As the holiday season approaches, it can be the perfect time to help bring joy to less fortunate members of the community. There are plenty of ways to help others during the holidays, but a lot of times people just don’t know how. The good news is there are tons of different ways to help out your community during the holiday season. Some require a large time commitment, and some are incredibly easy, but all of them are very rewarding.
One great way to get involved this holiday season is by helping out at a Holiday Project visit. The Holiday Project arranges visits to people in nursing homes, hospitals, and other residential institutions. Their goal is to try and bring holiday spirit to those who might not get a celebration. Anyone can join a Holiday Project visit by going on theholidayproject.info, and emailing the Visit Team Leader for the visit they want to attend. There are many visits happening in the DC area, and there are two visits happening in Arlington. One visit is to Cherrydale Health & Rehab center, and the other at Regency Healthcare of Arlington, both on December 25. There are plenty more Holiday Project visits that can be found on their website. Visits are usually two hours, and they can provide lasting memories for all that are involved.
Another way to get involved is through the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program. Sponsors go out and buy Christmas presents for less fortunate children, and then deliver the presents to the Salvation Army’s warehouse. The deadline for being an Angel Tree Sponsor has already passed, but they still need people to help distribute the Angel Tree gifts. From December 15 through 22, registered families will come to the Salvation Army’s warehouse to pick up presents for their child or children. Volunteers are needed to retrieve the labeled gifts from the warehouse and hand them to the families. Registration is available on http://salvationarmynca.org/volunteer/dc/.
There are several volunteer opportunities that have already passed for this holiday season, but will be available next year. Registration for the Angel Tree program opens online in the summer of 2017. Angel Tree sponsors receive the first name, gender, ID number and clothing size of their sponsored child as well as three gift ideas. Once the gifts are purchased, sponsors are provided with packaging materials for the gifts. After they label the gifts with the child’s ID number, the sponsors bring them to the Salvation Army’s warehouse. Becoming an Angel Tree Sponsor is a very easy and fulfilling experience.
Toys for Tots is another great volunteer opportunity that will be available next year. Toys for Tots collects new and unwrapped gifts for less fortunate children during the holiday season. They will collect gifts from October to December of 2017. The Toys for Tots drop-off location for Arlington is located in Fredericksburg. More information about additional drop-off locations and the program can be found on their website www.toysfortots.org.
The holiday season can present challenges for families that are struggling financially. It can also be a hard time for people who may not get a holiday celebration. These are just some of the many volunteer opportunities that anyone can get involved in. A lot of times, it takes very little effort to give someone else a holiday they will remember forever.
