One-off and monthly volunteer opportunities

Spread the literary love through this book-sharing program, which sets up cardboard-box stations on the street for passersby to pick up new paperbacks. See how many copies of The Fountainhead you can find while handing out secondhand softcovers for an hour and a half at locations throughout the city. An e-mail call for participants goes out once a month, and day-of help is accepted. You can also donate books at a drop-off box in Union Square. Next date: Sat 16 at 1pm. relitny.org. E-mail volunteer@relitny.org.

New York is notoriously dirty and smelly, with piles of trash bags stacked on sidewalks. Help cut down the waste by sorting through donated building materials at this group’s two reuse centers in Brooklyn and Queens. After a short orientation, helpers devote four hours to organizing salvaged items and compostable food scraps. Next dates: Nov 21 2–6pm. 69 9th St between Smith St and Second Ave, Gowanus, Brooklyn • Dec 15 11:30am–1:30pm. Queens Plaza South at 10th St, Long Island City, Queens • bignyc.org. E-mail volunteer@bignyc.org.

Help ease the nerves of formerly homeless and incarcerated job seekers by conducting mock interviews. After a 20-minute orientation you’ll survey two participants from the Doe Fund’s Ready, Willing and Able program, and offer feedback on their performance. At the end of the monthly gatherings, the nonprofit’s culinary trainees dish out hors d’oeuvres that they created. Next date: Dec 16 6–8pm. doe.org. E-mail mkaye@doe.org.