Opportunities From: City of Garland TX

Date: Saturday, March 7, 2026 Time: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Location: Plaza Theatre, Downtown Garland, 521 West State Street
Hosted by: Friends of Garland’s Historic Magic 11th Street
In partnership with: Garland Public Library

Help support Other Steps, Another Time: Garland Native American Awareness Day, a free, public cultural event exploring Native American history, heritage, and contributions in North Texas and beyond.

The program includes film screenings, a keynote presentation, tribal representatives, cultural demonstrations, artifacts, and original dramatic performances. This event is designed to educate and engage the Garland community about the area’s original inhabitants and Native American experiences.

Volunteers will assist with:

Greeting and welcoming attendees

Distributing programs and providing basic information

Ushering and assisting with seating

Helping with light setup and breakdown of props and materials

General event support as needed

One volunteer should be comfortable lifting moderately heavy items; all other roles are light-duty.

9:00 AM: Volunteer arrival and setup

10:00 AM: Program begins

12:05 PM: Lunch break and cultural demonstrations

4:00 PM: Event concludes

Friendly and comfortable interacting with the public

Able to follow directions and assist as needed

No special skills required

Ideal: 5–6

Kay Moore – 972-276-8867

Louis Moore – 214-886-1009

Volunteer Garland invites you to help brighten the lives of children and teens in foster care (ages 3–18). Many of these youth are navigating difficult transitions — your support can bring comfort, dignity, and hope right when they need it most.

UPDATE: 01/05/26

Care Backpacks have been suspended. Residents in December overwhelmed the agency's storage capacity. (Good job, Garland) They are looking for a company that is interested in redirecting their giving to help them with a storage unit. Volunteer Garland will update this listing when the current stock of backpacks is given out to the new intakes, so as to not overwhelm their staff.

Priority request:

Pampers Swaddlers (Size 2)

Diapers (Size 4, any brand)

Baby wipes

The additional cost of taking in babies for these items keeps potential foster care homes from taking in babies. The agency is asking for these items to help retain and recruit new foster homes. 

Spread holiday cheer by donating new, unwrapped toys for children and teens. Every gift helps ensure they have something to call their own this season.

Requested Holiday Items:

Toys for boys and girls (ages 3–12)

Legos and creative play sets

Children enter foster care throughout the year — often with little more than the clothes they are wearing. You can help by donating items for care kits that provide essentials and comfort.

Requested Care Kit Items:

Pampers Swaddlers (Size 2)

Diapers (Size 4, any brand)

Baby wipes

New car seats (unused, in box)

Jewelry, perfume, or makeup (for teens)

Gift cards (clothing, shoes, personal care)

Art and drawing supplies (sketch pads, paints, craft sets)

Want to make an even bigger impact? Consider putting together a complete backpack for a child or teen in foster care.

Suggested contents:

A sturdy backpack or tote

Age-appropriate hygiene items (toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, lotion, wipes)

A small comfort item (stuffed animal, journal, stress ball)

Art or creative supplies (coloring book, sketch pad, crayons)

A personal note or card of encouragement

Optional: gift card ($10–$25) for clothing or a special treat

Optional for teens: jewelry, perfume, makeup, or other self-care items

Please label each backpack with the intended age group: 3–6, 7–12, or 13–18.

When: Monday–Friday, 9 AM – 5 PM
Where: Parks Operations Center
Attention: Volunteer Garland
525 Tower Street, Garland, TX 75040

You may donate items individually or organize a collection drive through your workplace, school, church, or civic group. To coordinate a drop-off, please email volunteer@garlandtx.gov to make sure someone is in the office. The nature of our work requires weekend and evening work, which means we have to balance our weekday office presence. 

The holidays are a special time to give, but this program continues year-round. Each donation helps children and teens entering foster care feel safe, valued, and cared for — not just during the holidays, but every season of the year.

We know some students and community members are looking to complete volunteer hours. Donations count! If you bring items for this program, you can still acquire volunteer hours for your contribution.

Every donation — large or small — has the power to restore hope, dignity, and comfort to a child in foster care. Whether it’s a single toy, a pack of wipes, or a full backpack, your gift matters more than you know.

Together, we can remind every child entering foster care that they are seen, valued, and loved.

Questions or want to coordinate? Email: Volunteer@Garlandtx.org

Good Samaritans of Garland (“Good Sam”) is a nonprofit food pantry serving neighbors in Garland and the surrounding community who are experiencing hunger or food insecurity. Volunteers help make sure families have access to nutritious food in a welcoming, dignified environment.

This is an external partner opportunity. Volunteer Garland will connect you to Good Sam’s volunteer interest form so you can sign up directly with their team.

Good Sam has several weekday volunteer roles at their food pantry:

Welcome Room

Greet guests and check them in.

Assist with basic registration steps.

Help guests take food to their vehicle with a cart when needed.

Bilingual Spanish-speaking volunteers are especially helpful for translation.

Kitchen Support

Help prepare carts with food items for guests.

Stock shelves with donations received from retail partners each day.

Pantry Support

Assemble dry-goods boxes and produce bags.

Unload deliveries and restock shelves, refrigerators, and freezers.

Assist with end-of-day clean up.

If you have other skills (office, logistics, language, etc.), you can share them with Good Sam’s team when you complete their interest form.

Volunteer shift times:

Monday–Friday, approximately 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. (flexible shifts during these hours).

Pantry public hours:

Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

No weekend opportunities:

Good Sam is closed Saturday and Sunday and is not able to offer weekend volunteer shifts at this time.

Location:
Good Samaritans of Garland
214 N. 12th Street
Garland, TX 75040

Good Sam welcomes a wide range of volunteers, including:

Individual volunteers

Students

Groups (churches, schools, businesses, clubs)

Volunteers completing court-ordered community service

Minimum age: Volunteers must be at least 16 years old.

This opportunity is managed directly by Good Samaritans of Garland, not by the City of Garland.

Click the “Respond” button on this page.

You will be redirected to Good Sam’s volunteer interest form at:
https://www.goodsamofgarland.org/volunteer/

Complete their interest form. Good Sam’s staff will follow up with you within a few business days.

If you do not hear back after submitting the form, Good Sam invites you to contact them directly at 972-276-2263 or info@goodsamofgarland.org

NOTE: Please be prepared to fill out the attached Good Samaritan's waiver onsite or print and bring it completed with you to expedite the process.

*This page is for information only. Click here for the official Keep Garland Beautiful Page*

Volunteering with Keep Garland Beautiful

Keep Garland Beautiful, a 501(c)3 registered non-profit organization, is committed to educating and engaging individuals to take responsibility for improving their community environment.

Participate in regular litter clean-up events or request the supplies your group needs to beautify your school or neighborhood.

Learn More 

Let our native plant experts help you design and start your Monarch Way Station, pollinator patch or garden.

Learn More

Request a Keep Garland Beautiful table for your event or have our education team give your group a lesson on recycling or litter prevention.

Learn More

Keep Garland Beautiful is a Keep Texas Beautiful Gold Star Affiliate.

Gold Star distinction is awarded to groups that have made an impact in their communities and helped make Texas the cleanest, most beautiful state in the nation. It is the highest status any community affiliate can achieve.

Your support will mean so much to us, and the 243,000 or so people that call Garland home.

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Spring Creek Park Preserve & the FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee
invite you to an iNaturalist Bioblitz!
Part of the City Nature Challenge

iNaturalist is a free phone and web app enables you to catalog your own observations in nature. But it is also a powerful international citizen-science tool that enables scientists to track information on thousands of species worldwide – information such as enabling predictions about species decline or health, indicating whether the species habitat is expanding or collapsing, and much, much more.

Every observation can contribute to biodiversity science, from the rarest butterfly to the most common backyard weed. Findings are shared with scientific data repositories like the Global Biodiversity Information Facility to help scientists find and use your data. All you have to do is observe and share your discoveries!

Experienced iNaturalist volunteers from the Preservation Society for Spring Creek Forest (springcreekforest.org) and Trinity River Audubon Center will be on hand to get new naturalists started and to point out the best “hot spots” in the preserve to make observations.