At Seattle’s Child, we believe in community and in the importance of all of us working together to improves the lives of the kids and families in our neighborhoods and cities. That’s why we’ve partnered with national nonprofit Doing Good Together, an organization committed to making volunteering and service, along with daily kindness, easy and accessible for every family. Check out the volunteer opportunities compiled by the organization below and make “giving back” a natural part of life’s early lessons.
Treehouse
Date/Time: Schedule a time to drop off your drive items at the Treehouse Store, 2100 24th Ave S, Seattle. Drop offs are Tuesday–Friday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m.– 2 p.m. Or come to one of our Winter Drive Days and tour our store!
Winter Drive Drop off and Tour Dates:
- Saturday, December 13, 2–4 p.m.
- Wednesday, December 17, 5–7 p.m.
Location: Treehouse Store, 2100 24th Ave S, Seattle. Enter the parking garage on the south side of the building (Walker St.), pull into the loading dock, and ring the bell. One of our staff or volunteers will help you!
Ages: Everyone can help.
Time Commitment: Varies.
Rally your network to collect new clothing, hygiene items, or toys for youth in foster care! The holiday season is here, bringing with it packed shopping centers, festive decorations, and time with loved ones. It is also an opportunity to come together with family and friends to give back to youth in foster care. While there is a need all year round, the holidays are a great time to talk with your children about the importance of giving back and developing habits that can extend into the next calendar year. Your family can help by hosting a Winter Drive. Sign up for a winter drive and use our winter toolkit with support materials to help make your drive a success!
Contact: drives@treehouseforkids.org. To make your drive official fill out the Drive sign-up form.
Holiday Gift Drive / Mary’s Place
Date/Time: Gifts can be dropped off Monday–Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. by Friday, December 12.
Location: Deliver or send your unwrapped gifts to Mary’s Place Donation Center at 4521 6th Ave S, Seattle WA 98108 (send or deliver).
Ages: Everyone can help.
Time Commitment: Varies.
Mary’s Place works with families experiencing or on the verge of experiencing homelessness to regain housing stability. Each year we count on our community to ensure that kids and parents at Mary’s Place can celebrate the joy of the holiday season and share gifts with each other. And you are always there to help! Whether it’s purchasing and sending the most anticipated toys of the season for little ones, or providing gift cards for teens and parents to shop directly – your generosity brings so much joy and hope!
This year, our biggest request to the community is for gift cards. These will be distributed to older kids, teens, and parents staying in shelter and to those living unsheltered and working with our outreach team so that they can do their own personal shopping for each other. Gift cards can be purchased for retail stores like Target, Walmart, Amazon, or you can purchase VISA gift cards. Please purchase in values of $25 and $50, and be sure to write the value on the gift card. You can also shop for kids. We have hundreds of kids in shelter ages 0-12 who would love a great new toy this holiday season! If you’re interested in shopping for a specific toy, click here for our most requested toy list. Here’s our Amazon wish list if you prefer to order online and have the gifts shipped directly to us. Learn more here.
Contact: holiday@marysplaceseattle.org.
2025 Jingle Bell Run / The Arthritis Foundation
Date/Time: Sunday, December 14. Registration and packet pick-up begins at 7 a.m. The first race, the Kids Fun Run, starts at 8:30 a.m. Check the website for the complete schedule.
Location: Gas Works Park, 2101 N. Northlake Way, Seattle.
Ages: Families are welcome to participate.
Time Commitment: Varies.
The Arthritis Foundation’s original Jingle Bell Run is a fun way to get decked out and be festive while racing to raise funds and awareness to cure America’s #1 cause of disability. Wear your favorite holiday costume and spread good cheer for a great cause. We’re raising awareness and funds to support arthritis research for better treatments and a cure. We’re also helping the Arthritis Foundation develop tools, resources, and opportunities to connect with each other. Together, we’re committed to conquering arthritis for good. Learn more here.
Contact: Lori McKnight at lmcknight@arthritis.org, or call 360.939.3543. Registration is available online.
Toys for Tots /Marine Toys for Tots Foundation
Date/Time: Check your preferred drop-off location for dates.
Location: Click here for toy drop-off locations.
Ages: Everyone can participate.
Time Commitment: Varies.
Toys for Tots is a well-known charity, established in 1991 by the US Marine Corps Toys For Tots Foundation. Their mission is simple: to provide a tangible sign of hope to economically disadvantaged children at Christmas. Every child can relate to the idea that they receive so many gifts for the holidays, and yet some children in our community may not receive a special toy for Christmas. Join us in our efforts to ensure that every child in need in our community receives a new and unwrapped toy this holiday season! We collect new, unwrapped toys, books, and stocking stuffers (preferably avoiding plush toys due to sanitary reasons) for children from birth to 14 years old.
Contact: fort.lewis.wa@toysfortots.org.
Volunteer Work Parties / Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association (DNDA)
Date/Time: Check the volunteer page for upcoming event dates and times.
Location: Varies depending on dates.
Ages: Families with children five years old and older are welcome to volunteer. The youth waiver form must be signed by a parent/guardian for volunteers younger than 18 years old.
Time Commitment: Three hours.
Volunteering with DNDA’s Nature Programs can be a fun, rewarding experience allowing you to get outside, improve the health of a local natural area, and give back to your community. Volunteers will participate in fun, hands-on conservation work led by staff from DNDA’s Nature Team. Restoration work includes removing invasive plants, planting native species, and mulching new plantings, depending on the restoration progress at each site. Working out in the elements requires the right apparel. Long pants and closed-toe shoes are required.
Bring any water or snacks you might want during the volunteer event. For safety reasons, we will not be able to provide any refreshments.
- If you have your own pair of work gloves, you are encouraged to bring them. If you don’t, that’s okay; we will have some for you.
- All volunteers under 18 years old participating without a parent are required to bring a completed Youth Waiver Form.
- Please note that most sites do not have a bathroom present.
Contact: Caroline Borsenik, DNDA’s Environmental Programs Director, caroline@dnda.org. Registration is available online. After you submit a volunteer inquiry, our staff will contact you directly to confirm your spot.
Senior Citizens Card Writing Volunteers / Senior Care First Foundation (SCF)
Date/Time: This is an ongoing project.
Location: Once you fill out the volunteer form we will send you instructions for the card sizes we accept as well as how to deliver them to seniors. A confirmation email will be sent within 4-5 business days.
Ages: Everyone can help.
Time Commitment: Varies.
Senior Care First strives to obliterate senior citizen loneliness in senior homes and memory care clinics. It is integral that seniors are actively engaging with the community. One of the ways volunteers can help facilitate this interaction with seniors is by writing cards or making crafts for them. Senior Care First writes handmade cards/crafts and delivers them directly to senior citizens throughout the United States. Writing cards for seniors is not only to lighten up the days of seniors but also to let them know there is a support system outside of their homes filled with loving young members of their community. There is no specific way to make the cards since you, the volunteer, have creative liberty. However, we encourage volunteers to use bright colors and inspiring messages to share love for the seniors. We have heard several positive messages from senior homes after receiving cards from SCF. From writing general motivational and inspiring cards to holiday related cards, we give them all. Click here for card-making guidelines and to learn more.
Contact: seniorcarefirstfoundation@
Help Restock our Pantry /Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) of Western Washington & Alaska
Date/Time: Drop off donations any day of the week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Call or email us ahead of time with your delivery date so we can be ready for you.
Location: 5130 40th Avenue NE, Seattle.
Ages: Everyone can help.
Time Commitment: Varies.
The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Western Washington & Alaska offers the comforts of home and support services to families of seriously ill children near the medical care they need. Keeping our House Pantry full of quick meals and nutritious snacks helps parents and caregivers every day. Day or night, they can get what they need to care for their patient and their whole family.
Food Drive Requirements:
- Small cans and packages only (16 oz or less).
- Individual servings when possible.
- Direct from a store–not your cupboard.
- Commercially produced–not home-canned.
- Fresh—not close to the expiration date.
Here’s our current Food Drive shopping list.
- Pasta and pasta sauce.
- Canned ravioli and Spaghettios.
- Ready-to-eat soup such as Progresso.
- Cup Noodles and Top Ramen.
- Mac and Cheese cups.
- Spam, tuna, and canned chicken.
- Jello cups and pudding cups.
- Baby formula.
- Microwave popcorn.
- Canned fruit and applesauce squeeze packs.
Learn more here. Prefer to shop online? Visit our Amazon Food Drive Wish List for easy delivery of your donations.
Contact: Marla, Meal Program & Activities Manager, marla@rmhcseattle.org, 206.838.0621. Call or email us ahead of time with your delivery date so we can be ready for you.
Giving Together Holiday Drive / Wellspring
Date/Time: Drop-off hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Please drop off gifts by December 8.
Location: 1900 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle; Gifts can also be shipped to: Attn: Gift Drive, Wellspring Family Services, 1900 Rainier Avenue South, Seattle, WA 98104
Ages: Everyone can help.
Time Commitment: Varies.
Wellspring Family Services exists to end family homelessness by preventing it before it happens and intervening early when it does. Giving Together 2025 is a very special fundraising and gift drive to support families facing homelessness across our communities. Your family can help create change for children facing homelessness in our community this holiday season. Our goal this year is to provide 5,000 gift items to serve 1800 children experiencing, or at risk of experiencing homelessness. Your family is invited to join our annual holiday tradition by purchasing new gifts or winter essentials for boys and girls, ages newborn to 17 years old. While gifts are needed for all ages, each year, we struggle to fill requests for kids ages 13-17 years old. Gifts must be new and unwrapped. Click here for our Gift Drive wish list. Choose gifts as a family or host your own gift drive. You can also choose to shop on our Amazon wish list. Learn more here.
Contact: Wellspring Family Services, drives@wellspringfs.org, 206.902.4250. Wellspringfs.org
Coat Drive / One Warm Coat
Date/Time: Flexible.
Location(s): Click here for a list of where you can drop off coat donations in your local area.
Ages: All ages can participate.
Time Commitment: Varies.
One Warm Coat’s mission is to provide free coats to children and adults in need while promoting volunteerism and environmental sustainability. Founded in 1992 by one woman with one coat to give, One Warm Coat is a national movement born from one simple act of kindness and strives to make a tangible difference in people’s lives by providing comfort and hope to those who need it most. One Warm Coat supports individuals, groups, companies, and organizations across the country by providing the tools and resources needed to hold a successful coat drive. Coats are distributed in the communities where they are collected, to children and adults in need, without charge, discrimination, or obligation. Your family can help by holding a Warm Coat Drive or by donating coats.
Contact: drives@onewarmcoat.org or call 877.663.9276.
Help our Food Insecure Neighbors / Food Pantry Support
Date/Time: Ongoing.
Location: Please use the Food Lifeline food finder link to find a food pantry near you.
Ages: Everyone can help fight hunger in their community
Time Commitment: Varies
Millions of children and families living in America face hunger and food insecurity every day.
- According to the USDA, more than 47 million people, including 13 million children, in the United States are food insecure.
- Every community in the country is home to families who face hunger, including rural and suburban communities. We encourage you to research hunger statistics for your own city or county. You may be surprised by how many people in your community suffer from serious hunger issues.
- Many households that experience food insecurity do not qualify for federal nutrition programs and visit their local food banks and other food programs for extra support.
Thanksgiving means a time to give thanks and many families incorporate helping with holiday meals for their neighbors in need and those living with food insecurity. Your family can help our food-insecure neighbors with your time, food donations, or financial donations. Here are a few ways you and your family can help:
- Check the Food Lifeline food finder link to see what support or donations are needed by the food banks and pantries in your community
- Host a food drive for Northwest Harvest or Food Lifeline.
- Explore volunteer opportunities with Northwest Harvest or Food Lifeline.Explore volunteer opportunities with
Contact: Check the Food Lifeline food finder link to find a food bank or food pantry near you.
Got love to share? Foster a Pet / Regional Animal Services of King County (RASKC)
Date/Time: Flexible.
Location: Foster an animal in your home and check in with RASKC, 21615 64th Ave S, Kent.
Ages: Children may participate in caring for animals, though an adult in the household must be the official volunteer.
Time Commitment: Very flexible. You can wait until the time is right for you to foster.
Got love to share? Consider becoming a foster volunteer! As a foster volunteer, you make a short-term commitment to nurture one or more animals from the shelter in your home on a temporary basis. For example, some dogs have lingered in the shelter too long and need some respite; and some cats need a break from living in a kennel. Providing time in your home helps them sleep deeply and feel their best selves again. RASKC also offers puppies, kittens, and rabbits for foster care too.
Foster volunteers are given online training, great support, and everything necessary– free pet food, free medical care for the animal, and a free kennel. When the pet is ready to be adopted, you may choose to: a) Select who the animal will be adopted to within our Adopters Welcome guidelines, b) Bring the animal back to the shelter, or c) Adopt the animal yourself. You can decide when the time is right for you to foster– on an ongoing basis or just every once in a while. Community service might be available for school (if it is okay with the school). Usually, 1.5 hours is credited for each day an animal is cared for in your home.
- Complete a RASKC volunteer application if you are an adult. One application per household.
- Go to RASKC’s website. View the Training Module 4 – then answer the questions. The other training modules are optional.
- Submit your completed liability release form if you are an adult.
Contact: Sarah Luthens, RASKC.Volunteers@kingcounty.
Volunteer to Color / Color A Smile
Date/Time: Ongoing.
Location: Your own home.
Mail your drawings to: Color A Smile, PO Box 1516, Morristown, NJ 07962-1516
Ages: Everyone is welcome to participate.
Time Commitment: Varies.
Color A Smile is a nonprofit organization that distributes cheerful drawings to senior citizens, our troops overseas, and anyone in need of a smile. Every month, Color A Smile mails out thousands of cheerful drawings. Since 1990, Color A Smile has distributed millions of drawings nationwide. Their goal is to put smiles on people’s faces and remind them that someone is thinking of them. Download a page from their website, grab some crayons, and Color A Smile. Click here for coloring templates and instructions.
Contact: info@colorasmile.org, 973.540.9222.
Check Out Our Featured Project Of The Month!
Share 31 Days of Hygge-Inspired Kindness
EXPLORE our growing list of at-home projects you can do whenever you’re ready. Each project includes conversation starters, book ideas, and more! Follow along on social media as other families tackle this month’s project and share their stories! Simply join our Facebook group or find us on Instagram (@doinggoodtogether and #sharekindness).
Shop Kind with 50+ Kids Gift Ideas
Doing Good Together gathered this curated collection of big-hearted gifts in an easy-to-browse list for busy parents and caregivers. Shop handpicked activity kits, games, books, apparel, talking tools, and journals, all chosen to help families cultivate kindness, empathy, and meaningful connection!
This list was compiled by Doing Good Together™ and reposted with permission. When calling or emailing to volunteer for any of the opportunities listed above, please let the coordinator know you found it through this listing. You are encouraged to ask any questions you may have of the sponsoring organization before committing to a project.
Disclaimer: This list is provided as a service to families. Inclusion of organizations in this listing does not imply affiliation, endorsement, or quality assurance on the part of Doing Good Together™. Doing Good Together™ bears no responsibility whatsoever for the activities and actions of the listed organizations. © 2025 Doing Good Together™
