Share a Little Joy This Season - Volunteer for the Holidays

The holidays are truly a time of love and laughter for most of us, a time to enjoy generous meals and exchange special gifts with people we care about. But for some, the holidays are a challenging time because they are people in your community who are in need. Why not spread some holiday cheer this holiday season, and give something back to your community?

Volunteering can be a wonderful thing to do, whether as an individual or as an entire family project. There are lots of projects that teens can do (most volunteer assignments require that youths be at least sixteen years old, though some will take younger youths). Many community programs are looking for an extra hand just for the holidays, so your short-term commitment will be very welcome during this time of year. Who knows? You could be starting a wonderful family tradition of volunteering for this charity every year, or simply volunteering for any charity during the holidays. Here are some ideas for holiday volunteer projects to get you started. Another great way to find volunteer projects is to contact your local United Way office, or to visit Volunteer Match www.volunteermatch.org or Idealist www.idealist.org.

Salvation Army Bellringer

We all see them during the holiday time with those black kettles, and we certainly hear those distinctive bells ringing. Why not volunteer to be a Salvation Army Bellringer? This can be something that you do as an individual or as a family. For more information contact the Salvation Army http://www1.salvationarmy.org/ihq/www_sa.nsf.

Toys for Tots Volunteer

This is one of the most popular toy drives held during the holidays. Toys for Tots looks for people to help with the toy drive. You can sponsor a toy drive at your place of work, or hold a toy drive in your neighborhood. You can help in other ways with the toy drive. Or you can also donate toys to the toy drive - they will certainly be appreciated! For more information contact Toys for Tots http://www.toysfortots.org/. (Please note: there are lots of other toy drives going on in your community during the holiday time, probably for smaller organizations. They will need your help too! Contact your local United Way for more information about toy drives).

Nursing Home Friendly Visitor

Some residents of nursing homes do not get visitors during the holidays. Their families live in other states and are unable to visit them. The holidays can be very hard when you feel lonley. Why not visit your local nursing home and spread a little cheer? Contact your local nursing home Recreation or Volunteer Office and ask about visiting for the holidays. They will give you full details. Remember if you have a special talent, like playing the piano or singing, the residents would probably be thrilled if you came in to play or sing for them. If you are interested in bringing residents a gift of some sort, even something like holiday cookies - be sure to ask first. Some residents are diabetic, but they also may have problems with their memory and they themselves may not tell you they are diabetic - they will just reach for a cookie. So ask the Recreation and Volunteer Office about bringing gifts if you are interested in doing that, and also ask the Nurses' Office (on each floor) before giving residents anything sweet to eat.

Winter Coat Drive

Many communities do a winter coat drive. Contact your local United Way office to see what organizations in your area are doing one this year. This is a great thing to help with, even if you do not have any coats to donate, you can help organize coats and help be on hand when people come to get their coats for the first time. These coats go to people who really need them, this is a great cause to get involved with.

Soup Kitchen

If you haven't helped out at a soup kitchen during the holidays, I can tell you that it is a very amazing experience. The staff work very hard to prepare a full holiday meal for their clients. But often they have extra people coming in to eat just for that day, and they are very glad to have an extra hand getting everything out to the tables, or help serving things. Another great thing to get involved with is a food drive, many organizations that serve the homeless and the hungry will hold food drives (canned goods and dry, non-perishable type of foods especially).

There are lots of other types of organizations that would be thrilled to have your help during holiday time. Just think of a cause that interests you, and there is sure to be an organization that addresses that cause. Most charities do something special for the holidays. So spread a little holiday cheer and give something back this year!