Change The Status Quo
Not happy about the state of the New Orleans community? Help change its path by finding an organization you can support with your time, energy, and ideas for a better community for all.
The volunteer opportunities compiled in this report represent more than just a list of ways to spend your free time—they are entry points into transforming our city. When you volunteer with organizations working on climate adaptation, historic preservation, disaster recovery, equitable housing, or cultural sustainability, you become part of the solution to our most pressing challenges.
These volunteer opportunities span a spectrum of commitment levels and skill requirements, ensuring that everyone can contribute meaningfully, regardless of background, expertise, or available time. Whether you can offer specialized professional skills or simply your enthusiasm and willingness to learn, this work has a place for you.
These volunteer pathways are particularly powerful because they connect individual action to systemic change. By joining forces with established organizations, your contributions become part of larger, coordinated efforts to address complex problems. A single rain garden you help install becomes part of a comprehensive water management strategy; a historic home you help preserve contributes to maintaining neighborhood character while fighting displacement; cultural traditions you help document strengthen the unique identity that makes New Orleans irreplaceable.
The status quo in New Orleans wasn't created overnight, and it won't be transformed through passive observation or complaint. Real change requires active participation, sustained commitment, and collective action. The organizations featured in this report have already done the hard work of establishing effective programs—they need your help to expand their impact.
As you review these volunteer opportunities, consider what interests you and where your specific skills and perspective might have the most significant impact. Then, take that crucial first step: make a call, send an email, attend an orientation, or show up for a volunteer day. The connections you'll make, the knowledge you'll gain, and the tangible improvements you'll contribute to will transform not just the city but your relationship to it.
New Orleans' challenges are real, but so is our capacity to address them together. Choose an organization, get involved, and become part of writing the next chapter in our city's remarkable story.
Green Infrastructure & Urban Design Volunteer Opportunities
Cultural Preservation & Community Involvement Volunteer Opportunities
Equitable Development & Housing Affordability Volunteer Opportunities
Post-Disaster Recovery & Community Engagement Volunteer Opportunities
Historic Preservation & Neighborhood Revitalization Volunteer Opportunities
Climate Adaptation & Water Management Volunteer OpportunitiesOn this page