May, 1 2025 | Volunteering

Greetings, Volunteers!

Happy May! We are so excited to shovel some compost and watch all of the beautiful plants come out of their Winter hibernation. Read on to find a list of new and ongoing volunteer opportunities for the month of May.

To sign up for an event this month and receive a month of free Garbage to Garden service, RSVP by email and we will help answer any questions you may have. Then simply send confirmation of your volunteer hours to volunteer@garbagetogarden.org to receive credit.

Happy Composting,

We are hosting 4 seedling sales in the month of May and we need your help to make them a success! Responsibilities could include helping retrieve seedling pre orders for customers, helping with kids activities, assisting with set up, parking, or refreshments. Please email volunteer@garbagetogarden.org with your preferred shift time to sign up!


Saturday 5/10 8:00am-11:00am/11:00am-2:00pm

Saturday 5/17 8:00am-11:00am/11:00am-2:00pm

Saturday 5/24 8:00am-11:00am/11:00am-2:00pm

Saturday 5/31 8:00am-11:00am/11:00am-2:00pm

Do you have neat handwriting? This is a take home volunteer project, meaning we would ask you to come pick up tags at Garbage to Garden HQ (352 Presumpscot St, Portland, ME) and fill them in at home. Please email Bridget to sign up!

Garbage to Garden is working with the Portland Hearts of Pine to make their Inaugural season low waste! Volunteer at a game and stay or arrive early to watch. Volunteer responsibilities may include monitoring compost bins, changing out compost, trash, recycling, and clynk bags as needed and keeping the space tidy. Please email Bridget with your preferred shift time as well as your tee shirt size.

Shifts

Sunday May 4th - 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm/6:00 pm - 8 pm

Saturday May 17th - 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm/5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Saturday May 31st - 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm/5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

We are looking for volunteers to help with waste station monitoring at the State Theatre Concert Series this Summer! 
 
Volunteers will take shifts to monitor compost bins, change out trash/recycling/clynk bags as needed and keep the grounds tidy. Please email Bridget with your preferred event and shift time as well as your tee shirt size.

May 29th Vampire Weekend - 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm/8:30 pm - 10:30 pm

Independent Seniors Network is a nonprofit, 501(c)3, volunteer organization dedicated to helping older adults remain in their own homes as long as possible. Their network of volunteers provides transportation to medical appointments, grocery stores, and other appointments; They also provide friendly visits & phone calls, light household and gardening help, small handyman chores, and technology assistance. Many older adults struggle with many of these issues and lack the funding to hire outside help. They are always in need of more volunteers as more and more older adults need assistance. Their volunteers do so on their own schedules, as often as they’d like, and only services they want to provide.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer or a member or would like more information, please email them at info@independentseniorsnetwork.org or call them at 207-370-1896.

Presente! Maine is a grassroots, mutual aid organization by and for displaced and dispossessed Afro/Indigenous-Latines in Maine. With their community, they codesign and implement survival programs that proactively address the most urgent public health, climate, and human rights struggles, while also working within systems of power to create a more equitable, joyful, and resilient future.

Their Despensa Solidaria - community food pantry - is held on the second & fourth Wednesday of each month at their office in Portland (795 Congress St. (former PelotonLabs building)). They distribute fresh, culturally relevant produce to their community at no cost. There are three shifts in which folks can volunteer:

- U-Haul/Produce Shift (9am-11am) - Pick up reserved U-Haul (411 Marginal Way, Portland) & head to Wayside Food Programs (135 Walton St, Portland). The entrance is at the rear of the building through the parking lot. Driver lets the warehouse manager know that they are picking up Presente’s food order then meets us at our office! 

- Warehouse Shift (11am-2pm) - Support them with the unloading & prepping of food & supplies for distribution!  

- Distribution Shift (4:30-7:30pm) - Support them with the physical distribution of food to community members! 

You can learn more & sign up here!

Maine Foodscapes is a federally incorporated 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to improve community food security and well-being throughout Southern Maine. Each spring, their Foodscapes Garden Project (FGP) connects Mainers currently experiencing limited resources with the tools needed to start growing their own food.

Volunteers help build gardens, table to promote the program, teach workshops, and more! Sign up to volunteer by filling out this form.