In Asheville, the only thing cooler than the array of places you can volunteer is just how cool + innovative some of those opportunities are. After consulting with y’all, our dear readers, about your favorite volunteer initiatives, we’ve compiled a list of spots where you can give back and have a blast.

Asheville FM

From substitute DJing and fundraising to staffing events like Downtown After 5, Asheville’s OG free-form community radio station offers lots of fun ways to make a difference in the community — which is music to our ears. Get more info.

Appalachian Wildlife Refuge

Dedicated to providing care for injured + orphaned wildlife like squirrels, possums, rabbits, groundhogs, ducks, and turtles, this Candler-based nonprofit offers ongoing administrative, fundraising, transport, animal care, and hotline-manning volunteer opportunities.

Bounty & Soul

Whether you choose to load + unload trucks, assist customers at the Black Mountain-based nonprofit’s weekly no-cost markets, or assist with healthy cooking demos, your heart will be full knowing you’re helping connect people to food and each other. Get involved.

Buncombe County Special Collections

Formerly known as the North Carolina Room, the local history side of Buncombe County Public Libraries needs volunteers to help transcribe, format, and correct audio records of oral history interviews. Email library specialist Carissa Pfeiffer for more info.

Read to Succeed Asheville/Buncombe

Got a love of literature? Share it through direct tutoring or community afterschool programs like read-alouds and reading-themed games, or offer up your organizational skills for some behind the scenes action. Get the scoop.

Wild Heart Farm Sanctuary

There’s no limit to the help you can offer at this lovely 13.26-acre farm + sanctuary in Mars Hill, including building new structures on the property, grooming animals, tending the community garden, and assisting with the weekly free food share. Find out more.