Spring is a time to celebrate volunteers, April 19-25 is National Volunteer Week. In 2025, more than 6,000 people gave their time and talents to the City of Fort Collins, donating 135,000 hours. Volunteer time in 2025 had a $4M impact!  Read on to learn about all the great things volunteers do and how we plan to celebrate! 

Since 1974, National Volunteer Week has been an opportunity to recognize the impact of volunteer service and the power of volunteers to tackle society’s greatest challenges, to build stronger communities and be a force that transforms the world. It takes place every April during Global Volunteer Month.

Each year, we shine a light on the people and causes that inspire us to serve, recognizing and thanking volunteers who lend their time, talent and voice to make a difference in their communities.

The City of Fort Collins Forestry Division maintains more than 61,000 trees along streets and in parks, cemeteries, golf courses and other City sites. Our objective is to sustain a safe, healthy and resilient urban forest through frequent and sound tree management practices. This year marks 40 years of the Arbor Day tree give away program for Poudre School District 5th graders.  This year the volunteers and staff with Forestry will be giving 84 Arbor Day presentations to 5th graders! Thank you Forestry volunteers for your help!

In honor of National Volunteer Week, we’re excited to extend complimentary admission to The Gardens on Spring Creek for City of Fort Collins volunteers. From April 19th through 22nd, April 24th and April 25th, you can enjoy complimentary entry to The Gardens on Spring Creek and Butterfly House. Come unwind amidst the beauty of nature and let us express our gratitude for your dedication. Thank you for all that you do! Tickets can be reserved through this link Volunteer Passes or by coming in person and showing a volunteer badge. Please note complimentary admission is valid for active City of Fort Collins volunteers only. Additional admission tickets can be purchased for guests upon arrival.

Looking for a way to join our amazing team of volunteers?  The Timberline Recycling Center is seeking volunteers to survey customers for a better understanding of who utilizes the site. We are looking for volunteers to capture 30-45 days of data (through April 30) , about 2-4 hours per day. This information will be used for a new statewide recycling program - allowing the recycling center to request reimbursement for up to 100% of net operations regarding covered materials.

Register to help with a National Volunteer Week (and Earth Day) Project at Pineridge Natural Area! The purpose of the project is to spruce up several parts of Pineridge, one of our most popular natural areas. Volunteers will help remove and install a new boardwalk and do trail maintenance along the Timber Trail. We will also be doing shoreline clean-up and vegetation management around Dixon Reservoir. Accessible activity options will also be available and include replacing signage, maintaining picnic tables and installing wildlife-friendly trash cans. Activities are appropriate for volunteers ages 8 and up and it is a great way to get to know more about your Natural Areas and give back to these public lands during National Volunteer Week and Earth Day.

The Fort Collins Museum of Discovery is a wonderful place to visit! During National Volunteer Week, City volunteers can visit the Museum for free! Active City volunteers just need to show their City of Fort Collins volunteer badge or name tag to our staff at the Welcome Desk to receive free admission and a Dome show of their choice! To see more info about our currently running Dome shows and schedule, please see this page: https://fcmod.org/dometheater/. City volunteers are welcome to visit the museum anytime during our operating hours, 9am-5pm, between Sunday, April 19th, through Saturday, April 25th.