This November, Forward Wayne County is focusing on Giving and Philanthropy. To help add some insight, we asked Major Bill Welch from the Richmond Salvation Army to discuss the importance of volunteering during the holiday season.
Volunteering and the Holiday Season
With Thanksgiving and the Christmas season coming up, people often think of volunteering. Here in Richmond and Wayne County, there are many important volunteering opportunities. We can all take the time to think about those opportunities and see what you would like to do.
Do you enjoy bringing cheer to others? There are opportunities to help with many different things. Maybe you would enjoy helping with a Thanksgiving meal for the community. Maybe you enjoy pets and would enjoy helping at a shelter. You could organize a food drive for an agency. The opportunities are plentiful.
Most non-profit organizations are always looking for volunteers to help with different programs. We try to keep the costs as low as possible to give the most support to the community, and as such we often rely on volunteers to help us with the programs. We all can use the help.
Volunteering Opportunities
In the winter, there are many opportunities to help. There is a new opportunity to help those in need that need a warm place to stay. When the temperature drops to 25 or below, Oak Park church is open to offer a place for individuals to stay overnight. They are always looking for volunteers to help.
There are many food pantries in the county that are looking for volunteers to help with the sorting and organizing of the pantry, as well as distribution of the goods.
As Christmas is approaching, at The Salvation Army, we have many opportunities for volunteering. There is our angel tree distribution, and we are looking for volunteers to help with buying gifts as well as people to help with sorting and distributing the gifts that come in.
We will be having a coat give-a-way and will be looking for people to help with the sorting and organizing of the coats. Finally, there is always our iconic red kettles that people are used to seeing around the town.
Did you know that with just two hours, you can help to raise funds that are used year around to help our community? It’s as easy as signing up for a location and just standing there.
Without volunteers to help with that, we miss many opportunities to help the community. We are hardly the only non-profit organization looking for volunteers. Most of us are. We all do good work, and we all need volunteers.
The Need for Volunteers
Volunteering does not need to take a lot of your time or energy. Even just a couple of hours a month would go so far to help us. With all the non-profits in town, there are plenty of opportunities. I am sure you can find some cause that is near and dear to your heart.
What do you enjoy doing? I am sure you can find a non-profit that can use what you enjoy. If you do not know where to start, check with the Wayne County Foundation or the United Way. They can help point you in the right direction for what you are interested in doing. Using the skills and interests that you have can go so far to help so many people.
One important thing to remember is that when the holidays are over, the volunteer opportunities continue. We all still can use the help all year round. And we value our volunteers time and skills.
A Quick Heartfelt Thank You
I know we all would be quick to say thank you for remembering and giving of your time. It does help so much throughout the year.
Thank you so much for all you all do to help make Wayne County the great success it is. Without your time of being willing to help with all the non-profits, we wouldn’t be able to do all that we do not just during the holidays, but all year around.
