What is it? Voluntourism provides travelers the opportunity to blend purpose with passion by offering volunteer service opportunities within local communities.

VisitNorfolk recognizes the importance of giving back to the community. We know that visitors to our city, whether convention attendees or leisure travelers, often express the desire to serve the destination and its residents. In response to this need, we partner with select local attractions as well as VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads to provide our visitors with the opportunity to include volunteer service into their overall itinerary.

Local attractions offering voluntourism opportunities include . . .

Norfolk Botanical Garden, please contact Debra Burrell, volunteer services manager, at volunteer@nbgs.org

Virginia Zoological Park, please contact Meg Puckett, Volunteer Coordinator, at meg.puckett@norfolk.gov

Hermitage Museum & Gardens, please contact Colin Brady, Curator of Interpretation, at cb@thfm.org

Virginia Arts Festival, Volunteer with world renowned dancers, and musicians. Interested? Contact Sandy at smiller@vafest.org

Volunteer to be a steward of a “greener” environment . . .

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is dedicated solely to saving the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Contact Tanner Council at tcouncil@cbf.org.

The Learning Barge, offers learning and volunteer opportunities, and is the brainchild of The Elizabeth River Project, whose focus is on restoring the health of the region’s great harbor river. Contact: Robin Dunbar at rdunbar@elizabethriver.org

* Opportunities vary in times and seasons, so be sure to contact each organization to see what is available during your visit.

VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads is the nonprofit resource center for southeastern Virginia. Established in 1957, the mission is to strengthen the community by building the effectiveness of nonprofit organizations, connecting people with volunteer opportunities and promoting volunteerism.

Team Works: Team Works is a unique program designed to assist groups with volunteer opportunities. VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads handles the logistics and project management for a seamless, well executed volunteer service project that is guaranteed to provide optimum impact and yield high return on investment.

For a list of volunteer opportunities through VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads, please click here.

VisitNorfolk looks forward to improving your experience in Norfolk through Voluntourism!