Badger Volunteers (BV) is a semester-long program (11-week commitment) that pairs teams of students with community organizations to volunteer 1 to 4 hours each week at the same organization. The program is designed to foster meaningful and consistent connections between community partners and students over the course of an entire semester.
Badger Volunteers provides logistical support, transportation, training and educational workshops for student volunteers in the program. Volunteer opportunities are loosely organized within five thematic areas:
- Urban Farming & Community Gardening
- Food & Resource Security
- Community Education & Afterschool Programming
- Isolation Intervention & Companionship
- Awareness Raising & Affinity Spaces
Badger Volunteers is open to all UW–Madison student (including graduate students) in any major and any interest! You do not need any special skills or prior experience to join Badger Volunteers!
- Step One: Join Badger Volunteers (for Brand New Badger Volunteers!)
- Step Two: Register for Fall 2026 Opportunities
- Step Three: Apply to be a Team Leader
If you are new to Badger Volunteers, please create a BadgersEngage account on GivePulse using your UW-Madison NetID. You will be asked several questions before you can confirm your account.
After you join the Badger Volunteers subgroup, you will be able to view and register for a specific volunteer opportunity on BadgersEngage during each semester’s registration period.
Register for Badger Volunteers
Volunteer Opportunities for Fall 2026 will be viewable starting Monday, August 3rd. Registration will begin Monday, Aug. 24.
Many volunteer opportunities fill up very quickly, so register as soon as possible! Click the registration button to access our registration platform on BadgersEngage.
Badger Volunteers Elevate runs on a team model and the team leader is an integral player in ensuring a smooth semester of volunteering! Serving as a team leader is a low stakes opportunity to gain valuable leadership experience, take on an increased role in the program, and put your organizational skills to use while continuing to volunteer on a team.
Team leaders are responsible for:
- Serving as main contact between team members, community partner site, and BV staff
- Recording team attendance every week using BadgersEngage on GivePulse
- Coordinating team transportation to and from volunteer site (depending on site distance from campus, this entails riding the bus together or managing the team Lyft pass provided through our Transportation Options program)
- Leading monthly reflection discussions with your team members based on prompts provided by BV staff
If you are interested in being a Badger Volunteers team leader, we invite you to peruse open opportunities and fill out the application starting Monday, August 3rd. At that time, please feel free to click the Apply to be a BV Team Leader button below to access the application.
Apply to be a Badger Volunteers Team Leader
Badger Volunteers Fall 2026
Volunteer Requirements and Reasons for Dismissal
Badger Volunteers is open to all UW–Madison students, including graduate students! In order to foster meaningful connections with the community, we ask that each of our volunteers commits to the following required components:
- Volunteer each week at your site, following all UW and community partner-specific safety measures
- Maintain consistent communication with your team, community partner, and BV staff.
- Attend Badger Volunteers general orientation at the start of semester.
- Attend one Badger Volunteers engagement session during the semester
- Engage in a monthly reflection discussion with your team. In-Person team leaders will submit team responses, while virtual volunteers will be asked to submit their own reflections
Represent Badger Volunteers and UW-Madison positively through respectful and consistent commitment to your volunteer position throughout the semester.
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Important Dates
Team Leader Application Process — Monday, Aug. 3 – Friday, Sept. 11
Registration opens for all volunteers — Monday, Aug. 24
Registration closes — Friday, Sept. 11
Team Leader Orientation — Friday, Sept. 11, from 3:30-5pm, On Wisconsin AB
General Orientation (all volunteers)- Saturday, Sept. 12 from 9:30-11:30am, Gordon Commons, 2nd Floor
Volunteering begins — Sunday, Sept. 20
No Volunteering for all sites — 7/4
Volunteering Ends — Saturday, Dec. 5
How to Register and Use BadgersEngage GivePulse
For more specific instructions on how to create a BadgersEngage on GivePulse account and register for Badger Volunteer opportunities, see our How-To document.
Orientation
All Badger Volunteer Team Leaders will be asked to attend a special Team Leader Orientation on the afternoon of Friday, September 11th, from 3:30-5:00 pm on the first floor of the Red Gym in the On Wisconsin AB room.
All Badger Volunteer Team Leaders and General Volunteers will be asked to attend General Orientation on the morning of Saturday, September 12th, from 9:30-11:30am on the second floor of Gordon Dining and Events Center (770 West Dayton Street).
After you have registered on BadgersEngage, you will receive more detailed information regarding these orientation sessions. We will have make-up opportunities for these orientation sessions if you have extenuating circumstances that prevent you from attending.
Weekly Commitment
Community partners rely on Badger Volunteers to serve as dedicated, responsible and engaged volunteers.
Any of the following actions could result in denial of future involvement as a Badger Volunteer:
- Conducting yourself in a disrespectful, unsafe, or disengaged manner while volunteering
- Missing more than two volunteer sessions for undisclosed or non-emergency reasons
- Failing to complete an engagement session
- Failing to maintain consistent communication with your team, community partner, and BV staff
Represent Badger Volunteers and UW-Madison positively through respectful and consistent commitment to your volunteer position throughout the semester.
More Information and FAQs
Contact
Badger Volunteers Program Manager Lara Miller
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Can I Volunteer for More Than One Site in a Session?
Yes, however we strongly encourage you to make sure you can keep multiple commitments for the entire session.
Keep in mind each volunteer opportunity has a cap on capacity. If you are interested in that opportunity but the capacity is full, you are welcome to join the waitlist and we will let you know by the end of registration if there is room.
We encourage students who join a waitlist to also register for a second-choice opportunity in case they don’t get their first choice.
How do I get to my Community Partner Site?
Badger Volunteers provides transportation support through the Morgridge Center’s Transportation Options program. If a community partner site is close to campus, BVs can walk, use their ASM-provided city bus pass, or check out a BCycle pass paid for by BV.
If a BV community partner site is over a 35-minute bus ride from campus, Morgridge Center’s Transportation Options program will work with team leaders to provide team transportation through Lyft, Union Cab, or UW fleet vehicles. Please note, the time listed for volunteer hours does not account for transportation to and from the site. Make sure your schedule can accommodate extra time before and after volunteering.
Please contact Lara Miller if you need additional accommodations or have access issues.
What if I couldn’t join Badger Volunteers this session?
No worries! The Morgridge Center has peer advisors who will help connect you to other volunteer opportunities that match your interests.
You can also sign up to receive Morgridge Mail, our weekly e-newsletter which includes volunteer opportunities, events, jobs and internships.
Badger Volunteers is generously supported by UW–Madison Facilities Planning & Management.
