San Francisco Holiday Volunteering Guide 2019

Submitted by the Event Organizer

December is in full swing, so why not spread some holiday cheer? Give back to San Francisco with one of these great volunteer opportunities.

Spend your Christmas with the elderly, prepare meals to feed to homeless, choose children’s toys, and more. It’s the best gift you can give – no stressful shopping required.

GLIDE’s Grocery Bag Giveaway
December 11, 2019 | Starts 7:30 am
GLIDE, 330 Ellis St., SF

This year the do-gooders at GLIDE Memorial Church will give away thousands of bags full of groceries to individuals and families in the Tenderloin and across the city. Holiday volunteer shifts go live on November 1. Sign up here. If their volunteer needs on a particular holiday have already been met, please consider supporting GLIDE through a donation or by volunteering on another day.

Consider donating a toy for their annual Toy Wonderland event where they distribute toys to very-low-income families in our community. – Confirmed as of 11/13/2019

GLIDE’s Help-Portrait Day
December 7, 2019 | 9:00 am-2:30 pm
GLIDE, 330 Ellis St., SF

Sign up to help out at their annual event, where GLIDE program participants and neighborhood residents pose for portraits shot by professional local photographers and receive free prints. – Confirmed as of 11/13/2019

Salvation Army Toy & Joy Personal Shopper
December 18, 2019
San Francisco Service Center, 519 Stevenson St., SF

Escort parents through the ‘toy shop’ as they choose gifts for their children. They plan to serve approximately 1,200 families. Sign up to volunteer. Please note, this event is currently full. – Confirmed as of 11/13/2019

Salvation Army Toy Sort
December 9-18, 2019
Garden Street Community Center, 2794 Garden Street, Oakland

Help sort and organize the hundreds of toys which delivered by the public for local children. Snacks and beverages will be provided. Sign up to volunteer. – Confirmed as of 11/13/2019

GLIDE’s Christmas Eve Prime Rib Luncheon
December 24, 2019 | 11:00 am–1:00 pm
GLIDE, 330 Ellis St, SF

Volunteer at GLIDE for their annual Christmas Eve celebration sponsored each year by Joe Betz and San Francisco’s House of Prime Rib who donate 3,700 pounds of prime rib for GLIDE’s special mouthwatering luncheon. Sign up to volunteer. Limited volunteer opportunities are available. If slots fill up, consider signing up for a different day this December. GLIDE is open 364 days a year. – Confirmed as of 11/13/2019

GLIDE’s Christmas Meals
December 25, 2019 | 11:00 am–1:00 pm
GLIDE, 330 Ellis St, SF

A special Christmas menu is prepared for thousands of homeless and needy families and individuals. Volunteers are needed for breakfast, bag lunch preparation, dinner service and carving. They also serve a hearty “Boxing Day” breakfast, the day after Christmas. Sign up to volunteer. – Confirmed as of 11/13/2019

Little Brothers: Friends of the Elderly’s Christmas Elder Visits
December 24-25, 2016 | various shifts
Little Brothers – Friends of the Elderly San Francisco Bay Area, 909 Hyde Street, Suite 628, San Francisco, CA 

Help spread the holiday cheer and visit our older friends on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Volunteers must pick-up their holiday gift at the LBFE office on days prior to the visit (December 20 – 23). Please note, in order to participate in their In-Home Visit program, you must complete a volunteer orientation and background check. You are more than welcome to bring along family or friends. Sign up to volunteer. – Confirmed as of 11/13/2019

Salvation Army Christmas Meal Delivery
December 25, 2019 | 6:00 am-1:00 pm
South of Market Corps, 360 4th St, San Francisco

Help brighten someone’s Christmas morning by preparing and delivering a fresh home-style meal with all the trimmings straight to their door. Volunteers are needed to cook, drive and deliver meals on Christmas morning to 4,500 homebound individuals throughout San Francisco. You will receive an orientation, refreshments, a route sheet (who to deliver to), directions and meals. Most deliveries will consist of 20-40 meals and will take no around 1.5 to 2 hours (no longer than 3 hours maximum) to complete. All deliveries occur within San Francisco. Sign up to volunteer.

Volunteer shifts are also available on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning to help prepare fresh meals for Christmas. – Confirmed as of 11/13/2019

Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.