Getting Your Group Involved

With a wealth of accommodations and activities, we provide just about everything a group could want.

In turn, we often get questions from planners about how their teams can give a little back to the local community while they’re here. Pitching in on a volunteer assignment can have a lasting effect on the area’s communities. These projects provide a strong teambuilding opportunity while helping make a group’s visit even more memorable.

To help provide a little insight, we’ve compiled just a few of the many incredible nonprofits doing work in Walton County. These organizations work actively with groups of volunteers that are looking to donate their time and energy to benefit our local communities. Visit their websites to learn more and get involved.

Alaqua Animal Refuge is an independent, full-service, no-kill shelter that advocates for the general welfare and humane treatment of animals by providing shelter, adoption services and prevention of pet overpopulation.

Contact: Laurie Hood
Phone: (850) 685-0288
Email: lhood@aarflorida.com

Children’s Volunteer Health Network facilitates the delivery of comprehensive, direct medical, dental and mental health services for schoolchildren from lower-income families throughout communities in and around Walton and Okaloosa Counties.

Contact: Megan Trent
Phone: (850) 622-3200 Ext. 3
Email: volunteers@cvhnkids.org

Originally owned by a wealthy timber family, Eden Gardens State Park is now a historic 161-acre state park located in South Walton. The park is known for its moss-draped live oaks, ornamental gardens and the beautifully renovated Wesley house. Volunteer opportunities may include clean-ups, park improvements and removal of invasive plants.

Contact: Elizabeth Eich
Phone: (850) 267-8320
Email: elizabeth.eich@dep.state.fl.us

E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center at Nokuse Plantation is an environmental educational facility nestled in the Longleaf Pine ecosystem – considered the 6th most biodiverse area in the continental U.S. (less than two percent of it remains intact today). Get involved as the staff teaches visitors the importance of biodiversity and the value of conservation, preservation and restoration.

Contact: Jill Southerland
Phone: (850) 835-1824
Email: jsoutherland@eowilsoncenter.org

Gain a stronger understanding of the full cycles of life at Glendale Memorial Nature Preserve. The Preserve celebrates the lives of the departed by providing a burial place in peaceful surroundings where their remains can follow more natural nutritive cycles of life. These 350 acres of countryside are comprised of pines, hardwoods, wetlands and clear water creeks that can benefit from mindful maintenance.

Contact: John Wilkerson or Barbara Chudzinski
Phone: (850) 859-2141
Email: info@glendalenaturepreserve.org

Identified as the most pristine piece of coastal property in the state of Florida, Topsail Hill Preserve State Park is home to 1,640 acres of undeveloped gulf-front pine forests, mountainous sand dunes, and two freshwater coastal dune lakes. Your volunteer efforts can help preserve old-growth forests, wet prairies, basin swamps, rare coastal dune lakes and other forms of rare flora and fauna.

Contact: Hallie Oalde
Phone: (850) 267-8330
Email: hallie.oalde@dep.state.fl.us

Habitat for Humanity helps Walton County families achieve their dream of becoming a homeowner. Volunteer teams can undertake the work of actually building the houses that will become these homes. Workers don’t need a background in construction to lend a hand.

Contact: Angel Dixon
Phone: (850) 660-6004
Email: manager@waltoncountyhabitat.org