Photograph by The Sintoses
Help the unhoused
Thousands in Atlanta experience homelessness or are in unstable housing. Explore ways to offer them dignity.
Hope Atlanta is Georgia’s longest-standing nonprofit committed to preventing and ending homelessness. Help restock the shelves, or volunteer to cook meals at the Women’s Community Kitchen and Outreach Center.
Volunteer at the Atlanta Children’s Day Shelter in the early-childhood education classrooms, or sign up for single-event staff shifts to support families with young children in unstable housing situations.
Provide kids with the celebration and support they deserve through The Birthday Party Project, which offers monthly themed birthday celebrations to children through My Sister’s House from Atlanta Mission, Nicholas House, and other agencies.
There are also long-standing shelters that need volunteers, such as the 88-year-old Atlanta Mission, Gateway Center, and Covenant House Georgia, which serves unsheltered young adults aged 18 to 24.
Help for a Single Shift
Doing good doesn’t always require a long-term commitment. For those with busy schedules, many Atlanta nonprofits offer one-off volunteer shifts that still make a big impact.
The Zaban Paradies Center in Midtown operates a 15-room residential program for couples experiencing homelessness. Volunteers can serve meals, lead workshops, help with maintenance and repairs, and much more.
If you’re confident in the kitchen, Open Hand Atlanta always welcomes volunteers to cook, pack, and deliver meals to neighbors in need.
Sign up for a weekend shift through Hands On Atlanta, which connects volunteers with opportunities to do everything from park cleanups and 5K fundraisers to clothing drives and salon services for women in need. You’ll meet new people, stay inspired, and leave knowing you made someone’s day a little brighter.
Courtesy of Agape Youth and Family Center
Help vulnerable babies and children
As many as 12,000 schoolchildren in Atlanta are unhoused or in precarious living situations. Jump in to help with hands-on after-school opportunities, diaper drives, and more.
Helping Mamas gets essential baby items, such as diapers and formulas, to Atlanta families in need. Sign up to start a diaper drive or take a shift in the warehouse.
Tender was founded by a young single mom to help others like her get the assistance they need. Volunteer as a driver to deliver diapers to families in need every other Saturday.
Atlanta Angels helps foster children and foster families, and you can choose from a variety of jobs, such as delivery driving and event volunteering.
Agape Youth and Family Center has after-school opportunities, such as homework buddies and literacy helpers.
Help to serve seniors
About 40 percent of metro Atlantans live alone. Here’s how to offer them companionship and help them accomplish tasks, among other support services.
The AmeriCorps Senior Companion Program, a service provided by Fulton County, matches volunteers with seniors to assist with tasks such as managing technology, making appointments, and grocery shopping.
The Jewish Family & Career Services of Atlanta will match anyone who lives within 20 miles of Dunwoody with a senior. In its One Good Deed Friendly Visitor Program, seniors and volunteers visit with each other twice a month to go on fun outings or tackle household issues.
Meals on Wheels Atlanta delivers more than 525,000 meals to seniors annually in Atlanta, stocks their pantries, and helps get them pet food for their beloved animals. Volunteers deliver food and are encouraged to chat with seniors to brighten their day.
Photograph by Marcus Kyle, MMF LLC
Help grow food to feed your neighbors
Give back while getting some fresh air by spending a morning volunteering outside. These community garden organizations are focused on growing food and educating others.
Concrete Jungle is an urban nonprofit created in 2009 that distributes fresh fruit to Atlanta and Athens families in need. Atlanta volunteers can sign up via the nonprofit’s website to help plant, cultivate, and harvest fruit at Doghead Farm to donate.
Photograph by Marcus Kyle, MMF LLC
Truly Living Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture teaches hands-on lessons in composting, practicing sustainability, and growing fresh produce right in the city. Pull weeds, plant seeds, and see your impact take root.
Wylde Center is an Atlanta-based nonprofit with five urban green spaces. Volunteers help to provide environmental education to children and adults and harvest 80,000 plants each year for community members.
This article appears in our January 2026 issue.
