camp is June 23rd -27th in Columbia, TN and the campers attending are in 4th-6th grades. This is a fun, hands on experience for the campers!

     

    This is a spend the night away from home camp, and volunteers will be able to attend for FREE and they will provide transportation there and back.

     

    If you have students who are looking for community service hours or leadership experience, then this a GREAT opportunity for them to be teen leaders!

     

    Please see the attached flyer on the right side of this website as they will be scheduling zoom interviews soon. All interested can email Raquel Victor [email protected] to set up a zoom interview.

  • Collect food for those in need as part of your community service hours. Should someone at CMS want to continue with this activity, Ms. Buchanan would be a good point of contact and work with her on donation times and food delivery.

    Phone (615) 896-4211

    E-Mail [email protected]

  • The music program at Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital is a great way to earn volunteer hours. Their music volunteers sing and play music for visitors in the lobby and patients' rooms. Everyone loves it. They are trying to grow their program so they can have volunteers daily if possible.  They are located in Murfreesboro on Medical Center Parkway and the website is www.healthcare.ascension.org

    Contact person is Bryan Lowe and his email is [email protected] 
  • Collection Drives
    Blood drives, food drives, winter clothing drives, book drives, shoe drives, jean drives, pop tab drives, etc. can all be run with health safety precautions in place. Encourage students to not only donate from their own home, if they're able, but to also practice their communication skills by reaching out to their neighbors and the broader community. Setting personal and group goals can also be a valuable learning experience.
  • The Murfreesboro Community Garden off of State Street is a great place to get hours from February through October of each year.  They meet each Saturday from 10am - noon and offer a variety of outdoor tasks to help with.  They discuss plant biology, soil health, nutrition and food systems on the regular, so there are learning opportunities mixed in with work. Volunteers can find out more at facebook.com/mborogarden or by calling Autumn Shultz at 615-497-5936.
  • A new service learning project with the nonprofit Tree-Plenish would be perfect for our students who are interested in the environment or looking to boost their college application. Tree-Plenish is an environmental organization run by college students to help high schools offset their paper usage by hosting tree planting events. In working with Tree-Plenish, the volunteering student(s) will set a tree goal based on our school’s paper consumption. From there, they will encourage residents to request saplings to be planted in their yard or volunteer to plant saplings on the day of the event. This event would come at no cost to them, and Tree-Plenish will provide mentorship during the planning process and saplings to be planted on the day of the event. It’s like a project in a box!

    These events can be hosted by a single student or a group of students. If you’d like to learn more about hosting an event, make sure to take a look at their video and PowerPoint slides . If you are interested, you can fill out their quick, non-binding interest form to host an event here.

  • Looking for a way to help your local community from the comfort of your home? We're in need of Volunteer ESL (English Second Language) Teachers, Substitute Teachers and Tutors for our upcoming semester. Our fall semester will be conducted entirely online and begin in August.

    We're offering virtual tutor training. After completing this training, you will have the skills and tools necessary to teach our adult 
    learners. The majority of the training is done at your own pace with the final night of training conducted synchronically.
    As always, our services are free to anyone living or working in Rutherford Co. To learn more, email our Adult Literacy Coordinator, Elizabeth White at [email protected]
  • Linebaugh Public Library has had a few policy changes within their volunteer program: All applications must now be filled out online though our website (rclstn.org) and they require all volunteers to be 16 years old or older.
 
  • LaVergne Lake Elementary is in dire need of some help to clean out their iris beds. Contact Amy McCann at (615) 904-6730 ext30507 or [email protected], if you are interested.
  • Should you have any students interested in volunteering for TN Promise, Goodwill would love for them to choose to volunteer with us. Feel free to reach out with any questions.  If interested, contact
    Billy Birdsong
    Training Coach
    Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, Inc.
    2955 S. Church St. Murfreesboro, TN 37127
    p/f: 615.346.1818 |  giveit2goodwill.org/why
  • The Barnabas Vision is a faith-based non-profit here in Rutherford County and has numerous volunteer opportunities throughout the year. They have several great programs which our students might be interested in and they are looking for engaging volunteers to help deliver them.

    Programs include:

    Adopt-A-Grandparent - Volunteers visit those in nursing homes who are isolated and visit with them at least once a month. 

    Healthcare Facility Devotionals - Partner with three different healthcare facilities in Murfreesboro and provide devotionals to them on a weekly basis. 

    After-School Enrichment - Partner with Bradley Academy's BAT program to provide encouragement and enrichment activities every Friday during the school year. 

    Youth Empowerment Zone - A seven-week summer character and leadership development class at Rutherford Pointe Apts in La Vergne to at-risk youth. 

    Encouragement Cards and Bags - Write out encouragement cards to clients who are in their Homelessness Prevention Program. Encouragement Bags are filled with food and hygiene items and distributed to homeless and low-income individuals and families 

    Elderly Support Program - Provide lawn care and cleaning services to those who are disabled or elderly within our community. 

    Summer Internship - Are offered to youth who may have in interest in working with non-profits, community service, or ministry. 

    Visit their website for further information regarding programs and services https://thebarnabasvision.org/. Contact Michael Miller for more information on any of their programs. P:(615) 556-5134  C: (305) 340-9088

  • Tennessee Engagement Center, likely just with upperclassmen who would enjoy being Lab Monitors in the main computer room, needs help staffing the IT Help Desk.  Volunteers may even have the option of teaching a computer class.  Contact Kathleen Tyree at 615.225.8312 or [email protected] if you are interested.
  • The Tennessee Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education Center (TSEC) is a research and outreach arm of MTSU, aimed at improving K-20 STEM education both locally and nationally.  TSEC partners with internal and external stakeholders to identify and address critical issues that impact access, equity, innovation, and leadership through collaborative activities, sponsored projects, and dissemination products at professional meetings and in practitioner and research journals. TSEC currently sponsors several high-profile annual events including the STEM Education Research Conference, the STEM Expo, and Posters at the Capitol, and invites the MTSU community to fulfill and refine the TSEC mission and vision through its involvement in existing programming or by initiating a conversation with us about how to better serve our constituencies.  If interested contact Dr. Gregory T. Rushton at [email protected].
  • The Board of Directors of Mindful Care Adult Day Service in Murfreesboro is looking for help. They work with elderly clients who suffer from Dementia/Alzheimers. They have several fundraising events coming up in which they are in need of volunteers to help out in their events. This opportunity can provide students of many hours throughout the school year. If interested, contact Jennifer Hatfield at [email protected] 
 
  • The Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee can always use help from 6-12 graders.  Contact regional executive Dawn Rhodes at 615.690.7057 or [email protected] if you are interested.
 
Auburn Summer Camps for Middle School students
Auburn Youth Program for High School
Bank of America for rising 11th & 12th graders
BEP Business St Farm camp for grades 7-8
BEP Camp MD Information and Application grades 6-8
BEP Stem X camp for grades 6-8
Brown Leadership Institute for grades 9-12
Camp MD for grades 6-8
Carnegie Mellon Math and Science Summer Program for seniors
Carnegie Mellon Summer Program for Diversity
Cornell University Summer College for 10th - 12th graders
Cubes in Safe Summer program ages 11-18
Discovery Center Camp Counselor
Duke Summer College for High School students
Duke Summer Academy for grades 9-12
Duke Summer Honors Program for Middle School students
Indiana University Summer Journalism Workshop
Jack Kent Cooke Young Scholars Program for rising 8th graders
John's Hopkins Engineering Innovation
Louisiana State University Pre-College 
Miami of Ohio Summer Scholars Program for 11th & 12th graders
MTSU Innovation J-camp for high school students
MTSU Summer Language
MTSU Summer Youth Camp
Mississippi State Summer Programs
NYU Precollege summer program
Purdue Gifted Education Resource Institute for grades 5-12
Ronald Reagan Student Leadership Program
Samford Minority Youth Science Academy grades 10-12
Sewanee Pre-Health & Science program
Sewanee Young Writers
SIU Engineering Camp
Smith Pre-college Programs
Society of Military Engineers summer camps
State Farm Business Camp for 7th & 8th grades
Stemex camp for 6-8 grade
St. Thomas Junior Volunteer Program
Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institute for grades 8-11
Summer Institute for the Gifted for ages 9-17
Texas A & M summer programs
Tulane emerging Scholars Program
Tufts Summer Study Program
University of Illinois Summer camps for science & engineering
University of Michigan Engineering camp
University of Penn Youth Scholars Program for high school
University of Tennessee Vet program
University of Washington Summer Programs grades 6-11
US Army Stem Programs all grades
Vanderbilt Summer Academy
Villanova University Entreprenurship Challenge
Washington University St. Louis Summer Experiences
William & Mary Enrichment program grades 6-12
Yale Summer Scholars Program for 10th & 11th graders