Thanksgiving inspires many people to give back during the holidays. The more common opportunities, such as serving at a soup kitchen or shelter, often fill up fast, leaving other organizations short on volunteers and volunteers with broken plans. This year, when planning your holiday volunteer activities, consider doing something different and planning ahead. There are many of ways to offer your time to worthy causes. Here are a few to get you started:

• Support ThanksgivingCares Basket, a program  helping families in need in the Washington D.C. area. Leadership Cares has opportunities for local and national companies, organizations and/or families to help others with a basket of food that will feed a family of 6-8 people.
• Enhance your holiday by celebrating it with the residents of the Jewish Foundation for Group Homes. A wide variety of activities are available for families and groups to participate. Although many of our residents are Jewish, as a non sectarian agency we also have many residents who celebrate Christmas and other secular holidays. Have fun as you earn SSL hours.
• Do you enjoy gift wrapping? Help First Book raise funds during the holidays, by gift wrapping for donations at a local toy store.  Every $2 donation provides a brand new book for a child in need. This activity is best for groups of two or three. Volunteers under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

Find many more opportunities by searching the volunteer database. Enter the word "holiday" in the keyword field to see the many possibilities to give your time during the holiday season.   

A Resource Fair for military personnel, veterans and families is being hosted by Montgomery County's Commission on Veterans Affairs.  This free event will be held at White Flint Mall on Saturday, November 5 from 11am-4pm. The fair will have more than two dozen organizations that will provide information and resources that are available to veterans and their families. For more information, please contact Richard Schiffauer at 240-777-1724 or by email.

In honor of Veterans Day consider volunteering for any of these organizations that support veterans. 

• Hero Dogs, Inc., seeks to provide independence and improved quality of life to our nation's veterans by training and placing service dogs ("Hero Dogs") with military veterans who become disabled while serving honorably in the United States Armed Forces. Become a Puppy Raiser, grant writer, or researcher. Click here to see the full list of opportunities. Visit their website at www.hero-dogs.org.
• Thomas Jerome House seeks to honor the lives of those veterans who have sustained traumatic brain injuries in the name of freedom and sacrifice to America. It is a community where servicemen and veterans with traumatic brain injuries and their assistants, live together as family, respecting the dignity of the human person. Grant writers are needed now. Contact katharineambrose@gmail.com. Visit the website at http://thomasjeromehouse.org.

An organization built by volunteers

For the past ten years, A Wider Circle has been providing the necessities of life to our area's most vulnerable citizens.  Thousands and thousands of children and adults who were previously living without beds in which to sleep - or any of the items most of us take for granted - are now living in fully furnished homes, with their dignity and hope restored, thanks to volunteers of all ages in Montgomery County.  Families from communities in every part of the County have donated items and many others have gone out on trucks to collect the items or worked at A Wider Circle's Center for Community Service to help families we serve to select their new items.  Still more volunteers have taught life skills and professional development classes as part of A Wider Circle's educational programming - an additional way that the organization seeks to help families lift themselves out of poverty.

As 2011 comes to a close, the opportunities to serve are many.  Whether individuals or families want to help with holiday giving or be paired with families needing long-term support, or join the staff and other volunteers out on the trucks or at the Center, there is certainly something for everyone.

Volunteers of all ages are welcome!  At A Wider Circle, you will find that "regular" volunteers range in age from five to ninety-five, and all are making significant contributions to the community.  Whether it is a particular project with which one helps, or it is a day of collecting and loading items, the experience at A Wider Circle is truly one in which all understand what it means to say, "'Tis better to give than to receive."

For more information, please email volunteer@awidercircle.org.  The holidays are the perfect time to join the team at A Wider Circle and bring your time and talent to the movement to end poverty for family after family in our County.

One-Time Volunteer Opportunities 

Check the November calendar for the latest opportunities.

Opportunities that are approved to provide MCPS SSL Hours have this icon: 

 November 4 & 5 - Maryland Emancipation Day : Celebrate history while volunteering with this multi-generational annual event celebrating the announcement of the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in Maryland. Become a part of history and volunteer at the historic Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park and the Underground Railroad (UGRR) hikes by manning information tables and assisting with event set-up/break-down at the site (assembling small tents, setting out chairs and tables). Volunteers are needed Friday evening, Saturday morning and Saturday afternoon. Go to www.ParksVolunteers.org to sign up. Contact Lynn Vismara at 301-495-2504. 

November 5 - Help the Winter Birds : Give WSSC a hand to ensure birds have shelter during the winter months. Triadelphia is a place where wintering birds roost near the open water. Unfortunately, invasive weeds make it difficult for them to find cover and shelter. We will provide the gloves and garden snippers-and you provide the help to remove the invasive weeds. Visit their website at www.wsscwater.com. Contact Kimberley Knox at 301-206-8233. This is a great opportunity for groups!

November 13 - U.S. National Arboretum Conifer Gardener Volunteer: Join the curator of the Conifer Collection for a day in the garden. Take part in assisting with the removal of invasive species and general maintenance of the garden. All interested individuals are invited to volunteer in the garden. No experience necessary, but a willingness to work outdoors and complete general gardening tasks is required. No experience necessary. Staff will train all volunteers. Visit their website at www.usna.usda.gov. Contact Tanya Zastrow at 202-245-4563.

November 19 - Conservation Walk, Talk and Cleanup of Serpentine Barrens Conservation: Travilah near Potomac, the Serpentine Barrens Conservation Park is listed by our Parks Department as one of the "Best Natural Areas" in Montgomery County because of its unique geology and plant community. The largest serpentine ecosystems on the east coast are found in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Join us for this morning walk within this natural "community" of plants and rock formations. We will pick up any trash or debris in the park along the way. Visit their website at www.ConservationMontgomery.org. Contact Caren Madsen, Board President at 301-587-8128.

Search for more volunteer opportunities here!