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Lending a helping hand: Seasonal volunteer opportunities abound in North Texas
Kelley Chambers, kchambers@starlocalnews.com
With charities and nonprofits dedicated to helping everyone from young athletes to the homeless, benevolence is a year-round trait of North Texas culture.
But sometimes, the desire to serve seems to tug at heartstrings a bit tighter during the holidays. For those who don't need bows or ribbons to give their biggest Christmas gifts, it can be a bit overwhelming trying to navigate the sea of volunteerism this time of year if they are not already affiliated with a particular group.
The Volunteer Center of North Texas is one such goodwill clearinghouse that recruits volunteers - including individuals, corporations and civic and faith-based groups - to serve at more than 2,500 nonprofits throughout North Texas. These nonprofits utilize VCNT as a sounding board for volunteer needs as they arise.
Volunteering saves nonprofits, corporations and municipalities millions of dollars each year, said Kathi Wenrich, spokeswoman for VCNT.
"We're the main hub; it's kind of like match.com," she said. "Volunteers can just go online or call us for assistance; the same thing goes for corporations. There are so many different things [available]."
To help connect volunteers to community needs, VCNT recently started its holiday volunteer initiative, which lists various seasonal projects in the North Texas region available for public involvement. The list is available on VCNT's website at volunteernorthtexas.org.
"We're really trying to make it simple for folks to know where there's need," Wenrich said. "We do research through our agencies and find one that meets their needs."
Mosaic, Inc. is one such agency that uses VCNT to get the word out about opportunities like its Holiday Helping Hands program, which allows individuals and businesses to bring Christmas cheer to those suffering from intellectual disabilities.
Based in Carrollton, Mosaic provides housing, employment and other life services to these individuals. During the holidays, the nonprofit looks to the public to help make the seasons bright - from hosting holiday parties at one of Mosaic's three area group homes to fulfilling individual wish lists.
"We do get busy around Christmastime," said Sarah Boyea, public relations specialist for Mosaic. "We use tons of volunteers and we always need volunteers. We're still looking for monetary [donations] or donated Christmas meals for people in our group homes. Most of the people we serve do not have any family involvement."
Like VCNT, Volunteer McKinney is a matchmaker between volunteers and approximately 55 local nonprofits. Their website - volunteermckinney.org - allows people to register as a volunteer and search opportunities by date. The website also provides links to the individual nonprofit for further research.
"Especially nonprofits who are tiny, they are the ones that really need us," said Dana Riley, executive director of Volunteer McKinney. "They don't have the money to do the outreach and pay for radio time and pay for ads to get volunteers. They're our quiet secret, but they're out there doing good work in our community."
In downtown McKinney, there's almost always something going on in support of a local agency, Riley said, the most recent example being the city's annual Dickens of A Christmas event on Friday. Events like these are a source of family-friendly, philanthropic fun, Riley said.
"Volunteer McKinney is all about inspiring people to volunteer no matter in what capacity," Riley said. "We have [a] really active, vibrant collection of people who care and our nonprofits and they really benefit from that. We just feel honored and humbled to be a part of what these nonprofits are doing."
The city of Plano's Volunteer Resource Group also works to help serve the needs of its local nonprofits, partnering with two to three throughout the year. As a city department, Volunteer Resource Supervisor Robin Popik said the group also helps match other city departments with volunteers based on their needs.
In addition to volunteer opportunities, the Volunteer Resource Group also helps the public find places where monetary and clothing donations are being accepted during the holiday season.
A list of organizations with seasonal volunteer opportunities in and around Plano can be found at volunteersinplano.org.
Volunteermatch.com is also a helpful resource and one that Popik says they use frequently in their line of work.
While Popik understood why Christmas seems to be a time when more people start looking for volunteer opportunities, she wants to remind people that charities depend on the kindness of strangers 365 days a year, and their needs are never in short supply.
"So many people are interested in giving this time of year and it's a great time to give back," she said. "But giving back all year round is the best way to do it."
'Tis the season
The following is a just a short list of the many giving opportunities in and around Collin County this holiday season.
* Assistance Center of Collin County - assistancecenter.org
What: Thanksgiving Program and Plano Santa Program
* Christmas Cops (Plano) - christmascops.com
What: Program operated by Plano police employees to assist local families in need.
* Hope's Door - hopesdoorinc.org
What: Toy drive benefitting families suffering from domestic violence
* Children's Advocacy Center of Collin County - cacplano.org
What: Holly Jolly Holiday Project and wish list
* CASA of Collin County - casaofcollincounty.org
What: Wish list for foster kids, visit website for details.
* Meals on Wheels - cccoaweb.org
What: Senior Angels Adoption
* Collin County Homeless Coalition - collincountyhomelesscoalition.com
What: Collecting items to give out during homeless count on Jan. 26.
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