Give back
The same small, local orgs that make this place worth living in run on volunteers and donations. Here's who they are and how to help.
Cause we’re highlighting · Food & Farming
Supplies groceries for millions of meals a year through a partner network spanning twenty counties in Tennessee and north Georgia.
How to helpThe organizations
Every one is independent and rooted here. Filter by what you care about.
11 organizations
Supplies groceries for millions of meals a year through a partner network spanning twenty counties in Tennessee and north Georgia.
Protects land in the Rock Creek watershed on Lookout Mountain, and opens it to the public on scheduled gate days.
A twenty-two acre urban farm just south of downtown, growing food and teaching people how to grow their own.
Hamilton County's animal shelter, handling adoption, care, and animal services for the county.
Matches adult mentors one-to-one with local young people, through community, school, and workplace programs.
Education and family assistance for neighbourhoods north of the Tennessee River, including a thrift store that funds the work.
A downtown children's museum built around hands-on exhibits, with a volunteer programme that runs its floor activities and events.
Five branches across the city, with volunteers supporting the shelves, the gardens, and the children's and teen programmes.
A community pottery studio offering classes and open studio time, kept running largely by its volunteers.
The aquarium on Ross's Landing, whose conservation institute works on freshwater species recovery across the Southeast.
A compact zoo at Warner Park with education and animal care volunteer tracks open to the public.
Roll up your sleeves
Concrete, low-barrier ways to show up — most take a morning and no experience.
Chattanooga Area Food Bank · Chattanooga warehouse and garden
Sorting donations, building food boxes, and helping distribute at the warehouse and on mobile pantries.
Sign up with Chattanooga Area Food BankLula Lake Land Trust · Rock Creek, Lookout Mountain
Trail maintenance, plus managing parking and check-in for visitors on the days the property opens to the public.
Sign up with Lula Lake Land TrustCrabtree Farms · Crabtree Farms, south of downtown
Harvesting produce, working in the greenhouse, and helping run the school field trips that come through the farm.
Sign up with Crabtree FarmsHumane Educational Society · Hamilton County shelter
Animal care and cleaning, plus working as an adoption ambassador helping visitors meet the animals.
Sign up with Humane Educational SocietyBig Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Chattanooga · Across Greater Chattanooga
One-to-one mentoring with a young person aged six to fourteen, through community, school, or workplace programmes. The biggest ask on this list, and the one with the longest reach.
Sign up with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater ChattanoogaChattanooga Public Library · Five branches citywide
Shelving and reading shelves, light cleaning and gardening, and helping run the children's and teen programmes.
Sign up with Chattanooga Public LibraryScenic City Clay Arts · Community clay studio
Loading kilns, mixing glazes, and recycling clay, plus assisting with classes and studio events.
Sign up with Scenic City Clay ArtsTennessee Aquarium · Ross's Landing
Working the floor as a guest ambassador or education volunteer, with animal food prep and exhibit upkeep behind the scenes.
Sign up with Tennessee AquariumIf you’re a local, independent org doing real work in the valley, we’d like to list you — free, like everything here.
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