Love horses? So do the folks who volunteer at Gilbert’s WildHorse Ranch Rescue, a 501(c)3 sanctuary for horses in need. You can be part of the rescue’s mission to save horses from abuse, neglect, slaughter and premature death by volunteering for the WildHorse Ranch Rescue Feed Team.

Mesa United Way is looking for volunteers to help low-income East Valley residents prepare their 2012 tax returns. Volunteers will help individuals, families, seniors, people with disabilities and those with English as a second language prepare and file their income tax returns free of charge, said Don Jensen, program manager for Mesa United Way.

You can help nourish elderly and disabled residents in Chandler and Gilbert by serving as a volunteer for the Chandler Christian Community Center’s meal delivery and food box referral program.

Before you know it, Mesa’s many citrus trees will be bursting with fruit ripe for picking – and for tempting those destructive rodents known as roof rats. You can help keep the rats away from yards and homes by volunteering to collect citrus for donation to local food banks.

The holiday season tends to bring the best out of people. Many volunteer at soup kitchens, donate gifts to the less fortunate or find other ways to give back during the season.

You don’t have to go to the North Pole to be an elf this Christmas season. Just volunteer to help out with Tempe Community Action Agency’s 8th annual Holiday Toy Shoppe, sponsored by IKEA, Dec. 14-20. The agency needs helpers to sort toys and work in the shop. To volunteer, email Darlene Pany at dpany@cox.net.

For many seniors, nothing is more important than being able to continue living in their own homes, despite health issues they may be dealing with every day. But they may need something as simple as a ride to the doctor now and then to maintain their independence.

If you love the arts, what could be more fun than volunteering at the Mesa Arts Center? This beautiful facility in downtown Mesa provides many avenues for you to be involved, whether it’s sharing an artistic talent or simply helping out with events.

With the holidays upon us, it’s that time of year when we feel the urge to do something good for someone else. And what could warm your heart more than doing something to brighten the life of a child in need? The Maricopa County Head Start Zero-Five Program is hoping local groups, businesses or organizations will consider organizing a pajama/book drive for the little ones it serves.

The organization Chicktime Mesa is seeking women volunteers to help kids recovering from abuse or neglect at Mesa’s Child Crisis Center. Whatever your passion may be — cooking, gardening, crafts, mechanics, sports, banking — Chicktime can help you turn your interests into something that serves children in need.

Sometimes, all a young person needs is encouragement to achieve his or her goals. This is especially true of students who want to go to college, but maybe are the first in their family to aspire to higher education. That’s when a mentor can make all the difference in the world.

Tonto National Forest has volunteer steward openings for the Four Peaks and Superstition Wilderness areas of the Mesa Ranger District.

Calling all birders: Desert Rivers Audubon is seeking volunteers to weed and water the Hummingbird Habitat at Chandler’s Desert Breeze Park during the group’s Second Saturdays events, 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., September through May, and 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., June through August. It’s a great way to learn more about native bird life. And who doesn’t love those little hummingbirds?

The Tempe Center for the Arts is seeking volunteer golf cart drivers to shuttle patrons to and from pickup and drop-off points for Ballet Under the Stars from 5:15 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21, at the City of Tempe Arts Park Amphitheater, 700 W. Rio Salado Parkway. The annual outdoor music event draws 3,500-4,000 people each year.

Maricopa County Head Start is seeking volunteers to read to preschoolers as part of Jumpstart’s national Read for the Record campaign in October.

The Valley’s American Healing Arts Foundation serves U.S. veterans by providing them with free art classes, including all supplies, along with art therapy classes taught by certified and licensed art therapists.

Spend some time with groovy ghouls and ghosts while helping your community at Queen Creek’s Trunk or Treat 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Oct. 27 at Desert Mountain Park, 22201 S. Hawes Road.

The organizers of a cultural festival celebrating Mexican Independence Day are looking for volunteers to help staff the Chandler event. The volunteers will help set up, tear down, staff the ticket booth and help vendors.

The Chandler Police Department is accepting applications for motorist assist volunteers to respond to reports of stranded motorists, crash scenes and other non-criminal calls for service.

If you love art, Phoenix Art Museum has the volunteer opportunity for you. For the museum’s current PAPER! Exhibition, volunteers are needed to interact with visitors, answer questions, provide information and give directions. In the Steele Gallery through Sept. 23, this exhibit explores how artists have long utilized paper in their work as a support for drawings, prints and watercolors; as a subject for a work of art; or as creative material for three-dimensional work, according to the ad on volunteermatch.org.

How would you like to spruce up your community and help a person in need at the same time? The City of Mesa’s Neighbors Helping Neighbors program is seeking groups to help paint homes of residents who, due to limited resources or physical limitations, are struggling to maintain the exterior of their homes.

Believe it or not, fall is coming up soon – and that means it’ll be time for Mesa’s youth sports program to kick into high gear. The city’s Parks, Recreation and Commercial Facilities department is seeking volunteers to help with its Youth Sports Kickoff Celebration from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sept. 7 at Hohokam Fields, 1235 N. Center St.

History and civics lessons come alive for students when they're delivered by a veteran of America's Armed Forces.

Summer is a great time for children to visit the Arizona Museum of Natural History in Mesa, where they can create dinosaur rubbings, hold a fossil, and enjoy other activities. You can take part in that too by volunteering as an exploration station facilitator.