Wonderful volunteers full of resources and referrals for our community. Grateful for how kind they…read morewere to others.

If you are a family with a child who has special needs, please be extremely cautious before using…read moreHouse of Refuge. I had lived there since June 2025 with zero issues, but everything changed the moment my son needed medical help. On 9/24/25, I informed them that my 14-year-old autistic son had been admitted to an inpatient psychiatric facility for suicidal ideations. Only two days later, on 9/26/25, staff member Sofia Spanarkel contacted me demanding that I sign over his private medical records. House of Refuge is not a medical or psychiatric facility and is not covered under HIPAA, so I asked for their specific concerns in writing. They never responded. Instead, without warning, I was issued a 30-day notice to vacate on 10/3/25. After months of having no issues, the timing makes the motive impossible to ignore. It felt like direct retaliation for refusing to hand over my child's sensitive medical information. When I submitted a formal complaint to the director, Kayla Kolar, I was not met with any explanation or concern--instead, I received an email stating that all communication must go through their lawyer. For a place that claims to support families in crisis, this response was deeply unsettling. Families dealing with medical emergencies deserve compassion and support, not intimidation or displacement. No parent should ever feel punished for protecting their child's privacy. Based on my experience, I strongly warn other families to think twice before relying on House of Refuge.

We adopted our pup friend in February. We have owned many dogs over the years and have dealt with…read moreseveral shelters. We have found that this shelter really cares about their pups, especially what type of home an adoptee is going to be part of. They do a great job of matching up their new family members. Our pup has become the BEST addition to our family. She was from a hoarding situ and was skittish, but she has become one of the sweetest family members we have ever had and we ADORE her! Valley Dogs is an extremely caring group that really does match up pups and their families. We are grateful they care so much about the pups in need! We highly recommend them for adopting your next family member. They truly are an awesome group!

Valley Dogs is a local rescue group run by the most compassionate people I have ever met. I have…read morefostered dogs for several local and non-local rescue groups including Valley Dogs, but what strikes me most about Valley Dogs is the animals they choose to pull from the shelters. Valley Dogs is run by a man named Michael West. From what I've observed, Michael chooses to take on the dogs that need the most help medically - the dogs hit by cars, obese owner surrenders, pregnant owner surrenders, older dogs with big hearts (figuratively) and medical conditions... I am not sure how he manages to finance all of this. Valley Dogs holds a few fund raisers through out the year, but I know the cost to get his dogs in good enough health to be adopted must be daunting. I can see the stress in his face every time I see him. However, he keeps pulling dogs in great need from the shelter because I don't think he can turn away. All of Valley Dogs rescues are fostered before they go up for adoption. This is a fantastic thing. Michael takes on a lot of these dogs. There is always a beautiful and kind red head (his wife?) that is with him at the adoptions and an older veteran as well. They foster a lot of the dogs, too. They know the quirks and idiosyncrasies of each of the dogs they foster. This helps with placement. I love this group. They are human, but they must be hidden angels because the dogs they are helping are the ones most definitely the most in need. They are very often at the PetsMart on 20th and Highland on the weekends trying to find homes for their dogs. If you see them and want a specific type of dog, I would imagine they would scour the shelters for you

Midwest Food Bank is a blessing to so many people! The staff and volunteers are always happy,…read moreamazing, fast, and keep Jesus Christ at the center of it all! Our Church, God's Glory Apostolic Church International, provides a food pantry service for the local community, and we partner Midwest Food Bank for food and hygiene items for individuals and families in need. We often run out of everything within hours of receiving things because of these valuable goods that really help the community.

I enjoy volunteering whenever I can. I had signed up to do some volunteer work with a team in…read moreanother country. But before heading out on our trip, we decided to come here first to do some team building so that we could get to know each other. Midwest Food Bank is a faith-based organization. Their mission is to alleviate hunger and malnutrition locally and throughout the world and provide disaster relief. It is a great place for groups, families and individuals to come and volunteer at. Sign up is easy and they have daily shifts available to help pack and organize food boxes in their warehouse. They make it simple to find a shift that works best for your schedule. When you arrive and check in, Midwest Food Bank shows a video about the organization and explains how food will be packaged. Volunteers are then assigned to different stations. Because you are working with food, hand washing is required and so is wearing a hair net (they provide them). The staff here at Midwest Food Bank is great and they making volunteering fun. It is a great place to bring your kids too! Midwest Food Bank currently distributes nearly $40 million worth of food to over 2,200 non-profit organizations each month.

It was my first time to volunteer and I felt soooo good, knowing that I was part of a little…read morecommunity and helping others-- to make it happen! We were all pack the good bags for 3,000 bags and it was the fast track as everyone tried their bags to make sure everything went very well. The staffs here( at this location specifically) are super friendly and they are well organized which make the work run smoothly. If anyone looking for volunteering and not sure which one to start, try the United Food Bank, helping our community--together we can achieve more :) I will definitely be there again soon.

This is a partner food bank with United Way and we had the chance to volunteer here over the…read moreweekend. Our task was to sort foods into various categories in order for the Food Bank to be able to fill order requests for various distribution sites (such as other food banks, domestic violence centers, homeless shelters, etc.). Our shift was from 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. and everything was started on time with an intro into the purpose of the bank and the purpose of United Way overall. We broke out into "teams" and were assigned tasks from there and everything got underway. By 11 a.m. we had wrapped up all of the food needing to be sorted / boxed and we were able to leave early. Notes: wear weather appropriate clothes (it's not climate controlled) and wear closed toes shoes for safety Overall: A It's a charity and it's a chance to volunteer and give back - what's not to love??

I'm surprised there are only 2 reviews. After researching the internet for a charity who needs…read moreclothing that will be given (not sold), to those in need I found out about Open Arms Care Center. I put together at least 30-40 items and called on the way to make certain someone would still be there since it was close to their Thursday closing time. The gentleman who answered the phone was very nice and assured me they would still be there and also help me unload the items. When I arrived 3 men and 2 women all came out to greet me and carried the clothes (mostly on hangers), up the stairs. They encouraged me to come up to see the (free) store and then back downstairs to see the food bank. The place is clean, well organized and well stocked but of course they constantly need donations since they continuously give clothing and food to the needy. Please consider donating new or gently used mens, ladies, children and baby clothes here as well as accessories such as handbags and costume jewelry, scarves plus diapers, food and personal hygiene items to this worthy organization with especially nice volunteers!

They help anyone in need with clothes and food. The staff are all volunteers from various churches…read moreif you can help by giving a donation it's a non profit organization and everything goes to those in need. If you have time I'm sure they can use

Caring and professional management. Willing to help in a timely manner…read more Guided me in the right direction to seek the resources that I needed Highly recommend

From the owner: Bridge gaps through service—our organization welcomes volunteers who are keen to knit tighter…read morecommunity connections and support structures.

We first contacted Rotten Rottie Rescue to foster a rottie. We loved the breed and wanted to help,…read morebut we wanted to make sure the rottie we foster would get a along with our current rottie, Samson, and our ten-year-old son at the time. Shelly was careful to select a rottie that would do well in our environment. We met Shelly on neutral territory to introduce Samson to Thor. Thor was a very scared and untrusting boy who showed this through aggression. Shelly brought Dave from Empowered K9 (who is amazing at what he does) to assist with the introduction. After a long, intense session, these two ended up riding home together in the back seat. Once home, Shelly ensured we had everything we needed to foster Thor - a bed, crate, food, collar, leash, treats and toys. She was very responsive to our questions and gave great advice. She had Thor neutered, vaccinated and microchipped. When Thor saw her, you knew he just loved her! There was a potential adopter for Thor, and we were afraid he would be adopted. When Shelly told us he was not adopted, we were elated and knew we had to have Thor as a permanent member of our family. So, we were foster failures, and adopted Thor! Today, almost a year later, Samson and Thor are best of friends. We could not imagine our family without him. He is a happy, playful, loving pup - and I say pup because he never had the chance to be a puppy and now he is a 140-pound puppy! He is truly the sweetest most loving soul. I know we are thankful for each other, and I can't imagine the life he would have had if it weren't for Shelly. We continue to support Shelly and her organization as best we can through donations or volunteering. She holds socialization and fundraising events that are extremely well done. I am simply amazed by her dedication and her passion for the breed. I don't know how she manages it all, but she does and she makes it look easy. She is absolutely amazing and is a true angel!

I would give zero stars if I could…read more I had a very disappointing experience with this rescue. I adopted a dog from the rescue and, after only a couple of days, made the difficult decision to return him because I did not feel the situation was the right fit for my young children. My children are very young, and I felt that returning the dog was the responsible decision rather than continuing a situation that wasn't working. Unfortunately, my experience with the person I dealt with from the rescue was also extremely negative. Her attitude was rude, confrontational, and completely lacking in compassion. Instead of having a professional and understanding conversation about the situation, I felt judged and treated poorly for making what I believed was the safest decision for my family. What made the situation even worse was seeing the rescue publicly post/comment on social media implying that I did not know how to control my children around the dog. I found that incredibly inappropriate and unfair. They were not in my home and did not have the full context of what happened, yet chose to publicly criticize my parenting. I understand that rescues want to advocate for the animals in their care, but adopters deserve respect as well. Publicly shaming a family and making assumptions about their parenting is not the way to handle an adoption that ultimately didn't work out. Based on my experience, I would strongly encourage anyone considering adopting from this rescue to ask very detailed questions about the dog's behavior around young children and, more importantly, pay attention to how the rescue treats you when things don't go perfectly. My experience was extremely disappointing, and I would not adopt from this rescue again.

We could not have started our day anymore happy than today. Aimee and her ladies were the kindest &…read moreour experience at the sanctuary was one I will never forget. Every babe there has a story.. but is beyond in a better place bc of Aimee. She is an angel and a super hero for every kiddo on her farm. I cannot wait to visit/volunteer soon. We miss all of them so much already!

We took a field trip here and the farm was friendly and involved with the kids. Aimee was open to…read morehelping the kids feed the animals and shared her joy of the farm with them.

Amazing dedicated people and Awesome organization! Well organized team!…read more This place has helped so many people around the world! Its Amazing! It is a blessing for local AZ residents to be able to volunteer with them. Never thought my few hours would change someone elses life. Great Volunteering opportunity! Thank you to All the people who work here and who volunteer their time to make it all happen

Great Organization to donate items to the needy. Love to help out. Always have a great time.read more

I've had the pleasure of volunteering for HandsOn Greater Phoenix for 10 years. As a volunteer…read moreorganization they are affiliated with numerous non profits and their opportunity calendar is sure to have something that appeals to a person's talent and skills. Through HandsOn I have helped feed the hungry, keep animals safe and help people get vaccinated for covid. The staff is amazing and truly appreciates its volunteers. I look forward to doing more projects with them.

Saturday, March 20th, I volunteered through HandsOn at the Phoenix Municipal Stadium Vaccination…read moreSite. The whole process from sign up, to check in went off without a hitch. Every single person I interacted with was awesome, welcoming, and friendly! My work provides 16 hours a year to volunteer. I used 6 of them on Saturday. I was tasked with directing cars to merge into 2 different lanes so that they could get checked in to go through the process of getting their Covid 19 vaccination. Most people pulling in the lot seemed happy to be there and I was giving and receiving lots of thumbs up throughout the day! Staff constantly checked in on me and they had unlimited beverages (water, vitamin water, Gatorades, soda etc) being walked around and at the break tent (It was warm out, about 85 and I was in direct sun the whole time.) They also provided sunscreen and hand sanitizer which was awesome! I even scored my first Pfizer dose of the vaccine (perk for volunteering)! I had a GREAT time volunteering and you could tell that they appreciated the 100 or so volunteers that worked on Saturday. It was for a great cause and if I do any volunteer work in the future, I will definitely sign up for projects through HandsOn! Good times!