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Volunteer Fair Offers Duke Community a Pathway to Purposeful Partnerships

By Michelle Benham // October 3, 2025

Duke faculty, staff, and students looking for meaningful ways to connect with the Durham community will have an exciting opportunity this month. The 48th Annual Volunteer Fair, hosted by Duke Community Affairs, will take place on Wednesday, October 8, from 3–6 p.m. in Penn Pavilion. The event is free and open to all members of the Duke community with no registration required.

2025 Volunteer Fair graphic

The Volunteer Fair builds on Duke’s Strategic Community Impact Plan (SCIP), which supports forging purposeful partnerships as one of President Vincent Price’s five pillars for Duke’s second century. For decades, Duke has collaborated with nonprofit organizations in Durham and the Triangle, and this event marks another step in strengthening those bonds while introducing new opportunities for service and collaboration.

“Partnership is at the heart of our work,” said colleagues in Duke Community Affairs, which is stewarding the fair. “This event creates an accessible way for our students, staff, and faculty to meet local partners, learn about their missions, and connect their passions to meaningful service in the community.”

More than 75 nonprofit organizations from Durham and the Triangle will participate, representing a wide range of focus areas — from food security and education to housing, health, and the arts. Attendees can browse tables, talk directly with nonprofit leaders, find volunteer opportunities that match their interests, and discover new ways to connect with Durham’s vibrant civic life. The event will also feature the Duke Partnership Platform, a tool designed to facilitate easier exploration and engagement with local organizations by community members.

Organizations that will be present at the Fair include:

  • Alzheimer’s Association
  • Alternative Career Pathways
  • American Alliance for Accreditation of Short-Term Education Programs
  • AP Smith Community Partners CDC
  • Augustine Literacy Project of the Triangle
  • The ArtsCenter
  • Boomerang Bags/Don’t Waste Durham
  • Book Harvest
  • Boys & Girls Clubs of Durham and Orange Counties
  • Caring Community Foundation
  • Central Regional Hospital/NC Dept. of Health & Human Services
  • CF Foundation
  • City of Medicine Volunteer Medical Corps
  • Community Empowerment Fund
  • Community School of Digital and Visual Arts
  • CORRAL Riding Academy
  • Crayons2Calculators / Durham Public Schools Foundation
  • Cristo Rey Research Triangle High School
  • Dress for Success Triangle
  • Duke Arts Fellows
  • Durham Cooperative Extension
  • Durham Nativity School
  • Durham Parks and Recreation
  • Durham Public Schools Foundation
  • Durham Rescue Mission
  • El Centro Hispano
  • Elevate Outreach Ministry
  • Emily K Center
  • Families Moving Forward
  • Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina
  • Girls in Gear
  • Girls on the Run Triangle
  • Girl Scouts North Carolina Coastal Pines
  • Habitat for Humanity of Durham
  • Hardcore for Humanity
  • Hayti Heritage Center
  • Health Equipment Loan Program
  • Hillside High School PTSA
  • Impartial
  • Insightful Visionaries Inc.
  • IRS: Stakeholder Partnerships, Education & Communication
  • Junior Achievement of Eastern NC
  • Kidznotes
  • L’Arche North Carolina
  • Latino Educational Achievement Partnership
  • LGBTQ Center of Durham
  • Make-A-Wish Eastern North Carolina
  • Meals on Wheels Durham
  • Merrick-Moore Community Development Corporation
  • The Miracle League of the Triangle
  • Museum of Life and Science
  • NAMI Wake County
  • Note in the Pocket
  • North Carolina Children’s Museum
  • Open Table Ministry
  • Peaceful Schools NC
  • POOF Teen Center
  • PORCH Chapel Hill–Carrboro
  • Reality Ministries
  • Ron N Shoot (RNS) Sports, Inc.
  • Raleigh-Wake Council of the Blind
  • Sister Cities of Durham
  • Students to Scholars
  • Student U
  • SwingPals
  • Swim for Charlie
  • The Help Center NC
  • Thomas Mentor Leadership Academy
  • Together for Resilient Youth (TRY)
  • TNVLC
  • The Scrap Exchange
  • The Village Durham
  • The Women’s Center
  • Urban Community AgriNomics (UCAN)
  • Urban Ministries of Wake County
  • West End Community Foundation, Inc.
  • Zakat Foundation

Whether you are a student searching for a service opportunity, a staff member hoping to give back, or a faculty member interested in connecting research and teaching to real-world needs, the Volunteer Fair offers an easy entry point. Attendees will leave with new connections, knowledge of the resources available across Durham, and perhaps even the spark of a long-term community partnership.

Come explore the breadth of community engagement happening right here in our backyard — and find your place in it.

Written by

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Michelle Benham

Michelle Benham is the senior director for communications at Duke Community Affairs. She is an accomplished leader, award-winning multimedia producer, and communications expert with over two decades of storytelling experience in the public and private sectors, including government, higher ed, and nonprofits. She is adept at amplifying diverse voices and co-creating partnership opportunities to advance community collaboration.

Prior to joining DCA, Michelle led the marketing and communications team at Durham-based national nonprofit Forward Cities. She also served as marketing director at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, an internationally renowned program of the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. Previously, she created award-winning content and campaigns at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Discovery Learning Alliance, and Discovery Communications.

Michelle is a Goodmon Fellow through Leadership Triangle and participated in the 2023 Regional cohort. She is an alumna of the esteemed Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders program and was a founding board member of the Conservation Leadership in the Caribbean fellowship, a capacity-building, networking, and leadership development program for emerging climate science and wildlife conservation leaders in the wider Caribbean region.

Michelle holds an M.F.A. in Film & Media from the School of Communication at American University and a B.S. in Ecology from the University of Georgia. She and her family are proud residents of Durham, NC, and have a deep affection for the Eno River.

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