One small good thing, somewhere around the Bay.
Goodside shows you real ways to help near you — a morning restoring habitat in the Presidio, a Saturday sort at the food bank, five minutes reporting a broken sidewalk to 311, or simply a walk to the farmers market. Pledge one. Do it when you can. See it add up with your neighbors.
Not ready yet? Get an occasional note when there’s something good near you.
How it works
1Say what you’ll do today
Write your own — “walk to the farmers market,” “leave a book in the little free library” — or tap a suggestion. Saying it out loud is half the momentum.
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Or pick something nearby
See what’s happening around your neighborhood: plantings, food bank shifts, cleanups, public meetings. Each one says when, where, how long, and who runs it.
3Do it, then say how it felt
Mark it done when you’ve done it. Add a word if you like, and choose whether to share it with neighbors — never with your name.
4Watch it add up
See your time alongside everyone else’s in your neighborhood and across the Bay.
On Goodside this week
A few things on Goodside right now, from food bank shifts to five minutes on your own block. Most good acts don’t need an organizer — members add their own every day.
Sort and pack food at the SF-Marin Food Bank
Book a warehouse shift at the Pennsylvania Ave warehouse to sort, repack and pack groceries that go out to pantries across the city. Every volunteer books their own reservation, even when coming as a group.
- Where
- San Francisco
- When
- Weekdays & Saturdays · see shift schedule
- Time
- 2h 30m
Sort produce at the Alameda County Food Bank
Pick a shift on the volunteer calendar and sort and pack fresh produce at the Oakland warehouse. Some shifts also involve lifting boxes to help partner agencies load their vehicles.
- Where
- Oakland
- When
- Various days · see shift calendar
- Time
- 3 hours
Saturday food sort at Second Harvest
Join an individual warehouse sort at Second Harvest's Cypress Center: quality control, assembly-line packing and stacking boxes, plus clean-up at the end. Ages 12+ (12–15 with an adult).
- Where
- San Jose
- When
- Saturdays · 9 AM–noon (also weekday mornings)
- Time
- 3 hours
Grow street trees at Our City Forest's nursery
Drop into a nursery workday to help raise the trees that go into San José neighborhoods. Fill out the volunteer waiver before your first shift.
- Where
- San Jose
- When
- Thu & Fri 9 AM–noon · Sat 9 AM–2 PM
- Time
- 3 hours
- With
- Our City Forest
Restore Presidio habitat with Habitat Stewards
Plant, weed, water and spread mulch in the Presidio's creeks, dunes, grasslands and woodlands. Tools and training are provided; registration is required.
- Where
- San Francisco
- When
- 1st & 3rd Wednesdays · 9 AM–noon
- Time
- 3 hours
Pull invasives in Tennessee Valley
Work with the park's Habitat Restoration Team to remove invasive plants, plant natives and collect seed in grassland, scrub and wetland. Ages 10+; registration required; bring lunch.
- Where
- Mill Valley
- When
- 3rd & 5th Tuesdays · 10 AM–2 PM
- Time
- 4 hours
Help replant the dunes at Sunset Dunes
Install brush around newly planted native dune grass so the wind doesn't erode it at Sunset Dunes, the park on the former Upper Great Highway. Sign up for each date ahead of time.
- Where
- San Francisco
- When
- Select Saturdays · 9 AM–noon (Oct 24, Nov 7, Nov 14)
- Time
- 3 hours
Speak up at the SF Board of Supervisors
Attend a Tuesday Board meeting at City Hall and give up to 2 minutes of general public comment. You can also call in to the speaker line or email bos@sfgov.org.
- Where
- San Francisco
- When
- Tuesdays · 2 PM
- Time
- 1h 30m
Do it together, in a circle
Start a circle for your school, your team at work, or your household. Invite people by email or with a link, add your own ideas, join in on each other’s, and see what you’ve done together.
Circles are private to their members, and each new one is reviewed before invitations go out.
Start a circleOpen now around the Bay
58 neighborhoods across 21 cities, from the Outer Sunset to Willow Glen. Pick yours when you sign up, and browse any other whenever you like.
Somewhere else? Tell us where you are and we’ll write when Goodside opens there.
- San Francisco22 neighborhoods
- Oakland9 neighborhoods
- San Jose6 neighborhoods
- Berkeley4 neighborhoods
- Alameda
- Fremont
- Hayward
- Mill Valley
- Mountain View
- Novato
- Palo Alto
- Redwood City
- Richmond
- San Carlos
- San Leandro
- San Mateo
- San Rafael
- Santa Clara
- Sausalito
- Sunnyvale
- Walnut Creek
See every neighborhood
San Francisco: Bayview, Bernal Heights, Castro, Chinatown, Excelsior, Haight-Ashbury, Hayes Valley, Inner Richmond, Inner Sunset, Marina, Mission, Nob Hill, Noe Valley, North Beach, Outer Richmond, Outer Sunset, Potrero Hill, Presidio, SoMa, Tenderloin, Visitacion Valley, Western Addition
Oakland: Downtown Oakland, East Oakland, Fruitvale, Grand Lake, Lake Merritt, Montclair, Rockridge, Temescal, West Oakland
San Jose: Alum Rock, Berryessa, Downtown San Jose, East San Jose, Japantown, Willow Glen
Berkeley: Downtown Berkeley, North Berkeley, South Berkeley, West Berkeley
Run volunteer days, a garden, or a cleanup?
List them on Goodside and we’ll put them in front of neighbors who are looking for exactly that — people who want to help, nearby, this week. It’s free.