Volunteer Ideas for the Holiday Season
Every year since I was a child, I have played guitar and sang Christmas carols in nursing homes. Everyone that comes with us says that this event is what gives them the holiday joy that carries them through the Christmas season.
“It is better to give than receive.”
Studies show that helping others has a positive effect on our health.
-Helping others feels good.
-Helping others makes you feel like you are part of a group
-Helping those less fortunate than you can make you more grateful for the blessings in your own life
Therefore, the more you help others, the more you are helping yourself!
Here are some ideas for doing good this Holiday Season
1 ________________________________
Volunteer at a Soup Kitchen
Volunteer at a food kitchen that feeds the poor in your local area. Or you can make or purchase food and donate it. Ask your local agency what they prefer.
A great food kitchen in NYC that feeds many less fortunate New Yorkers is the Meatloaf Kitchen in the Cardinal Spellman Center.
LINK to The Meatloaf Kitchen NYC to Volunteer
2 ________________________________
Adopt a Family
One of my favorite ways for a group to volunteer during the holidays is hosting a family to buy Christmas presents for. You can usually set this up through your local Salvation Army Angel Tree branch or a community center such as a Boys and Girls Club or a local shelter.
How it works: Each family makes a list of what they need. The lists are handed out to the people in the group to shop for the requests.
Our school does this with a local shelter. Each student is given a wish list for one person in the shelter: ie: “Jane age 7 would like a doll.”
3 ________________________________
Adopt A Soldier
The Adopt A Soldier program is a wonderful opportunity to teach your children about the sacrifices that military service members make for our country. You can sign up for a one-time commitment, and assemble a holiday care package to send.
4 _________________________________
USPS Operation Santa
Each year, thousands of letters to Santa from children arrive at the Post Office. Most letters ask for toys and games. Some ask for basic necessities. Some ask for help for themselves or loved ones.
USPS Operation Santa lets individuals and organizations adopt these letters and send responses and thoughtful gifts in Santa’s place.
5 _______________________________
Check out a Local Charity for Volunteer Opportunities
I have volunteered for a few events with Catholic Charities. They have lists of opportunities that you can sign up for on their website. My favorite is St Nick’s Shopping day. Volunteers meet at an assigned store and are given lists of items requested by poor families. Volunteers gather the items from the store into a cart and bring everything to the “checkout” area to be wrapped. It’s fun and helps others.
Link to Catholic Charities NYC Volunteering
LINK Boys and Girls Club They always need volunteers in many capacities to help out.
You can also volunteer at Ronald McDonald House which has houses all over the country. You can work in an office, volunteer to cook food for a family in need, or work directly with affected families. There are so many possibilities.
LINK Ronald McDonald House NYC
LINK Ronald McDonald House USA
6 ____________________________________
Donate to your Local Food Bank
Feed the Hungry!
Organize a food collection, then to make the experience more meaningful, when you drop off the donations, stay for a while and help pack boxes and sort food.
LINK Find a food bank near you!
7 ________________________________
Christmas Caroling!
Maybe you are in a church choir, a school music teacher or part of some other singing group. Call a local nursing home and ask if you can sing for an hour or two. Print up simple song sheets and basically organize a sing-a-long with the residents of the home. Don’t sing to them, rather, sing with them!
8 ________________________________
Have Children Organize a Toy, Food, or Clothes Collection
If you are a teacher or scout leader or just surrounded by a lot of children, then put the kids to work doing good deeds.
Teach children the importance of helping others.
“Studies have shown that kids who volunteer experience a positive effect on their grades, attitudes toward education, and self-esteem.”
-organize a food drive and donate to a local pantry or shelter
-organize a SOCK drive and donate to a shelter
-organize a toy drive
-call a local shelter and ask what they need
-have the kids make Christmas cards and send them to soldiers along with some simple necessities like chapstick, gum, toothpaste, soap, deodorant…
LINK to Operation Gratitude for Soldiers
9 ________________________________
Make Care Packages for the Homeless
If you want to get your friends and family involved in volunteering, do group activities such as making care packages for the homeless. There are many ways to do this, but just a ziplock bag of hygiene products, snacks, and some socks goes a long way. Create an assembly line with children helping, then travel around your town handing them out.
10 ________________________________
Random Acts of Kindness
Help anyway you can.
- If you have an elderly neighbor, shovel their driveway.
- Bring cookies and thank-you cards to firemen, police, school crossing guards or librarians.
- Make care kits for the homeless that include a bottle of water, a granola bar, socks.
11 ________________________________
Create your own way to help others
In our church, a few families volunteer to raise money to fill the altar of the church with poinsettias. It is beautiful and enjoyed by so many. What a creative way to bring joy to others!
