How to Become an Oakland County Parks Volunteer

Looking for a way to volunteer your time this summer while getting to enjoy the outdoors? Oakland County Parks is currently seeking volunteers for a variety of its recreation programs.

Rachel Boyd, recreation supervisor of volunteer services, described the available opportunities in a recent Oakland County podcast.

Volunteer opportunities:

Campground hosts

• Needed at Addison Oaks and Groveland Oaks.
• Individuals or families volunteer to stay in an RV on the campground for about 30 days and get discounted camping in exchange for about 24 hours of work during that timeframe.
• These volunteers help with movie nights, general park clean-up and more.

General program

• Help with special events.
• This program lets volunteers pick and choose which types of events they are interested in.

Golf program

• Volunteer cart attendants are needed for two-hour morning or evening shifts.
• These volunteers are rewarded with free golf at any of the county's five golf courses.

Gatekeeper program

• Utilized at the county's three dog parks, people who live near these parks volunteer to open or shut the park gates in the morning or evening.
• "You're volunteering and helping us and giving back to our community," Boyd said in the podcast.

How to get involved

Visit www.destinationoakland.com and click on the volunteers link to fill out an application. A variety of incentives are available for those who volunteer.