Volunteer opportunities in Toronto during the COVID-19 pandemic reflect that more people than ever are in need of support as the city continues to operate in a city-wide state of emergency. 

Getting involved and providing a helping hand can be difficult in a time that urgently calls for self-isolation, but there are still ways to do your part while staying safe and practicing social distance. 

Here are some ways you can volunteer in Toronto right now. 

The Daily Bread Food Bank 

This Toronto food bank has switched from inviting people to come in and shop for items to providing food hampers to those in need. They have also moved outside under a medical tent.

The food hampers are packed inside the facility and transferred to the food bank by a conveyor belt, where people can pick them up to take home. You can help by volunteering in the warehouse with the packing and sorting of the donated food. 

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A post shared by blogTO (@blogto) on Mar 22, 2020 at 2:28pm PDT

Friendly Neighbour Hotline 

University Health Network’s OpenLab is helping connect seniors in low-income housing with volunteers who will deliver them groceries, medications or other deliveries. The hotline is a single phone number seniors can call whenever they're in need. 

They currently need more volunteers who are willing to do deliveries, sort packages for distribution and call isolated seniors to check on their well-being. 

Live in/near Toronto and want to assist vulnerable seniors during the #shutdown, consider volunteering! Friendly Neighbour Hotline - OpenLab https://t.co/grL1FYlVFt

— Melissa Grelo (@melissagrelo) March 17, 2020

PPE for HCPs Toronto

Started by medical students in Toronto, this initiative supports healthcare providers and is working to help with the current personal protective equipment shortage. More volunteers are still needed to help contact local businesses for PPE donations, such as masks, gowns and gloves, collect supplies and distribute to local hospitals. 

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Our amazing haul today! Completely overwhelmed by the support from our community and volunteers this past week! Every mask and pair of gloves means one more patient that can be assessed/treated. THANK YOU!! And thank you @justin_p_boyle for all of your painstaking help! #COVIDToronto @uoftmedicine

A post shared by PPE for HCPs Toronto (@ppe_for_hcps) on Mar 31, 2020 at 4:22pm PDT

Kids Help Phone 

If you're currently self-isolating at home, but still want to do your part, volunteering for the Crisis Text Line could be the perfect way to do just that. As a volunteer Crisis Responder, you can be there to offer support to young people who need someone to talk to during this scary time. 

— Mena Massoud (@MenaMassoud) March 30, 2020

Grocery Hero 

This free delivery service is specifically for the use of frontline medical professionals, so that they don't have to go to the grocery store after a long day and risk exposing the public to further spread of the virus.

Volunteers across the city are matched with a healthcare worker right in their neighbourhood and the healthcare worker only reimburses the shopper for the cost of groceries. 

— GroceryHero Canada (@GroceryHeroCA) March 29, 2020

The Good Neighbour Project 

You can volunteer to deliver groceries and other supplies to the doors of the people who need them most. This includes seniors, single parents, people with disabilities, part-time workers who have recently been laid off, or those in self-isolation and self-quarantine.  

#StitchforCorona 

You can sign up to make fabric masks for this effort that donates masks to local walk-in clinics, pharmacies and any businesses in need. This leaves all certified masks for the exclusive use of healthcare workers. 

— Kramay Patel (@Kramayp) March 31, 2020

Toronto Healthcare Worker Support

Started by four students at University of Toronto, this initiative offers support to healthcare workers by connecting them with other student volunteers. 

Students who are interested can volunteer to assist with any sort of life tasks, such as grocery and pharmacy runs, pet care, general errands, and child care (for those with appropriate experience and training). The program makes sure to only match one volunteer to one family to prevent any possible further spread of the virus. 

2T2/2T3s want to support TAHSN frontline HCPs- if you or a teammate need childcare/pet care, errands, grocery runs, coffee/snacks to your site, etc in the coming weeks, fill out the form. DM me+@DanielDJLee w/Qs! @UofTMDprogram @uoftmedicine @UofTFamilyMed https://t.co/mvYNoBSokJ

— Jordi Klein (@JordynnKlein) March 14, 2020

To stay in the loop, register with Spark Ontario and with Volunteer Toronto to get alerts for volunteer opportunities related to COVID-19.

And, remember, another way you can help fight the outbreak is simply by staying home.