A bunch of BK volunteer opportunities (even dog weddings) in one place

You know that criticism that young people in Brooklyn often face, the one that blames you for all the things wrong with gentrification and demands you move back to Ohio to stop polluting the local community with your transplant ways? A good way to stick it back in their face is to prove that you’re actually an involved member of this community, not just some succubus brat. So if volunteering your way into concerts and festivals seems a bit self-serving, you can still give back to the community with some good old-fashioned volunteering this summer. This Saturday at the North Brooklyn Volunteer Fair, 20 community organizations will be set up to fill you in on their volunteer opportunities, groups ranging from voter registration, the Brooklyn Animal Resource Clinic (pictured above), North Brooklyn Composting Project, the Greenpoint YMCA, and even BurnedGreen, those folks who set you up with volunteer gigs that get you free access to events.

Alan Minor of Burned Green tells us the goal of the fair is to gin up more community activism in the neighborhood.

“The impetus for this event is to introduce [or reintroduce] long-time and new residents to organizations in the community,” he said. “The hope is to encourage all residents to become more engaged with the community. That could mean helping out a soup kitchen or community garden, advocating in a school group, attending community board meetings or voting in local elections.”

It’s organized by State Committeeman Lincoln Restler (who started the idea) and our friends at Burned Green; Greenpointers, the Open Space Alliance of North Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Community Foundation are also sponsoring. Find the fair at the Greenpoint Farmers Market, 10am-2pm on Saturday.