By Jessica Padykula
Toronto Expert, about.com
[post_ads_2]If you’re looking to give back this holiday season, there are many ways to share your time, knowledge or skills with those who need it. From serving holiday meals to prepping for those meals, there are lots of chances to get involved with a charitable cause over Christmas and beyond. Here are six chances to help out over the holidays.
Be a bell ringer
The Salvation Army is always looking for bell ringers
during the holidays. They’re a fixture during the holiday season and
it’s hard to miss them as you do your Christmas shopping. Bell ringers
stand by Salvation Army kettles ringing a bell and taking donations from
passerby. They’re usually located in malls and outside retail stores
from about mid-November through to Christmas Eve. Ideally, bell ringers
should be able to commit to eight to 10 hours throughout the season.
Sort food at the Daily Bread Food Bank[post_ads_2]
There
are always opportunities to help out a the Daily Bread Food Bank but
when it comes to holiday volunteering they will soon be looking for
people to take part in the holiday drive public food sort.
Each year during the holidays volunteers are
needed to sort through thousands of pounds of donated food. There are
three public sorts happening: December 24, 28 and 28 and if you’re
interested, online registration starts on December 15.
Volunteer for Christmas Day lunch
Each year there are numerous opportunities to help out with the annual Christmas lunch
at St. Paul’s. The initiative, happening since 1967, is in place so
that people who have no one to be with on Christmas day get a good meal.
The meal itself is prepared at the Metropolitan Hotel and then
transported to St. Paul’s where it will be served to 150 people.
Volunteers are needed for various roles including assembling gift bags,
transporting food from the Metropolitan to St. Paul’s, plating food,
serving food, distributing gift bags, clean up and delivering leftovers
to shelters.
Christmas volunteering with the Yonge Street Mission
There are numerous ways to help out at the Yonge Street Mission
during the holiday season, from baking to decorating to kitchen help
for holiday meals. Keep in mind there is a wait list for most volunteer
positions but you can apply for several depending on where your
interests lie for a better chance at getting involved.
Help out at Wychwood Open Door[post_ads_2]
Wychwood Open Door
works hard to provide meals and other services to homeless and socially
isolated individuals in the St. Clair West area. The charity is very
busy around holiday time but they need volunteers to work in the kitchen
and offer time in other areas year-round. Whether you want to volunteer
for a few hours during the holidays or throughout the year, there are
likely to be chances to do so.
Holiday food drive volunteers
The Agincourt Community Services Association (ACSA) is looking for volunteers
for their annual holiday food drive in the form of drivers and food
sorters. Drivers are needed to pick up food donations from various
schools and businesses, load the donations and unload back at Agincourt
Collegiate Institute (ACI). Sorters are needed to help unload food at
ACI as well as inspect the food to ensure it’s not expired or damaged,
sort the food and shelve it. There are also other opportunities to volunteer with ACSA throughout the year.
