With Thanksgiving and the winter holidays quickly approaching, a network of partners throughout Montgomery County are now collecting holiday meals and gifts for more than 9,000 area families in need through the Holiday Giving Project. You can help with these efforts and make a family's holiday brighter by donating food, gift cards, goods, and funds to one of the participating agencies. 

To find their requests--and many more ways to help during this season--visit the Volunteer Center's online list of holiday opportunities. While the ever-popular opportunities to serve meals at shelters on Thanksgiving day fill up quickly (typically by organizations' regular volunteers), the list features a variety of ways to assist with holiday needs. In addition to providing donations, these include sorting and packing Thanksgiving meals, delivering toy donations, and helping families pick up gifts and food baskets. The list is updated daily, so check back frequently to find more.

If you aren't able to find a volunteer need that fits your schedule during this season, don't forget that organizations that serve the needy seek assistance all year--and especially after the holidays. One way to find them is to search the Volunteer Center's online list of organizations dedicated to basic needs/food/shelter.

Founded on the simple desire to do good in the world, So What Else is dedicated to serving our community in three ways: by providing after-school and summer educational and creative programs for underserved youth, by leading volunteer projects for other community organizations, and by mobilizing the youth in its programs to pay it forward through service. In other words, the organization helps the kids, helps the community, and helps the kids help the community. 

With this multi-pronged service mission, it should come as no surprise that So What Else coordinates a wide range of volunteer activities every month. One of its greatest ongoing volunteer needs is for dedicated and passionate high school, college, and adult volunteers to serve as mentors and program assistants at the organization's youth program center in Rockville, where So What Else provides free extracurricular enrichment activities and meals weekdays, 4-6:30 pm. Volunteers commit to helping at least one afternoon per week, mentoring individuals and groups, providing homework assistance, helping site directors present lesson plans, and contributing to the overall functions of the program.

Those who serve at the center often rave about the experience. As Leanna Taylor, a student volunteer, puts it, "I learned so much about how to be a positive influence in the community. It also helped reaffirm my plans for furthering my education in criminal justice and youth development. Watching the kid's faces light up as we came into the room showed me how important So What Else is. I felt honored to have worked with this organization!"

As part of the its dedication to inspiring youth to give back to the community, So What Else partners with other nonprofits to recruit volunteers and lead service projects at more than 70 events--totaling 1,500+ individual service hours--every year. Upcoming opportunities include assisting with the Girls on the Run 5K in Bethesda on Sunday, Nov. 18, serving alongside veterans to spruce up a DC neighborhood on Saturday, Nov. 10, and painting the community center used by residents of Rockville Housing Enterprises on Saturday, Nov. 17. These activities are open to any interested volunteers (though some have age restrictions), not just youth in the organization's after-school programs, and students can earn SSL hours. So What Else is also in need of on-call volunteers to help lead these types of projects.

For more information about any of these volunteer needs, email Talia Ramey or visit the So What Else website.

Want to provide an important service to our community during tax season? Consider volunteering to prepare taxes, schedule appointments, or greet clients through the RSVP/AARP Tax-Aide Program, which offers

• Wednesday, Nov. 14, 1 pm, at the White Oak Library (11701 New Hampshire Ave.)
• Friday, Nov. 16, 1 pm, at the Gaithersburg Library (18330 Montgomery Village Ave.) 

If you can't make one of these sessions, you can get more details about joining the Tax-Aide team by calling 240-777-2612 or visiting the Tax-Aide volunteer web page. 

Across the county, residents of all ages worked together to improve our community during last month's 32nd annual Montgomery County Community Service Week. Volunteers joined forces on dozens of service projects tackling a range of needs throughout the week; activities included collecting food for low-income residents, creating care packages for families impacted by domestic violence, and removing trash from parks and school grounds. 

Many similar service projects need volunteers throughout the year. Find them by searching for whatever interest area inspires you on the Volunteer Center's online list of opportunities. 

On Monday, Jan. 21, people across the United States will celebrate the life and teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through a day of service. In Montgomery County, the Volunteer Center will hold its annual large-scale service event--featuring a wide variety of family-friendly service projects, plus a volunteer fair--at the Bethesda North Marriott Conference Center. In addition, there will be multi-project service events at our long-standing partner sites in Silver Spring and Gaithersburg, plus additional service project locations now in development!

Watch this newsletter or visit our MLK Day of Service page for more details as they become available.

Make a Difference, a monthly County Cable Montgomery program, highlights the contributions of stellar county volunteers and organizations that contribute positively to our community. This month's program features representatives from the 50+ Volunteer Network (a program of the Volunteer Center) and the Bernie Scholarship Awards Program, which provides financial assistance for college and trade studies students living in subsidized rental housing (and is one of the nonprofit members of the 50+ Volunteer Network). Watch it online here.

You can also stay connected through these links: