Jobs, Internships, and Volunteer Opportunities

Adolescent/Youth

 

• Through tutoring, food bank and clothing closet assistance, and youth empowerment programs volunteers with Boys & Girls Clubs help promote academic success, healthy lifestyles and character building among Portland’s youth.
• As a medical child abuse assessment center, Child Abuse Response and Evaluation Services (CARES) NW has opportunitites for volunteers to engage with children and families, provide administrative/clerical services, or work on special projects such as hygiene kit assembly.
• Human Solutions uses advocacy, partnership, and investment programs to elevate low-income and unhoused Portland community members. Volunteers can assist as drivers for emergency shelters or cooks for shelter residents.
• Immigrant & Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) aims to unite incoming Portland community members with long-term residents through a variety of programs that volunteers contribute to. Roles range from high school tutors to airport welcome and transportation to interpretation and translation services (and more).
• Impact NW offers volunteer opportunities through their All Kids Are Scientists elementary STEM education program. Volunteer roles consist of kit building or class leading.
• Insights Teen Parent Services works to empower and serve young parents and families through focused programs, including: Healthy Families, Supporting Early Emerging Development Skills (SEED), and Homesafe Program.
• Janus Youth Service helps at-risk and in need youth with the help of volunteer participation.
• Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) Oregon works to bring educational opportunities to underrepresented and underserved youth. Volunteers can serve as mentors, STEM career coaches, and more.
• Neighborhood House hopes to promote education while eliminating houselessness and food insecurity through community based programs. Volunteers can serve as elementary and middle school teaching assistants or as food pantry volunteers.
• Portland Tennis & Education focuses on engaging underserved children academically and physically, with volunteers serving as coaches in their afterschool programs.

Advocacy

 

• The Cupcake Girls focuses on advocacy and support of those involved in the sex industry with the help of volunteers in hospitality, networking, support groups, client advocacy, outreach, and more.
• Volunteers help Healthcare for All Oregon promote a universal affordable healthcare system through community engagement and education.

• The Oregon Department of Justice Bias Response Program offers both internship and volunteer opportunities for college students to serve in direct advocacy, victim support, social media management, prevention, training, and more to help end hate.
•  OHSU Brain Institute, Think First: ThinkFirst Oregon is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing age-appropriate resources and education to our state’s youth to prevent brain and spinal cord injuries.

•  We Can Do Better: Our mission is to create opportunities for nonpartisan civic education and engagement, bringing people together who share the values of better health care  and health for all.
• Volunteers with Black United Fund of Oregon help promote equitable opportunities for Portland’s underserved communities as volunteer archivists with BUF’s Preserving Organizational History project or as tutors for any subject.

AIDS/HIV

 

•  Cascade AIDS Project volunteers improve health and wellness for those impacted by HIV, LGBTQ+ individuals, and other local community members.

•  HIV Day Center is a program by the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon provides community services—including meals, counseling, technology and more— to low income individuals with HIV/AIDS.

•  Our House of Portland: Our House provides healthcare, housing, therapeutic activities, peer recovery mentorship, and other vital services to those living with HIV.

Behavioral Health, Drug and Alcohol Addiction

• Bridges Collaborative Care is a student-run clinic, engaging vulnerable populations by providing low-barrier, participant centered care and services in the Portland Metro area.
• Interns help Cascadia Behavioral Health provide community-based behavioral health and substance use treatment services to the Portland community.
• Central City Concern works to combat homelessness through housing, healthcare, recovery, and employment services.
• LifeStance Health (formerly Western Psychological and & Counseling Services) is a behavioral health service that offers volunteer, internship, and job opportunities to those interested in mental and behavioral health care.
• Madrona Recovery offers services that support youth through both mental health and chemical dependency issues within a focused program. 
• Multnomah County Health Department offers unpaid and paid internships to college students in Business Services/HR, Corrections, Early Childhood Services, Environmental Health, Infection Control, Mental Health & Addiction Services, Nursing Administration, Public Administration, Public Health, and Quality.
• Operation Night Watch works with volunteers to provide “radical hospitality” to Portland’s unhoused population. Volunteer services can include late-night meal help, shelter drivers, senior care, and street ministry.
• Outside In strives to uplift and attend to Portland’s underserved and marginalized communities through its clinic and additional programs.
• Portland Rescue Mission helps address the issue of homelessness in the Portland community with meals, shelter, bathrooms, clothing, and more.
• Focused on serving children and families, Trillium Family Services offers mental and behavioral health care for a range of crises and circumstances. Volunteers can assist on their campuses or in their service programs. Those interested in internship opportunities beyond volunteering should contact Sandy Boyle at 503.813.7715.

Cancer

 

• American Cancer Society volunteers help fundraise for the American Cancer Society’s work combating cancer with research, education, and more.

• Children’s Cancer Association aims to uplift cancer patients through their JoyRx programs focusing on nature, music, and mentorship. Volunteer positions include office support, MyMusicRX Hallway Musician, Chemo Pal Mentor, or special event volunteer.

• The Lung Cancer Alliance’s GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer actively works to serve those living with, or vulnerable to, lung cancer — focusing especially on research and advocacy. Volunteer duties can range from community outreach, sponsorship outreach, speaking engagements, 5k walk/run volunteering, patient services or office volunteering.
• At Project Koru, help enrich lives through community and the outdoors as a way to move forward beyond cancer. Opportunities to be a program volunteer, board member, general administrative volunteer, and intern.

Clinical

 

•  Bridges Collaborative Care Clinic is a student-run clinic, engaging vulnerable populations by providing low-barrier, participant centered care and services in the Portland Metro area.

•  Central City Concern works to combat homelessness through housing, healthcare, recovery, and employment services.

•  Coalition of Community Health Clinics is a group of health clinics collaborating on health equity, emergency preparedness, housing, and health care coverage programs.
• At COPE Health Scholars, participants assist with basic care for patients alongside nurses, physicians and other clinicians, and have opportunities to learn the “business” of healthcare. This program is offered year-round with enrollment occurring every quarter.
• Legacy Health is a locally owned nonprofit health system which includes a children’s hospital, mental and behavioral health services center, and more than 70 other clinics. Volunteering here is a rewarding way to gain valuable experience in healthcare.
• Med Staircare aims to elevate underrepresented groups and increase diversity in healthcare. It offers opportunities for students to learn more about the careers in which they are interested and the process of achieving their goals.
• OHSU, General volunteers can assist in a wide range of patient interactions and staff support. Internship programs with various focuses are also available.

• OHSU PRISM research team performs phase II-IV clinical trials in pulmonary clinics and hospital settings. Volunteers can help conduct chart reviews of study subjects/patients using electronic medical records (EPIC) and enter the information in a secure database while supporting research coordinators. 

•  Outside In strives to uplift and attend to Portland’s underserved and marginalized communities.

•  Planned Parenthood provides sexual health services and education worldwide.

•  Portland VA Medical Center offers veterans many health care services, with volunteers serving as van drivers and office assistants.

•  Providence Portland Medical Center is a Providence Health & Services nonprofit medical center serving the Portland community with health services and the help of regular volunteers.
• An OHSU Primary Care Clinic, the Richmond Clinic provides welcoming family medicine services to the southeast Portland community.
•  Virginia Garcia The health center serves the members of Washington and Yamhill county through access to high quality, culturally appropriate health care and the Foundation works to provide the enduring support for the entire organization.
•  Wallace Medical Concern is an affordable health clinic offering medical care, dental services, and more.

Crisis Lines/Trauma

• As a medical child abuse assessment center, Child Abuse Response and Evaluation Services (CARES) NW has opportunitites for volunteers to engage with children and families, provide administrative/clerical services, or work on special projects such as hygiene kit assembly.
• Crisis Text Line Note: requires 30 hours of training.
• The Cupcake Girls focuses on advocacy and support of those involved in the sex industry with the help of volunteers in hospitality, networking, support groups, client advocacy, outreach, and more.

• Lines for Life A regional nonprofit dedicated to preventing substance abuse and suicide. We offer help and hope to individuals and communities and promote mental health for all.

• The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people under 25.

• Trauma Intervention Program (TIP) Provide immediate emotional and practical support to victims, survivors, family, and bystanders following a traumatic event.

Disability Justice

• North Pole Studio is a progressive art studio that provides individualized studio support, representation and workshop programming for artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Offers volunteer and internship opportunities to students interested in arts, education, and disability justice.
• Partnerships in Community Living is a nonprofit organization that provides support, advocacy and services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Student volunteer opportunities focus mostly on community engagement.

Food Insecurity

• See a list of food pantries in the Portland area.

•  Blanchet House of Hospitality in Portland is serving free hot meals in Northwest Portland to those in need. You can donate and sign up to volunteer here.
• Through tutoring, food bank and clothing closet assistance, and youth empowerment programs volunteers with Boys & Girls Clubs help promote academic success, healthy lifestyles and character building among Portland’s youth.

•  Lift UP helps serve low-income residents in the Northwest/Downtown Portland area with their food needs. You can sign up to volunteer here.

•  Neighborhood House is a local social service agency that’s providing meals, masks and distance learning to members of the Portland community, and is supporting homebound seniors amid the crisis. You can donate to their COVID-19 response fund here.

•  Northeast Emergency Food Program: Meets the urgent food needs of Portland metro area neighbors, primarily people living in east Portland, many of whom live east of 82nd Ave. However, unlike many other food pantries in the region, we do not have a geographic boundary—meaning, people come to us from across the tri-county region of northwest Oregon, as well as southwest Washington. We are also able to help those who are experiencing houselessness and those who are undocumented.

•  Meals on Wheels People is a nonprofit that helps buy, cook and deliver meals for homebound seniors.

•  National Student Campaign Against Hunger & Homelessness focuses on equipping college students with resources to help combat homelessness & hunger with various programs and advocacy, such as through a Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week event.

•  Oregon Food Bank is committed to ending hunger and creating positive systemic change.

• With the goal to reach a “hunger-free Oregon” the Oregon Hunger Task Force attacks food insecurity through a policy angle.

• The PDX COVID-19 Mutual Aid Network has set up a volunteer form for those who can help deliver supplies and groceries in the Portland area. You can sign up here.
•  Store to Door delivers groceries to Portland-area homebound seniors and people with disabilities, and is looking for volunteer shoppers and drivers for safe limited- and no-contact deliveries. You can sign up to be a volunteer grocery shopper or delivery driver here.

Hospice/End of Life

• Compassion & Choices volunteers help the organization work towards their advocacy and education goals regarding end-of-life options.

•  Oregon Hospice & Palliative Care Association works to improve hospice and palliative care statewide. Volunteers help provide this quality hospice care through engagement with patients.

Interpreting

 

• Clackamas Free Clinical Volunteers in Medicine is a nonprofit organization that offers free and inclusive health services (in Spanish and in English) for uninsured, low-income people of Clackamas County. Volunteer opportunities include Spanish language interpreting/translating, medical scribing, and other assistance in a clinical setting.
• Immigrant & Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) aims to unite incoming Portland community members with long-term residents through a variety of programs that volunteers contribute to. Roles range from high school tutors to airport welcome and transportation to interpretation and translation services (and more).
• Paper-airplanes.org invites volunteers to provide online tutoring to “bridge gaps in language, higher education, and professional skills training for conflict-affected individuals”
• Virginia Garcia engages in advocacy with outreach to local populations, including farm-worker populations, and provides patient-centered care. Volunteer opportunities include medical scribing and helping with Free Food Markets.

Public Health

• The Center for Disease Control and Prevention offers a variety of short-term internships and hands-on training programs for students and recent graduates. All offer a unique experience in one of many exciting public health fields.
• Multnomah County Health Department offers unpaid and paid internships to college students in Business Services/HR, Corrections, Early Childhood Services, Environmental Health, Infection Control, Mental Health & Addiction Services, Nursing Administration, Public Administration, Public Health, and Quality. Contact your pre-health advisor for more information.
• Neighborhood House hopes to promote education while eliminating houselessness and food insecurity through community based programs. Volunteers can serve as elementary and middle school teaching assistants or as food pantry volunteers.
• Oregon Health Authority offers a diverse range of opportunities caring for the needs of Oregonians in small communities and large. Jobs can be searched by location and filtered to find OHA posts.

Research

• The Fulbright Grants program fosters mutual understanding among nations through educational and cultural exchanges. This program sends recent alums and graduate students for English teaching assistantships or study/research grants around the world, allowing students to devise and pursue research projects of their own.
• The John S. Rogers Science Program supports student-faculty collaborative research in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematical Sciences, Geological Science, Physics, and Psychology and is open exclusively to Lewis & Clark students.
• OHSU, Clinical Research Investigative Studies Program (CRISP) clinical research opportunities offer students useful exposure and experience in health research. Currently suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic; please check the program site for updates.
• OHSU, General Research volunteers can assist in a wide range of patient interactions and staff support. Internship programs with various focuses are also available.
• At UC Santa Barbara Geometric Intelligence Lab, members have the opportunity to explore theoretical foundations of geometry and machine learning research, while developing cutting-edge practical methods for biology and medicine. Opportunities include internships and research assistants.

Scribing

• Northwest Acute Care Specialists offers a scribe program at Legacy Health emergency departments for pre-health students looking for clinical experience. This is a paid, part-time position.
• ProScribe  is a comprehensive medical scribe training program. A medical scribe is responsible for accurately documenting the interaction between a healthcare provider and their patients in real-time. 

• At ScribeAmerica, you can provide care, get clinical experience, and learn on the job as a medical scribe.

Senior Care

• Virtual volunteers with Conversations to Remember dedicate time to hourly chats with residents of assisted living or memory care facilities in order to reduce loneliness and feelings of isolation.
• Neighborhood House hopes to promote education while eliminating houselessness and food insecurity through community based programs. Volunteers can serve as elementary and middle school teaching assistants or as food pantry volunteers.
• Meals on Wheels volunteers can help reduce food insecurity in Portland through food delivery, dining center service, and virtual wellness or chat check ins.
• Store to Door volunteers help provide groceries to local seniors and adults with disabilities.

Shelters/Supporting the Unhoused

• See a list of shelters in the Portland area.
• Bybee Lakes Hope Center is a transitional housing facility that was transformed from the Wapato Correctional Facility into a trauma-informed center that supports unhoused Portland Metro community members. You can support this center through volunteering or simply donating personal care items.

• Central City Concern works to combat homelessness through housing, healthcare, recovery, and employment services.

• Dignity Village serves as a shelter for unhoused individuals in NE Portland.

• Human Solutions uses advocacy, partnership, and investment programs to elevate low-income and unhoused Portland community members. Volunteers can assist as drivers for emergency shelters or cooks for shelter residents.
• Hygiene4All works with houseless individuals to address Portland’s houselessness crisis. Volunteers can work with Hygeiene4All both on-site or off-site.
• Love One is an organization committed to serving Clackamas County neighbors in need on a regular basis providing clean laundry, showers, meals, personal care resources, and community connections. They offer a multitude of events and ways to volunteer.
• Oregon’s My Neighbor program helps connect goods and services from the community and gives foster families the essentials they need.
• Neighborhood House hopes to promote education while eliminating houselessness and food insecurity through community based programs. Volunteers can serve as elementary and middle school teaching assistants or as food pantry volunteers.
• Operation Night Watch works with volunteers to provide “radical hospitality” to Portland’s unhoused population. Volunteer services can include late-night meal help, shelter drivers, senior care, and street ministry.

• Outside In strives to uplift and attend to Portland’s underserved and marginalized communities through its clinic and additional programs.
• Volunteers help Portland Habitat for Humanity build homes and offer affordable housing to all.
• Portland Rescue Mission offers food, shelter and recovery programs for men, women and children. You can donate food, clothing and other needed items here.
• Rose Haven is a day shelter and community center serving women, children and gender non-conforming folks. You can help out by volunteering via direct service and hospitality, as well as organizational help.
• Transition Projects helps those experiencing homelessness secure low-income housing, among other development programs. You can donate here, or volunteer here.

Transgender Health

• Volunteers with the OHSU Transgender Health Program serve as advocates, educators, and supportive community members through various in-person or virtual opportunities.
• Trans Advocacy and Care Team (TACT) strives to promote the wellbeing of trans and non-binary individuals with the help of virtual volunteers who can serve as gender advocates or peer support group facilitators.

Veterinary Experiences

 

• Work with the Arabian Horse Rescue and Education to help rescue, rehabilitate, rehome Arabian horses at risk of shipping to slaughter. There is a 3 month volunteer commitment with a training path that gradually brings you closer to the horses and improves your handling skills.
• Bird Alliance of Oregon is a volunteer-empowered organization, and volunteers are active in every level from policy to activism, from habitat stewardship to wildlife care, from community science to education.
• The volunteer team at Cat Adoption Team is a diverse group of humans who put their love of cats into action every day. As a cat shelter volunteer, you’ll make new friends, learn new skills, and help cats and people find each other.
•  Dove Lewis Emergency Hospital provides emergency services, critical care and specialized treatments for pets. Volunteers can provide fundraising or outreach event support, holiday food, animal transportation, or help as a greeter for the Pet Loss Support Program.
• The Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon has helped more than 130,000 feral and stray cats relying on the help of committed volunteers. The organization requests a minimum 3-month commitment, see current needed volunteer positions on their website.
•  Oregon Humane Society volunteers help the society care for pets awaiting adoption by fundraising and/or making animal toys and treats.
• At Oregon Donkey Sanctuary, volunteers spend at least one day a week helping this small nonprofit care for residents. Duties start small and over time you can learn how to clean, feed, and even learn more about the medical care we provide. Off-site positions like fundraising are also available.
• One Tail at a Time Dog Rescue depends on individual animal lovers to care for and help spread the word on our dogs in need. Volunteers must be aged 21 or older.
• Pixie Project is a nonprofit animal adoption center and rescue. You can volunteer to work in the cattery, help with events and outreach, or be a transporter for animals and donations.
• The Portland Animal Welfare Team offers veterinary services for pets of individuals experiencing financial hardship.
• Wildwood Farm Sanctuary and Preserve provides lifelong refuge and rehabilitation for abused and abandoned farmed animals and protects the property’s native plants, wetlands, woodlands, and wild animals.