Office of Engagement and
Community Affairs

Become a staff volunteer to warmly welcome students and their families to campus for the new school year. Staff volunteers will be needed to work as “Welcome to Pitt” greeters.

Arrival for first-year students is Sunday, August 20 through Tuesday, August 22, while upper-class students will move in from Thursday, August 24 to Saturday, August 26. There are a variety of volunteer shifts available at different times and different locations across campus.

To sign up to volunteer, please complete the online registration form.

Summer Reading Extravaganza is an annual, day-long, family festival drawing 4,000+ guests to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Main in Oakland to celebrate literacy and learning in the greater Pittsburgh area.

On Sunday, August 13th, volunteers are need to:

• Check staff in and distribute informational documents
• Distribute and set up activity supplies
• Distribute free snacks/water to event attendees
• Direct guests toward restrooms and points/activities of interest
• Pass out event programs
• Direct partners towards their tent locations and assist with supplies as needed
• Breaking down activities supplied

Volunteer shifts run from 9 am - 6 pm in three hour incremenents. To sign up, visit the Volunteer Portal.

PUMPed to Run is a weekday running and walking group composed of residents of local homeless shelters and volunteer mentor runners where the mentor volunteer is paired with a walker or runner.

Mentor volunteer expectations include: show up on time for the walk/runs, encourage stretching before and after the walk/run, track distance and time (some participants use this to set goals!), keep conversations inclusive, keeping communication with your Lead Mentor, and help to motivate participants on setting and reaching their goals.

Mentor volunteers can act as scheduled volunteers (making this a weekly commitment for a period of time lasting longer than a month), or a subsititue volunteer (you can not help consistenly, but can step in when scheduled volunteers can't make it).

To sign up, please visit the PUMP website.

Join United Way of Southwestern PA on Wednesday, August 30th to pack and distribute learning kits for young children in our community. The learning kits support children ages 3-5. All kits include counting cubes, magnetic letters, a magnetic white board, dry erase markers, Play-Doh, safety scissors, and high quality children's books to help build the child's in-home library. Volunteers will assist with carefully packing each individual kit and pack bags for participating agencies.

Volunteer shifts runs from 9 am - 4 pm in three hour increments. To sign up, please visit the United Way SWPA website.

Find more upcoming opportunities through the University's volunteer portal at volunteer.pitt.edu.