Opportunities From: City of Garland TX

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.

We’re collecting donations in two ways:

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 group drop-off, visit VolunteerGarland.org.

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

*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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This December, Skatepark Respect is keeping the giving spirit alive with our 3rd Annual Warm Drive — helping spread comfort and care throughout the Garland community!

Join us from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. for a litter cleanup at Jon Comer Skatepark, then stick around or roll through to drop off donations of socks, mittens, beanies, scarves, blankets, and jackets for all ages until 1 p.m. 
We will also be collecting sanitary items. 

Not into cleanup duty? No sweat — your donations alone make a big difference! Every item you bring goes toward keeping our neighbors warm this winter and earns you volunteer hours and a chance to win a mystery prize.

VOLUNTEERS WILL ALSO BE TREATED TO A HOT COCOA BAR!

Come share the stoke, give back, and help fill Garland with warmth and goodwill — one cozy donation at a time.

Bundle up, drop in, and do some good — all hands (and gloves) on deck!

All donations will be collected in honor of Hope’s Door, GLOWS, and other local organizations working to support families and individuals in need this winter.

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.