Call to Action - June 16, 2023
Greetings, Prince William - School's out, but hunger doesn't take summer vacation! You can help the NVFS SERVE Hunger Resource Center by participating in their Online Food Drive which is live now through July 2. It's super easy for those who are interested in donating food but don't have the time to shop or even bring food by the SERVE campus. Simply click this link: https://yougivegoods.com/drive/view/27806 to make your food donation - Easy Peasy! Please email ncannon@nvfs.org for more information.
- If you're passionate about fighting hunger, the staff at Action in Community Through Service (ACTS) wants to meet you! They have a need for volunteers to help in their Hunger Prevention Center with food donations, assembling food packages and helping with client intakes. You'll feel great knowing you are helping our food insecure neighbors get the help they need to feed their families! Please email scouteau@actspwc.org for more information.
- BEACON is recruiting virtual volunteers age 18+ to teach Adult Conversation Classes for a three-week session which runs July 10-27. No second language or teaching experience is required; Zoom experience is a plus. Training is provided. Volunteers teach once or twice a week and must plan their own lesson, using materials provided by BEACON. Classes meet Mon/Wed, 9:30am-11am or Tue/Thu, 7pm-8:30pm. Volunteers must attend a volunteer information session, submit an application, and pass a background check. You'll feel fantastic as you help empower adults through literacy! Please visit https://bit.ly/3qwLANY for details, email Jmorazuniga@osbva.org to learn more.
- Dog Lovers! Guiding Eyes for the Blind needs volunteer Puppy Sitters (different from Puppy Raisers) to help provide short-term relief for Puppy Raisers once every month or two for 2-10 days, depending on the need. Volunteer sitters will welcome future guide dog pups-in-training into their homes and provide a safe environment when their raisers need a break or need to be away from home. The pup will come with the necessary supplies needed from the raiser. You'll feel great as you provide care, love, and training support for puppies being raised as future guide dogs! Please visit https://bit.ly/3C8jcUO for more information, email agoodwin@guidingeyes.org to learn more.
- The wonderful staff at Historic Manassas, Inc. (HMI) have a couple of exciting volunteer opportunities! They're looking for a "people person" Front Desk Volunteer age 21+ who can help at their Visitor Center on Thursday mornings. You'll have loads of fun interacting with visitors as you answer questions about Old Town Manassas and all the fun activities that take place! HMI is also in need of SNAP Volunteers age 18+ who can help with SNAP during the Thursday and Saturday morning Farmer's Markets, 9am-1pm. Duties include helping people sign in, handing out tokens to spend at the market, counting tokens and explaining how the tokens work to recipients. Training is provided. You'll feel wonderful knowing you're helping vulnerable families be able to afford healthy food! Please email kim@historicmanassasinc.org for more information about both opportunities.
- Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area needs volunteers age 18+ to assist as Translators for spoken/written languages of refugees and Asylum seekers. Volunteers must be fluent in one of the following languages: Ukrainian, Spanish, Pashto, Dari, Swahili and other languages as needed. This need can be done virtually or in-person depending on client needs. You'll feel wonderful as you help a refugee get resources and become active members of their new community! Please email hughesk@lssnca.org for more information.
- "Busy Bee" volunteers needed! The Manassas Bee Festival will be held June 24 at Liberia House, 8601 Portner Avenue, Manassas 20110, and volunteers of all ages are needed to make this a "honey" of an event! The day begins at 7:30am and wraps up by 3:30pm. Duties include help set up the evening before (June 23), help the day of the event (June 24) with assisting vendors, water for farm animals, assist and guide experts/music acts, direct parking, greet people, safely assist the beekeepers with supplies and help with any last minute set-up and other jobs as needed. Volunteers of all ages welcome, although volunteers age 15 and under should volunteer with an adult. Please visit manassasbeefestival.com and click on Contact to sign up. Questions? Please email ManassasBeeFestival@gmail.com.
- One Community Social Services is responsible for providing over 3,000 newly arrived Afghan refugees in Northern Virginia with basic necessities such as clothing, furniture, baby & childcare goods, toiletries, and other items. They have an ongoing need for Warehouse Volunteers to help maintain their warehouse in Woodbridge with duties such as organizing and restocking. Volunteers fluent in either Dari or Pashto are a big help, but it's not a requirement. All are welcome, and family-friendly! Please email Yasmeen at yasmeen@ocsocialservices.org for more information.
- Take a hike and help our parks! PWC Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism needs Trail Monitor Volunteers to walk a trial, or section of trail, on a weekly basis. During their walk volunteers will pick up litter and look for maintenance issues, such as damaged trees and hanging branches, standing water, trail washouts, etc. Trail Monitors will take pictures of identified issues and report their findings to the Maintenance and Operations Division. Your family can enjoy quality time together outdoors while helping keep the trails clean and safe for others! Please visit https://bit.ly/43wpE3X for more details, email ELoew@pwcgov.org for more information.
- St. Margaret of Cortona Transitional & Maternity Housing is seeking Childcare Volunteers on Wednesday nights, 6pm-7pm so the mothers can attend Life Skills classes. Just an hour of your time will go a long way in helping families grow in mind, body and spirit! They also need donations of household supplies and baby/toddler supplies for the families; every gift goes directly to mothers in need. For a list of most-needed items, please visit https://bit.ly/3qFxPfI. Please call 703.910.4845 or email smc@ccda.net for more information.
- St. Thomas UMC Food Pantry needs volunteers age 18+ to help with weekly pickups of donated food from area grocery stores. Donations are typically picked up between 8am-10am Monday-Saturday and delivered to the food pantry at St. Thomas UMC, 8899 Sudley Road, Manassas 20110. A larger vehicle/minivan is recommended due to the amounts of donated food. Volunteers should be prepared to lift boxes weighing approximately 40 pounds. You'll feel great as you help deliver food which will be given to food insecure families in our community! Please email rebecca.runkles@stthomasumc.org to learn how you can fight hunger.
If you are looking for other opportunities, please don't forget to call our wonderful team at Volunteer Prince William at 703.369.5292. You can also visit our website at www.volunteerprincewilliam.org. Thanks so much for all you do in our community.
