Volunteer Sedona & the Verde Valley will expand its Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service into a full week of community projects running January 13 – 19, building on last year’s inaugural event.
The VVSV organization operates as an online portal connecting volunteers and groups with local groups that have various volunteer needs.
“Last year was kind of a beta test to see if we could do something bigger, because it’s always good to test out an idea before you go all in and it was very successful, and the nonprofits got a lot of promotion,” said Spring Graf, founder and executive director VVSV. “So I said, ‘Well, let’s do it again.’”
The 2026 Week of Service will feature new nonprofit partners including Verde Villages and the American Red Cross, along with a raffle prize system for participants and cross-marketing efforts between the organizations. Volunteers will earn one ticket for each event they sign up for, with multiple signups earning additional entries.
Participating organizations include Project Rising Hope, city of Sedona Parks and Recreation, Sedona
Oak Creek Watershed Council, The Verde Villages, American Red Cross, Coconino National Forest, Words & Warmth, Communi ty Librar y Sedona, Humane Society of Sedona and Keep Sedona Beautiful, Graf wrote. “The week culminates with the Friends of the Verde River’s 10th annual Verde River Cleanup.”
Some of the service projects offered as part of the week are:
■ Wednesday, Jan. 14, Sedona Community Parks Cleanup from 8 to 11 a.m. Volunteers will pick up litter and help make parks beautiful. Ages 18 and older, or youth accompanied by parent or guardian. Wheelchair accessible.
■ Thursday, Jan. 15, Sunset Park Litter Cleanup at the Oak Creek Watershed Council, noon to 2:30 p.m. Volunteers will pick up trash while walking on easy but uneven terrain and carrying a trash picker and bucket. Ages 18 and older, or youth accompanied by parent or guardian.
■ Friday, Jan. 16, Red Cross Simulations at American Red Cross in Cottonwood from 1 to 3 p.m. Participants will rotate through three 40-minute hands-on sessions learning about emergency situations through Hands- Only CPR training, a home fire response simulation and a shelter setup simulation. Ages 18 and older, or youth accompanied by parent or guardian. Wheelchair accessible.
■ Saturday, Jan. 17, Blanket Making at Words & Warmth in the Community Library Sedona from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Volunteers will tie fringe for fleece blankets and decorate bookmarks. Ages 18 and older, or youth accompanied by parent or guardian. Wheelchair accessible.
■ Monday, Jan. 19, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service with Friends of the Verde River from 9 a.m. to noon, at multiple locations. River stewardship work at seven different locations. Multiple shifts and locations available. Ages 18 and older, or youth accompanied by parent or guardian.
■ Additional volunteer events are listed on the VVSV website.
“It’s a really good introduction to do a two- to three-hour event and then decide, ‘Hey, maybe I want to keep volunteering with this nonprofit this year,’” Graf said.
“With more than a dozen events already open — and more being added — this MLK-week initiative offers easy, short-term ways for residents and visitors to give back locally. In 2025, over 800 new volunteers signed up through vsvv.org, contributing more than 2,400 service hours,” Graf wrote.
To sign up for a shift and to learn more visit vsvv.org.
