With Thanksgiving and the winter holidays approaching, nonprofits and government agencies have begun recruiting volunteers to help with special holiday needs--everything from preparing festive meals for homeless individuals or donating money to buy turkeys for low-income families to helping with the Montgomery County Thanksgiving Parade or posing as Santa Claus! Click here to see the latest list of holiday volunteer opportunities and holiday donation requests. And be sure to check back frequently as additional opportunities and needs are posted regularly.

Volunteers are the life-blood of Community Food Rescue (CFR), a program of Manna Food Center that rescues perfectly good, unsold food from grocers, caterers, farms, restaurants, hospitals, and schools and redirects it to food assistance organizations such as soup kitchens, pantries, and houses of worship. In fact, the program literally wouldn't exist without its corps of volunteer food runners, who pick up and deliver all of these food donations, seeing the process through from start to finish. 

"It's so rewarding to know that food isn't being wasted and I get to see a slice of our community that most people don't know exists," explains Bill Franz, a volunteer since CFR's inception in 2015. "I get to pick up food from a farm, or store, or restaurant and see their operations. Then I visit a food assistance organization and see their good work, including providing this food to their clients."

Besides addressing hunger, the CFR program has an environmental impact, filling bellies instead of the landfill. In Montgomery County, 23 percent (146,000 tons annually) of all solid waste is food waste, and the CFR network aims to reduce that quantity while helping the 70,000 county residents who don't know where their next meal will come from. 

CFR uses web-based software and a mobile app to alert volunteers to food run requests that are within the travel distance they have set up. Food runners can then decide which food runs they wish to claim. They can also sign up to make regular weekly runs between the same donor and recipient.

To become a food runner, a volunteer must be at least age 18 and have a vehicle and a good driving record. To ensure that food is handled and transported safely, CFR provides prospective volunteers with food safety guidelines, and then requires them to take and pass an online multiple choice quiz. (Those who don't pass the first time are encouraged to review the information and take the test again.) 

Learn more about becoming a CFR volunteer food runner here.

Interested in providing an important service to your community during tax season? Consider volunteering to schedule appointments, prepare taxes, or greet clients through the RSVP/AARP Tax-Aide Program, which offers tax preparation for low-to-moderate income taxpayers (with special attention to those 60+). Training is provided.

Learn more about these volunteer opportunities at one of these upcoming information sessions (no registration required):

• Tuesday, Nov. 15, 1-3 pm, Chevy Chase Library (8005 Connecticut Ave.)
• Friday, Nov. 18, 10:30 am-12:30 pm, Mid County Community Recreation Center (2004 Queensguard Rd., Silver Spring)
• Thursday, Dec. 1, 2-4pm, Gaithersburg Library (18330 Montgomery Village Ave.)

For more information about joining the Tax-Aide Program team, call 240-777-2612 or visit the Tax-Aide web page. You can also get a more in-depth feel for the program by watching this episode of Make a Difference, highlighting the Tax-Aide Program.

The Montgomery County Council is seeking individuals who live or work in the county to serve on its grants advisory group, which reviews grant applications and advises the council on proposals from the nonprofit community.  Advisory group members serve in a volunteer capacity and may not be employees or members of a board of a nonprofit group applying for council grant funding.

To apply, send a letter of interest and resume before 4 pm on Wednesday, Nov. 9, to Council President Nancy Floreen, Montgomery County Council, 100 Maryland Ave., Rockville, MD 20850, or via email. 

Get more details online or call 240-777-7935.

In related volunteer opportunities, the county is also currently accepting applications for several boards, committees, and commissions that report to the county executive. Current openings exist on the Cable and Communications Advisory Committee, the Forest Conservation Advisory Committee, the Recreation and Parks Advisory Board, the Library Board, and Commission on Veterans Affairs. Learn more and/or apply online.

	Gaithersburg Middle School students spent their Saturday cleaning up school grounds.

Thousands of county residents rolled up their sleeves to help with a variety of projects at nonprofits, schools, and other organizations during Montgomery County's Community Service Week, which spanned Oct. 16-23 this year. Volunteers cleaned and painted facilities, prepared and collected food for the hungry, pulled weeds and built gardens, created welcome packages for refugees and foster children, and much more. Thank you to everyone who volunteered and to all of the organizations that hosted projects!

Check out the Community Service Week web page for a wrap-up of the week, including press coverage and a photo gallery highlighting the county's spirit of service in action. (If you have photos from the week, email us to add them to the gallery.)

Hospice Caring Inc. is offering a free three-day training session for those interested in volunteering as hospice caregivers and bereavement facilitators. The training will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, Nov. 15-17, 8:30 am-4 pm, in Gaithersburg, and will cover topics such as communication and active listening, understanding grief, cultural competency, and self-care.

Trained Hospice Caring volunteers provide companionship, home assistance, and transportation to patients in need, and also facilitate adult bereavement support groups, school-based children's Good Grief Clubs, and health classes.  See details on the organization's many volunteer opportunities here.

Learn more about the training here. To register, email Penny Gladhill or call 301-990-8904.

The VITA Partnership, part of the county's Department of Health & Human Services, engaged 122 volunteers who helped 2,543 households receive more than $4.9 million in tax refunds or credits last year. The program is now recruiting volunteers for the 2016 tax season to serve as tax preparers, greeters, interpreters, hunger resource navigators, schedulers, site coordinators, and quality reviewers. Call 240-777-1123, or visit the VITA website for more information.