Lexington residents are known for working hard to make our community a better place. One way to do your part is by volunteering to work at city-sponsored events and programs. Lexington Parks & Recreation, Environmental Services and the Family Care Center need individuals to assist in a variety of areas.
Below, you will find both scheduled and ongoing volunteer opportunities. Find one or more events or programs that interest you and sign-up. Lexington will benefit from your efforts and you will too.
Parks & Recreation opportunities
Parks & Recreation offers a comprehensive volunteer program that gives residents an opportunity to leave a lasting impact on facilities, green spaces and programs. Volunteer opportunities include park clean-up and maintenance, assisting with special events and working with people with special needs in our therapeutic recreation program. We also offer a golf volunteer program at each of our five golf courses, where participants can earn free rounds of golf at the course they worked.
Family Care Center opportunities
The Family Care Center needs and welcomes volunteers, age 18 and up. We have many opportunities for individuals and groups, including but not limited to:
- Reading to children ages 2 – 4 years of age
- Library organization
- Teaching life skills to high school students
- Gardening, landscaping and facility maintenance.
The Center offers practicum placements for college interns in social work, nursing, and early childhood development, and structured apprenticeships for KTAP recipients.
Criminal background checks are required and paid for by the Center. Interested persons can email Karen Haley, at khaley@lexingtonky.gov.
Environmental Services opportunities
We care about Lexington’s environment and thrive on helping others get involved in making our community a better place. We host both scheduled and any time volunteer activities.
Scheduled volunteer activities:
River Sweep
Saturday, June 17 | 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Kentucky River – Boat Ramp off Old Richmond Road
lexingtonky.gov/RiverSweep
On your own volunteer activities:
Cleanup opportunities – Rain can wash litter from parking lots, streets, parks and more into storm drains and into local creeks. The water that enters storm drains isn’t cleaned. That’s why it’s important that only rain goes down the drain. The city provides Creek Sweep kits with bags and gloves that you can use on walks or keep in your car to clean up while you are out and about. You can request Creek Sweep kits or supplies for a larger cleanup by emailing LiveGreen@lexingtonky.gov.
Storm drain stenciling and painting – Adopt a storm drain. Storm drains lead directly to local creeks; help bring attention to this important infrastructure and encourage people to keep them clean by painting them with clean water messaging. You can even adopt the drain(s) you paint by keeping it free of yard waste, litter and other obstructions. For more information, visit lexingtonky.gov/stencil.
Water testing opportunity:
The City of Lexington invites residents to check water quality in their own backyards this summer as part of the City’s Watershed-Focused Monitoring Program. The current round of testing will focus on the Wolf Run watershed, in the heart of Fayette County.
Training for new volunteers will take place Friday, May 5 at 9 a.m. at the Town Branch Wastewater Treatment Plant Training Room, 301 Lisle Industrial Ave. Volunteers should email Lindsie Nicholas at lnicholas@lexingtonky.gov to RSVP.