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Volunteer For Different Causes
Dream big and make a difference with "A Million Dreams of Change!" This initiative provides a variety of volunteering activities for all ages, from planting trees to organizing community events. Everyone can get involved, as big dreams often begin with small acts of kindness. You can also earn SSL (Student Service Learning) hours through community clean-ups, tutoring, and supporting local shelters.
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Join us in turning dreams into reality by contributing your time and talents to create meaningful change in our communities and beyond!
“A Million Dreams of Change"
Baking and Cooking
Preparing meals for shelters, baking treats for fundraisers or shelters, cooking for community events, contributing to food banks
Casseroles for a Cause
Twice a year Silver Spring Cares organizes this cooking event. You make casserols at home for Shepherds Table and Interfaith Works Shelter. Here is the detailed information: https://silverspringcares.org/casseroles-for-a-cause-welcome-packet/ You can also bring food directly to the shelters during the year.
​https://mcch.net/ssl-hours/
https://steppingstonesshelter.org/how-you-can-help/make-a-meal/
Birthday Cake for Free
Birthday Cakes 4 Free Maryland bakes, decorates, and delivers free birthday cakes to financially and socially disadvantaged children and seniors. https://www.bc4f.org/
Cook for the Shelters of the MoCo Coalition of the Homeless
Get a group of neighbors or friends together and cook and serve a breakfast, lunch, or dinner for one of their shelters. https://mcch.net/donate-a-meal/
You can also join the Casserole Casserole Cooking Club for MCCH to cook with a local group once a month for the Nebel Street Emergency Men's Shelter. https://www.facebook.com/groups/862162769239223
Lasagne Love
Lasagna Love connects volunteers with families in need by matching them locally, allowing volunteers to cook and deliver homemade lasagnas directly to those seeking support. https://lasagnalove.org
So Other Might Eat (SOME)
SOME is based in Washington, D.C., and provides meals, medical care, housing, and social services to homeless and low-income individuals. Baked goods, meat-and-cheese sandwiches, and peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches can be dropped off daily.
Rainbow Place Shelter
Prepare delicious and nutritious meals, casseroles, desserts, for 15-17 people.
Prepared food can be delivered frozen anytime or fresh as scheduled with Volunteer Coordinator
Crafting and Making
Making blankets or quilts for shelters, sewing or knitting for hospitals or the homeless, creating handmade cards for veterans or nursing homes, kindness Stones, making hygiene kits
Holiday Shoebox Gift Drive for SOME
Make different kits for people in need
Each year, SOME invites the community to create beautifully wrapped holiday shoeboxes brimming with gifts of essential items for those they serve. Gifts will be given out over the holidays.
https://some.org/get-involved/volunteer/holiday-volunteering/holiday-giving/
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Kitification is a fun, easy and flexible way to make a real impact on a someone’s dignity such as creating hygiene kits, cancer care kits for the hospital, or.... You can keep them in the car and give them out or donate them to charities which give them out like:
Painting Kindness Rocks
These are simple rocks, but each carries a powerful message. They are fun and easily decorated with acrylic paints. These are intended to be abandoned as a Random Acts of Kindness (instruction sheet coming soon) to brighten a stranger’s day, but you can also make them for your family and friends!
Writing Cards
A thoughtful activity to show a stranger that you are rooting for them with letters and cards:
https://kitstoheart.org/pages/letters
https://www.moreloveletters.com/
The Angel Card Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theangelcardproject
The World Needs More Love Letters :: Community Writers
Making Crafts
Craft for Charity, make fleece scarves, pinatas, monster stuffies, crochet animals, no-sew blankets, heart pillows.
https://smallthingsmatter.org/crafting/
https://kitstoheart.org/pages/volunteers
Eliana's Light
Support Eliana’s Light: Bring Joy to Children in Medical Care
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Create Comfort Kits for Kids – Assemble and decorate care bags for children (birth to 10 years) and caregivers at Children's National Hospital.
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Decorate for the Holidays – Volunteer at Kennedy Krieger Institute to bring festive cheer to children staying in the hospital.
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“Spreading Kindness” service program includes connecting those with unused medical supplies to those who need them.
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Organize a Book or Toy Drive – Host a collection event to provide books and toys for families with children facing complex medical conditions.https://www.elianaslight.org/
Donations Sorting
Sorting and organizing donated items (clothes, food, etc.), organizing inventory in warehouses, packaging and preparing items for distribution, stocking shelves for charity shops/food banks
Community Outeach
Visiting nursing homes or hospitals, organize community drives (clothing, food, toys), organizing or participating in neighborhood events, helping at soup kitchens​
Volunteer at Comfort Cases
Comfort Cases are backpacks filled with comfort and personal care items for youth entering the foster care system. Typically, children are given a trash bag to pack up their belongings when they are removed from their homes. Comfort Cases is working to end this practice while providing the essentials for a child’s first few days in foster care. Volunteers help with processing donations, counting inventory, assembling Comfort Cases, and other miscellaneous tasks. https://comfortcases.org/volunteer/
Period Product Bundler
1 in 4 teens in the U.S. has missed class due to lack of access to period supplies. Makeshift alternatives – like toilet paper or simply using the same tampon long past it is safe – put those experiencing period poverty at greater risk for health problems. Greater DC Diaper Bank provides period products to families in need. They receive donations from the community of loose period products which need to be be bundled by volunteers into kits. Join can pick up the product at the warehouse and make kits at home. https://greaterdcdiaperbank.org/the-monthly/
Volunteer at Wider Circle
Wider Circle provides basic needs items for the home to people seeking to rise out of poverty. Volunteers help to sort donations (household furniture, linens, kitchen items, toys, and professional clothing and accessories), and stock the showrooms where clients select their items. A shift is 3 hours.
Help pack boxes of nonperishable items for Food for Families program. https://www.mannafood.org/
Pack Food Boxes for Manna Food
Organize a Food Drive
Organize a Supply Drive
Choose a charity or food bank and organize a traditional food drive or a virtual food drive with You Give Goods. https://yougivegoods.com/
Recommended charities:
https://www.mannafood.org/host-a-food-drive/
https://www.capitalareafoodbank.org/how-to-help/donate-food/
https://www.feedingamerica.org/ways-to-give/food-drives
Choose a charity organize a supply drive.
https://comfortcases.org/donation-drives/
https://isupportthegirls.org/get-involved/host-collection/
https://www.iworksmc.org/in-kind-donations-and-program-needs
https://smallthingsmatter.org/books/
https://steppingstonesshelter.org/how-you-can-help/ssl-hours/
https://www.iworksmc.org/in-kind-donations-and-program-needs
30x30 Move-In Kit Initiative for the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless (MCCH): https://mcch.net/30x30/
Help in a Soup Kitchen
Organize a Sleep-Out for Covenant House
Set up dining room, help with food prep, serve meal, wash dishes and help clean the kitchen and dining room area after the meal.
https://www.shepherdstable.org/volunteer-opportunities/
Volunteer at a Food Distribution Site
Host a Fun Night for Kids at the Shelter
Host a “Fun Night” with the children at Stepping Stones Shelter on a Wednesday, 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
https://steppingstonesshelter.org/how-you-can-help/ssl-hours/
Host an Event for I Support the Girls
This is your chance to really get punny if you choose. Bra-B-Q, Mardi Bras, Galentine’s Day, Paddy Wagon, Tampon Tuesday, Tits Up Together, Breast Friends Forever… Or to keep it super simple and straightforward.
Call it what you want. Raise money or collect products. Or both!
https://isupportthegirls.org/get-involved/host-event/
Put on a Bake Sale
You can hold a bake sale at your school, church, team event, etc. to help raise money for your favorite charity.
https://www.luckydoganimalrescue.org/get-involved
https://www.homewardtrails.org/get-involved/
Animal Welfare
Volunteering at animal shelters, fostering pets, helping with adoption events, DIY toys or care items for animal shelters
Help at Animal Adoption Event
Help to handle and be an advocate for a dogs while they meet prospective adopters at an adoption event. Help assisting in various areas including: foster check in and check out, the adoption table, and the puppy area!
​https://www.luckydoganimalrescue.org/get-involved​
​https://www.lostdogrescue.org/volunteer/volunteer-dogs/dog-handler-at-adoption-events/
Making Dog Toys
Make dog toys or snuffle matts and donate them to a shelter.
ttps://www.luckydoganimalrescue.org/get-involved
https://www.lostdogrescue.org/volunteer/kids-teens/
https://www.mdspca.org/volunteer/youth-volunteer-opportunities/
Bake Dog Treats for the Shelter
Make treats and deliver them to one of the adoption events or to the shelter.
https://www.luckydoganimalrescue.org/get-involved
https://www.mdspca.org/volunteer/youth-volunteer-opportunities/
Organize a Supply Drive for Dogs and Cats
Choose an animal shelter and organize a dog or cat supply or food drive.​
https://www.mchumane.org/wish-list
Canine Care Volunteer
Canine care volunteers assist with day-to-day tasks in the training center. Volunteers wash bowls, fill Kongs, and fill water buckets, volunteers walk, bathe and do enrichment activities with the dogs. Volunteers must be at least 16 years of age or 11 years of age (6th grade) and accompanied by an adult.
https://warriorcanineconnection.org/get-involved/individual-volunteer-opportunities/
Dogventure
Take a dog out of the Rescue Care Center for a few hours, all day, or even for a sleepover. This helps dogs stay happy, healthy and ready for adoption. ​
https://www.lostdogrescue.org/volunteer/volunteer-dogs/dogventures/