Volunteering this holiday? Help from Home.
During the holidays, St. Vincent de Paul counts on having thousands of volunteers to help feed, clothe, house and heal. This season, the nonprofit hopes for the same enthusiastic levels of volunteerism though it's asking those holiday volunteers to Help from Home.
With the continued presence of the COVID-19 virus and community spread, SVdP is offering the majority of holiday volunteering opportunities through its Help from Home program, which gives volunteers multiple options for remote projects they can complete from the comfort and safety of their home.
"It's so important for us to not only continue serving those in need, but to also continue building connection and community no matter how far apart we are," SVdP Community Engagement Officer Shawn Donnelly said. "This year we've seen what a huge success volunteering remotely can be for our mission and our volunteers, so we are beyond ready and so excited to see all those connections and projects that come from the Help from Home program this holiday season."
Some of those projects include running virtual drives, writing letters to shelter residents, and making masks or homemade hand sanitizer. There will even be themed volunteer projects for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
A shift to remote volunteering is not entirely new for SVdP. The Help from Home program first came about in the spring as the nonprofit responded to the pandemic. The Help from Home program quickly grew and opened up unexpected opportunities, such as engaging volunteers across the country. Very recently SVdP received finished service projects from volunteers in Minnesota, Maryland, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
For those missing the in-person experience, SVdP will still have a limited number of socially distanced volunteer opportunities on site, but it will not host any large volunteer groups this season.
Ready to help from home? Sign up online now to get started with a Holiday Guide, which includes information on projects, delivery instructions and how to receive credit for service hours.
Have a question? Contact us at 602-261-6886 or HelpFromHome@svdpaz.org.
