LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The city of Louisville wants you and thousands of other volunteers to give back during April, also known as "National Volunteer Month."

“We’ve got hundreds of volunteering opportunities, individual projects, group projects, some are virtual, some are in person under specific COVID-19 safety guidelines," Mayor Greg Fischer said earlier this week.

The annual campaign was canceled last year due to the pandemic, and this year the volunteer effort expands from 11 days to the entire month.

“You’ve got to find something you like that pulls at your heartstrings," Tonya Steyn said. Steyn helps coordinate volunteers at SOS International, a Louisville nonprofit collecting and redistributing unused surplus medical supplies.

Piper the dog is a frequent visitor to SOS and has benefited from donated supplies.

Fischer kicked off the expanded "Give A Day" campaign at SOS.

“It’s just a natural instinct, I believe, for people to help each other. And my mom would say that... she would say Greg, if you have the opportunity to help someone, just help them," Fischer said “So we should dream of a country like that where people are naturally helping each other."

In 2019, Fischer said more than 200,000 individuals registered to volunteer and this year, the goal is 750,000. Paula Radmacher volunteers weekly at SOS and said organizers like this can't operate without the goodwill of others.

“I mean we have pallets that come in and are sometimes this tall and have boxes and boxes and boxes of stuff. Somebody has got to sort it," Radmacher said.

“You can go to mygiveaday.com... you’ll see parks has opportunities for clean ups, neighborhood organizations have opportunities for clean ups, various council members have opportunities for clean ups," Louisville Councilmember Bill Hollander said.

Give A Day is also a partnership with Metro United Way. Many of the non-profit agencies have flexible dates and will work with you to find a place and time that is convenient for volunteers.