Thank you to the 4,000 volunteers that took part in the  Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service! 

Assembling lunches for shelters with Whole Foods

Montgomery County celebrated another successful Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. Volunteers participated in service projects at our three signature locations, Bethesda North Marriott, the Silver Spring Civic Building, and this year's fabulous new location, The Universities at Shady Grove - as well as dozens of other projects all across the County.

 

41,101 lbs of non perishable food items were collected at the 28 Montgomery County Giant locations for Manna Food Center.  An additional 1,510 lbs were collected at the three service locations.

 

This year we had some exciting new projects. Volunteers wrote pen pal letters to children in Uganda and also talked online via Skype.  It was a great opportunity for kids to talk to other kids across the globe and learn about their lives. 

 

Packing toiletries for homeless

Volunteers put book plates into 1,500 of Reading Tree's books, as well as an additional 500 that were donated by volunteers.  These books are donated to Title 1 schools, local shelters, or are sold to support the literacy efforts of Reading Tree.  Volunteers also painted beautiful watercolor pictures and decorations that will be displayed in the pediatric ward at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital. Volunteers crocheted blankets for Project Linus, decorated cupcakes for Shepherd's Table, assembled 1,500 bag lunches for area shelters and soup kitchens with Whole Foods, 500 Meals on Wheels Snow Day boxes were assembled, 80 fleece blankets were constructed for Montgomery Hospice, hundreds of cards were made for seniors and troops, and so much more!

  

Making blankets for Project Linus

Thanks to all the hard work from volunteers like you, Montgomery County was able to touch the lives of so many and truly make this a day ON, not a day off.

 

For more photos and information about the day, click here to see our website.

Montgomery Hospice is a nonprofit hospice that has been serving residents of Montgomery County for over 30 years. Our team of doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses, spiritual counselors, social workers, certified nursing assistants, bereavement counselors and volunteers works with our patients and their families to provide quality end-of-life care in homes, extended care facilities and at Casey House, our acute care facility.

Montgomery Hospice also provides free grief support and education to anyone in the community.

With over 270 volunteers, Montgomery Hospice has one of the largest volunteer program in the county. Our patient care volunteers visit more than 150 Montgomery Hospice patients every week. Montgomery Hospice volunteers work along with our professional staff to support patients and families. They provide respite to caregivers, companionship to patients, and help with light chores and errands. Administrative volunteers support our staff at our Piccard Drive office or at Casey House.

Montgomery Hospice volunteers are required to go through an extensive three-day training that covers topics such as the Montgomery Hospice mission, the hospice team approach, confidentiality, communication, safety, spirituality and grief. They are trained to give lavender oil hand massages and to play the Reverie Harp for and with our patients. Volunteers are supported through ongoing educational programs and coaching circles.

The majority of volunteer requests are for visits during weekdays. Interested adults (minimum 18 years old) are asked to serve a minimum of 3 - 4 hours/week and make at least a one-year commitment. Bilingual volunteers are especially appreciated. View current volunteer opportunities here.

One-Time Volunteer Opportunities 

Check the February calendar for the latest opportunities.

Denotes opportunities that are approved to provide 

MCPS Student Service Learning (SSL) Hours.

February 4 - Help with Mattress Donation - Help A Wider Circle make sure everyone in the region has a bed to sleep on! We have a huge donation of mattresses coming in this Saturday and we are looking for a few strong people to help us load and unload them from the trucks. Volunteers are needed to load the mattresses from a DC Hotel in two shifts 8-11am and 11am-2pm and at A Wider Circle in Silver Spring, MD from 11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm. For more information or to sign-up, please contact Lucy at 301-608-3504 or lucy@awidercircle.org 

February 2, 9, 16, 23 - Volunteer Gardener Training - Have you always wanted to garden, but didn't know where to start? Are you an avid gardener, but would like to learn new skills and information on gardening? If you answered yes, then the Volunteer Gardener Training is what you are looking for! Come join the team of volunteer gardeners at the U.S. National Arboretum! The class is a four part series for current and new volunteers presented by the professional staff of the National Arboretum. Contact: Tanya Zastrow, 202-245-4563

February 4, 11, 18 - Game Assistant - Support Classics AAU Basketball during tournaments and league games running the clock or keeping the score book. Must be 15 years of age or older. Flexible time blocks of 2 or more hours available. Locations are at E Brooke Lee or Argyle Middle School gyms on Saturdays thru February 18th and then in April and May on two weekends on Saturdays and Sunday at Bullis School. Contact Andy Stadnick 301-706-6902 

Search for more volunteer opportunities here!

Selected Ongoing Opportunities     

 Stepping Stones Shelter is a homeless shelter for families with children. Volunteers needed to help with a variety of activities including sorting and putting away donations, cooking dinner for the residents, and providing childcare so that resident parents can attend workshops, search for housing and employment, or just take a short break. All of these activities are a wonderful way for community members to give back to the less fortunate, gain experience working with children or perfect their cooking skills! Please contact our Volunteer MD Coordinator, Liz Trabucco, at 301-251-0567 or etrabucco_sss@yahoo.com to sign up for an orientation. Visit the website www.steppingstonesshelter.org

Adventist Community Services of Greater Washington (ACSGW) gives hundreds of free computers to needy families each year. We receive donated computers, which must be cleaned and then reformatted. We are looking for 3-4 young people to help disassemble the computers, clean them, reassemble, and reformat the computers. An adult supervisor will provide direction and oversight. Participants who wish to be involved with these tasks, which are more technical, may have an opportunity to continue to volunteer. Contact Kevin Ferguson at 301-585-6556 for more information. Visit the website:  www.acsgw.org
 
Family Services' mission is to foster strong and healthy individuals and families through innovative education, behavioral health, child development, and social services that address the needs in the home, school and community. Family Services operates a 24hr emergency domestic violence shelter for women and their children. We are looking for translators who can speak Spanish, French, Amharic, Arabic, Russian, Vietnamese and Chinese (Mandarin). Volunteers will help case managers, counselors, and staff communicate with clients at the shelter. Contact Erica Seckler, Volunteer Coordinator at 301-840-3225. Visit the website:  
www.fs-inc.org  

The Senior Connection seeks a Friendly Visitor who can commit to spending 1-2 hours a week with a senior citizen who needs more interaction from the outside. Friendly visitors enjoy the company of their senior friends and visits may include mutually interesting conversation; letter writing, reading, game-playing, and musical pursuits. Some volunteers take their care receivers shopping or on other outings. Over the past decade many volunteers and care receivers have developed wonderful friendships. The person who serves as a friendly visitor should be interested in the welfare of older adults; have good listening and communication skills and be willing to make regular visits. Contact Wanda Campbell or Marcia Custer at 301-962-0820. Visit the website: www.seniorconnectionmc.org

For more opportunties click here.