Community Corner
Give the Gift of Volunteering This Holiday Season
Volunteering your time, talents and hard work can have an especially significant impact on your community at this time of year–and beyond.
With the continued hardships prompted by a stubborn economic downturn, nonprofit organizations and charities throughout Northfield and the Twin Cities region are getting ready to assist thousands of families with food, gifts and various other necessities for the holidays.
Volunteering to help at a food shelf, homeless shelter, nursing home, hospital or other nonprofit organization can have a major impact on your neighbors, as well as making the holiday more significant for those doing the volunteering.
No matter what your passion, concern or interest may be, there’s likely to be an organization that could use your unique talents and time during the season and after. The website Volunteermatch.org, for instance, can connect you with countless local volunteering opportunities.
“With all this getting, consider giving a little back to make your hometown a better, brighter place this holiday season,” urges Jennie Bragg in CNN Money’s online article, “Help Out During the Holidays”. Buying holiday gifts “will put a hole in your wallet, but the gift of time won't cost you a cent.”
Here are just a few examples of ways you can turn someone’s potentially difficult or depressing holiday into one filled with hope and happiness:
Get involved at the CAC
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While the is a hot spot all year for volunteerism, it, like so many charities, sees more need during the holiday season.
There are a few volunteer opportunities left for individuals for Wednesday's Christmas Sharing distribution, according to Judy Bickel, program coordinator for the CAC. Hundreds of spots have already been filled, she said. For those interested in lending a hand, they can contact the front desk at 664-3550 to register.
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The CAC's Food Shelf, Thursday's Table and Clothes Closet programs are all seeking individuals (not groups) that can commit to a weekly or bi-weekly volunteer time slot on a regular basis, Bickel said.
People can contact the following people for more information about these volunteer opportunities.
- Steph Helkenn, Food Shelf Coordinatior: 664-3585 or helkenn.steph@communityactioncenter.org
- Jane Greenwood, Clothes Closet Manager: 664-3580 or greenwood.jane@communityactioncenter.org
- Ivy Ainsworth, Thursday's Table Coordinator: 664-3569 or ainsworth.ivy@communityactioncenter.org
Volunteer opportunities for groups are also available for Thursday's Table. People should contact:
- Ivy Ainsworth, Thursday's Table Coordinator: 664-3569 or ainsworth.ivy@communityactioncenter.org
Feeding hot meals:
According to a KARE 11 report earlier this year, there are now about 13,000 Minnesotans who are homeless, a number that has grown since recession of 2008-09.
“Poor adults already living on the edge can be catapulted into homelessness by what otherwise might be considered a minor event, such as a child’s illness, loss of transportation to work, or a rental increase, because they don’t have a safety net,” Dakota Woodlands, a homeless shelter in Eagan, explains. “Small problems become huge catastrophes.”
Numerous food shelves throughout the Twin Cities will provide holiday-season baskets of food to struggling families, and many welcome volunteers to assist with the assembly or distribution of these gifts, bringing a smile to hundreds of faces.
Visiting nursing homes or hospitals:
uses plenty of volunteers on a year-round basis, according Scott Richardson, director of community relations for the hospital.
They have folks who help with several programs, including same-day surgery, the Breast Care Center and with Meals-on-Wheels, which the hospital provides technical and administrative support for. Richardson noted that the hospital usually has a full slate of volunteers with many and students offering assistance. To find out more about volunteering opportunities, contact Georgene Johnson, volunteer coordinator, at johnsong@northfieldhospital.org.
Helping those with infants:
If there’s a soft spot in your heart for our smallest and most vulnerable neighbors this time of year, think diapers: A year-round necessity for infants, they are an especially helpful gift this time of year. The Diaper Drive could use help in all kinds of ways, but especially with establishing more drop-off locations and holding drives to collect this very simple, yet basic necessity.
Helping domestic abuse victims:
If you have a special interest in or concern for domestic abuse victims, you can help make holidays brighter by donating your and talents to a local prevention agency.
For example, Cornerstone has numerous ways you can help, including the Santa Shop, a program at Cornerstone that enables children to “shop” for gifts for family members and experience the joy of giving.
Donating your used goods:
After doing some cleaning around the house for the new year—including cleaning out your cabinets, closets and basement—“Donate anything that is still in good condition to a good cause,” Bragg says. “Your local Salvation Army or Goodwill accepts everything from clothing and furniture to old movies and cooking pans.”
Other nonprofit organizations, such as the Courage Center, Vietnam Veterans of America, Disabled Veterans of America, and the Lupus Foundation, will even send a truck out to your house to pick up what can become a treasure to others.
Toys
The Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots Foundation fulfills the wishes of children whose families cannot afford to give them gifts.
More Opportunities
Head over to the 5th Bridge website to see lots of volunteer opportunities.