Real-World Experience That Makes a Real Difference.
Badger Volunteers Elevate
Badger Volunteers (BV) Elevate is a semester-long program (11-week commitment during the academic year and 8-week commitment during the summer) that pairs teams of students with community organizations to volunteer one to four 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 Elevate provides logistical support, transportation, training and educational workshops for student volunteers in the program. Volunteer opportunities are loosely organized within five thematic areas:
- Awareness Raising & Affinity Spaces
- Urban Farming & Community Gardening
- Food & Resource Security
- Community Education & Afterschool Programming
- Isolation Intervention & Companionship
Badger Volunteers Elevate is open to all UW–Madison students (including graduate students) in any major and any interest! You do not need any special skills or prior experience to join.
Register Now to Volunteer Weekly
Registration will close on Friday, Sept. 11 at 11:59pm.
If you are brand new to Badger Volunteers Elevate, see below on how to create a BadgersEngage account.
Interested in being a Badger Volunteers Elevate Team Leader? We invite you to peruse open opportunities and fill out an application.
Join BV Elevate (For Brand New Volunteers)
If you are brand new to Badger Volunteers Elevate, please create a BadgersEngage account using your UW-Madison NetID. You will be asked several questions before you can confirm your account. After you create your account, you will be able to view and register for a specific volunteer opportunity on BadgersEngage during each semester’s registration period.
Be a BV Elevate Team Leader
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. See team leader expectations.
Badger Volunteers Elevate Fall 2026 Information
Volunteer Requirements
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 Elevate general orientation at the start of semester.
- Attend one Badger Volunteers Elevate 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
Weekly Commitment and Reasons for Dismissal
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.
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 — Thursday, Nov. 26 to Friday, Nov. 27
Volunteering Ends — Saturday, Dec. 5
Orientation
All Badger Volunteer Elevate Team Leaders will be asked to attend a special Team Leader Orientation on the afternoon of Friday, Sept. 11, from 3:30-5pm on the first floor of the Red Gym in the On Wisconsin AB room.
All Badger Volunteer Elevate Team Leaders and General Volunteers will be asked to attend General Orientation on the morning of Saturday, Sept, 12, 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.
More Information and FAQs
For more specific instructions on how to create a BadgersEngage account and register for Badger Volunteers Elevate opportunities, see our How-To document.
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.
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
Badger Volunteers Elevate provides transportation support through the Morgridge Center’s Transportation Options program. If a community partner site is close to campus, volunteers can walk, use their ASM-provided city bus pass, or check out a BCycle pass paid for by BV.
If a BV Elevate 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 Morgridge Center Transportation if you need additional accommodations or have access issues.
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.
You will also have more opportunities to join Badger Volunteers Elevate each semester if you miss out on one.
Contact: Badger Volunteers Program Manager Lara Miller
Badger Volunteers is generously supported by UW–Madison Facilities Planning & Management.