Start Planning for National Volunteer Week, April 19-25

March 24, 2026

National Volunteer Week, taking place April 19-25, is a great time to recognize the dedicated volunteers in your fire or EMS department as well as let the community know that they can volunteer with your department. These resources from the NVFC can help you plan for National Volunteer Week as well as enhance recruitment and retention throughout the year.

Make Me A Firefighter Department Portal – Find free resources and tools to help with volunteer recruitment and retention, including a database to post your volunteer opportunities, an easy-to-use generator to customize recruitment materials, ready-to-use PSAs, event planning guide, and more.

Recruitment and Retention Training – The NVFC Virtual Classroom contains a series of courses and webinars available to help your department enhance recruitment and retention strategies.

NVFC Membership – For just $24 per year, NVFC members get a variety of benefits, including an AD&D policy, access to the First Responder Helpline, all training free in the Virtual Classroom, the Volunteer Voices members forum, and much more. Departments can show their appreciation for their members by purchasing memberships for their personnel so they have access to all of the benefits.

Family Resources – Families are a significant factor in the retention of volunteers. The NVFC has resources to help support and involve family members of volunteer responders.

Psychologically Healthy Fire Departments – This toolkit and training will guide you through ways to better support your personnel and create a healthy, successful, and engaged workforce. You can also pledge your commitment to have your department added to the national webpage.