Volunteer with us

Meeting great people, taking special trips, and improving your paddling skills are just a few of the perks when you become a volunteer!

Questions about volunteering

What types of jobs will I be doing?

As a new volunteer, you may be helping check people in or doing other tasks on the beach: fitting people into vests, answering questions, getting people into and out of kayaks, giving basic paddling instruction, and explaining the boundaries of the paddling area and our boathouse rules—as well as being one of the smiling faces of the boathouse! If you’re volunteering for the opening shift, you’ll also help bring boats, paddles, and life vests out of the boat keep and down to the beach, and if you’re volunteering for the closing shift, you’ll help put everything away. Once you’ve volunteered a few times, you may decide you’d like to be a safety boater and/or program leader, in which case you’ll need additional training before you can be approved to volunteer in that role.

Safety boaters

These specially trained volunteers make sure our paddlers stay safe! They monitor the kayakers, give on-water paddling instruction, and perform rescues when necessary. Only certified volunteers may sign up as safety boaters.

Program leaders

These specially trained volunteers run the program, manage volunteers, answer questions, and execute opening/closing procedures. Only approved volunteers may sign up as program leaders.

Are there any perks for volunteers?

Volunteering will earn you our undying love and appreciation, as well as the good feelings that come with doing something good for the community. But if that’s not enough, you’ll also get special access to free volunteer-only trips around New York Harbor (and sometimes beyond), kayak skills sessions, friends and family paddles, and social events. On top of that, our active volunteers are eligible for discounted classes from The Kayak Foundation; for more information, send an email to hello@bbpboathouse.org.

Do I need to know how to kayak?

Nope! We’ll teach you everything you need to know. We hold regular volunteer orientations as well as safety boater and program leader training sessions. If you can’t make a volunteer orientation session, don’t worry about it—just sign up for a shift, and we’ll teach you everything you need to know during your shift.

How often do I have to volunteer?

You can volunteer as much or as little as you want. We have flexible 2.5-hour shifts, so you can volunteer whatever time works best for you. We’re happy to have you, even if it’s only for one shift!