Volunteering and Holiday Giving

This morning on The River, Maribeth Groen, (Marketing and Events Coordinator for United Way) and Kurt Reppart (Executive Director of The Other Way Ministries) stopped by to talk about volunteering and holiday giving.

During the holiday season many individuals and families are looking at ways to give back to the community. They look for ways to volunteer or make a contribution to a non-profit in town. The Volunteer Center can help match up individuals or groups with a volunteer opportunity. Volunteer opportunities can be found at hwmuw.org (and click on the ‘Tis the Season banner)

Some examples of opportunities include bell ringing for Salvation Army,  being Santa’s helper at Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services, or helping the Civic Theater or Symphony with their holiday shows.

Some of the food pantries and community centers have Christmas stores in which parents earn credit to purchase gifts for their children by volunteering at the center or at their child’s school. This way, parents have a sense of pride on Christmas morning, knowing they earned the gifts for their children. The Other Way Ministries is a great example and they need both financial support and volunteer support.

Volunteering is a great way to teach kids that Christmas is about giving and not receiving. Find ways to get your children involved. If they are old enough to volunteer, sign up to help out a toy distribution event like the Salvation Army Tree or Santa Claus girls. If you have younger children take them to the store and let them pick out a toy to donate or have them make cards for a senior home or the Vets home.

Some families are trying to simplify their family holiday celebrations and rather than drawing names, coming up with gift ideas, returning items that may not fit, etc. they are either adopting a family or finding ways to help out.

The Holiday Giving Guide can be found on United Way’s website.

The Other Way Ministries

The Other Way Ministries is a Christian community development organization in Westown. Programs include community building, youth ministries, Proud Father, and much more. For 25 years, The Other Way Ministries has hosted the Christmas Store, a neighborhood-wide program committed to giving low-income parents the Gift of Dignity at Christmas time. By volunteering at their child’s school or at The Other Way, parents earn credits that can be used to purchase new gifts for the children. These gifts are generously donated by the community. If you would like to donate a gift, visit their website at www.theotherway.org/christmasstore.