Holiday Volunteer Opportunities: BC

Winter can be a bleak time of the year, so this holiday season, why not volunteer and brighten up someone else’s day as well as your own? Volunteering is also a good way to meet people and gain experience, and who knows? You might even land a job when all is said and done. But most importantly, you’ll be making a difference in your community. Here are some volunteer opportunities worth looking into.

The Food Bank:
There are many families that cannot afford basic needs, let alone a nice meal, which makes local food banks so important. Around the holiday season, the donations double and the Food Bank needs more volunteers! So grab some friends and together you can help the less fortunate.
www.foodbank.bc.ca

The Salvation Army:
We’ve all seen the people in Santa hats, ringing bells for donations – but that’s not the only way to help out the Salvation Army. There are opportunities to sort clothes and toys that have been donated, or you could even utilize your wrapping skills by putting together food hampers. Volunteers are always needed and appreciated.
www.salvationarmy.ca/volunteer

Union Gospel Mission:
The Union Gospel Mission is always looking for volunteers to work in their soup kitchens and serve hot meals to the homeless or to help collect clothing.
www.ugm.ca, click “take action” to find out more

The Vancouver Aquarium:
The Aquarium is a fun place to volunteer. With a new wave of volunteer recruitment starting in December, now’s the time to get those resumés ready. Apply if you like kids and animals as you will be interacting with both.
www.vanaqua.org, scroll down until you see “become a volunteer”

Operation Christmas Child (Samaritan’s Purse):
Samaritan’s Purse is an international relief organization and one of its programs that has been around since 1993 is Operation Christmas Child (OCC). This particular program fills shoeboxes with toys, school supplies and hygienic items for impoverished children living overseas. This year, OCC needs even more shoeboxes, as not only are they sending shoeboxes to their usual locations all around the world, but they also want to send a record amount to Haiti for the children devastated by the earthquake.
www.samaritanspurse.ca, click on “Operation Christmas Child”