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| It's Time for Love and Sharing Athena's helping you help others By: Nicola Pioppi The holidays are approaching, and that means…winter vacations! It’s great that you’ll have some free time, and what better way to spend it than to devote a few hours to volunteering? We’ve got a few suggestions for you. Soup Kitchens Every town has one, and they are always grateful for a little help. Be sure to call ahead before showing up to serve Saturday’s lunch; many places schedule groups to serve meals well in advance. And because of the holidays, there are probably a lot of people asking to help out. Food banks will also be experiencing a rush as holiday food drives wrap up; volunteering at a food bank usually involves sorting and packing goods to be delivered to families and distribution centers. If you can’t serve, donations are always welcome. “Keep in mind food that you would want to eat,” says Sarah Lacey, a former food bank employee, “People relying on donated food probably don’t want to eat pickled pigs’ feet any more than you do.” Fresh bread is always a treat, and canned goods and dry mixes (like cake or stuffing) can be kept well past the holiday season. Rummage Sales Rummage sales, craft fairs, and bake sales are big this time of year. There is probably an organization, like a church or school, hosting a holiday sale near you, with the profits going to a worthy cause, and there are a number of ways you can help. The looming New Year is a great reason to go through your stuff and sort out the items you no longer use or need. Donating these items to a rummage sale, or even Goodwill or a local thrift store, ensures that these items will be reused and appreciated, rather that cluttering up your house, or worse, a landfill. Craft fairs often look for helping hands, whether you are assisting a friend sell her wares, or selling your own crafts, or just assisting with set up and clean up. Bake sales are also a great way to help organizations raise money. It’s not hard to make cupcakes or brownies from a box, or even from scratch, and very easy to watch your sweets turn into profit. Animal Shelters We mentioned this in our article about pet adoption, but animal shelters are always looking for volunteers. Animal shelters need help caring for the animals; this means cleaning out cages, changing litter boxes, and making sure food and water dishes are full. Sara Cole, who volunteered with the Helen O. Krause Animal Foundation in Dillsburg, PA, volunteered with special needs cats, who were often injured due to their lives before the shelter: “I cleaned their cages and litter boxes, and then I always stayed an extra hour to play with them.” If cats aren’t your thing, dogs are always up for a nice walk, and this way, you’ll both get your exercise! If your parents are willing, you can even foster an animal. This provides the animal with a loving home and individual attention for the holidays, or until it gets adopted. Park Clean-up This is also a great time of year to volunteer at your local park. Many parks still have autumn leaves and stray sticks and twigs lying around, and need to be tidied before any heavy snowfall makes yard work impossible. Call your local park conservancy to see if there are any designated volunteer days, or if there are any specific tasks they might need help with. If it is a big enough park, there might even be a visitor’s center where you can get this information. School Events Don’t forget to check with organizations at your school! If you have an Amnesty International or Key Club chapter, they are probably sponsoring some volunteering events this month. December is not too late to get involved with clubs! Remembering our Soldiers It’s easy to forget that our country is at war. Many men and women are overseas in the Middle East and other parts of the world serving their country, and are unable to celebrate with their families this winter. Lauren McCloskey wrote about the Cell Phones for Soldiers program in our February issue; if you or another family member receives a new cell phone, consider donating your old one. Letters to Soldiers is another organization reaching out to our troops. This organization mails encouraging letters to those serving overseas, and is currently putting together care packages for the holidays. Cells for Soldiers http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/ Letters to Soldiers http://www.letterstosoldiers.org/ Donations If you can’t donate your time, consider a donation of another kind. Toys for Tots collects gifts for children living in foster care or in disadvantaged neighborhoods. You and your parents can pick up an extra toy while shopping, and many stores provide collection boxes near their entrances. You could also consider adopting an endangered animal through the World Wildlife Federation, or sponsoring a child in another country. Other Many large cities have websites where you can look up volunteer opportunities. We’ve listed a few below, but a quick Google search for your city will probably turn up a few leads. http://www.pittsburghcares.org/ http://www.nycares.org/ http://www.chicagocares.org/ http://www.seattlecares.com/ |
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