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 organized within three focus areas: education, sustainability and public health. 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!
CLICK HERE TO VIEW SPRING 2025 VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Be sure to click on “Tags” and filter the selection to “Spring 2025”
FILL OUT A TEAM LEADER APPLICATION FOR SPRING 2025
If you are interested in a team leadership opportunity with Badger Volunteers for the spring 2025 semester, please take a look through the open opportunities on BadgersEngage.
In-Person Volunteer Expectation
- Volunteer in-person weekly, following all UW and community partner-specific COVID-19 safety measures
- Attend Badger Volunteers General Orientation at start of semester
- Attend one Badger Volunteers Engagement Session during the semester
- Engage in a monthly reflection discussion with your team. Responses will be submitted through a Google Form by your team leader.
Virtual Volunteer Expectation
- Volunteer virtually weekly, following all community partner-specific digital safety measures
- Attend Badger Volunteers General Orientation at start of semester
- Attend one Badger Volunteers Engagement Session during the semester
- Submit monthly reflection responses via Google Form sent by your team leader
Each Badger Volunteers team is assigned a leader. This experienced BV is the main point of contact with the Morgridge Center staff and the community partner site liaison. In order to serve as a Leader, you must have completed at least one previous semester with the Badger Volunteers program.
BV Leaders:
- Monthly Reflections (discuss with your team prompted questions on their experiences and your own). This will be sent out in an email with a google form or through our Monthly Newsletter.
- Take Attendance every week (working through our dashboard you will take attendance of those of your group who are there and not).
- Transportation (set up a Lyft account, which we do together to set up rides if available for your location if applicable).
- Community Engagement (be the direct contact between your team, Morgridge team, and Community Partner).
Badger Volunteers Spring 2025
Timeline and Registration
Spring 2025 opportunities will be viewable on our dashboard starting Monday, November 25. If you are interested in being a team leader during the Spring 2025 semester, our application process will begin Monday, Nov. 25, through Friday, Dec. 13. General volunteer registration will begin Monday, Jan. 13 and end Friday, Jan. 31.
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Important Dates
Team Leader Application Process — 11/25 – 12/13
Registration opens for all volunteers — 1/13
Registration closes — 1/31
Orientation Day for Team Leaders — 1/31
Orientation Day for Volunteers and Team Leaders — 2/8
Volunteering begins — 2/10
No Volunteering for all sites — 2/22 – 3/30
Volunteering Ends — 5/2
How to Register and Use GivePulse
If you are new to Badger Volunteers, please create a UW GivePulse account. You will be asked several questions before you can confirm your account. Once you create your account, you can begin to navigate the Badger Volunteers GivePulse subgroup and see the all the volunteer opportunities.
For more specific instructions on how creating a UW GivePulse account, signing up for BV, and other logistics, see our “Presentation for Student BV Experience.”
Volunteer opportunities fill up very quickly, so register as soon as possible!
Orientation
All Badger Volunteer Team Leaders will be asked to attend Team Leader Orientation on the evening of Friday, Sept. 13.
All Badger Volunteer Team Leaders and Volunteers will be asked to attend General Orientation on the morning of Saturday, Sept. 21.
After you have registered in our dashboard, you will receive more detailed information regarding these orientation sessions.
Volunteer Requirements
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:
- Orientation Session(s)
- Weekly Volunteering
- Engagement Session(s)
- Team Reflection
More Information and FAQs
Contact
Badger Volunteers Program Manager Lara Miller
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History of Badger Volunteers
Check out our Badger Volunteers 10-Year Yearbook or watch “Celebrating 10 Years of Badger Volunteers”
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 logistical support, including transportation. BVs can walk, use their ASM-provided city bus pass, or sign up for a BCycle membership paid for by BV.
If a community partner site is over a 35-minute bus ride, BV has previously provided transportation via Lyft, ZipCar, Union Cab, and UW fleet vehicles. BV Leaders are responsible for determining their team’s transportation methods. 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 or James Zimmerman if you need additional accommodations or have access issues.
What Happens if I Fail to Adhere to Volunteer Expectations?
Community partners rely on Badger Volunteers to serve as dedicated, responsible and engaged volunteers. Failing to meet any of the following expectations will prohibit a volunteer for participating in the program the following semester:
- Missing more than two volunteer sessions
- Dropping out of the program mid-semester
- Failing to complete an education session or workshop
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.
