on Holiday Volunteering.

Once again we find ourselves immersed in the holiday season. You can’t hide from it (although apparently you can declare war on it - a phenomenon that baffles us and is best saved for more ‘political’ blogs).

In the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day it is almost commonplace to see average citizens going out of their way to help others: heeding the call of the Salvation Army bell-ringers, shoveling a neighbor’s driveway (ok – we haven’t seen that this year, but our fingers are crossed), or just saying a few kind, friendly words to the stranger in line with you at the grocery store.

It’s true: the holiday season (regardless of which Holy Day you observe) brings out the best in us. We at Hands On Twin Cities know this because of the absolute flood of phone calls and emails we receive every day from people who want to know how they can help others during this extra-caring time of year. And we are totally thrilled. With so many volunteers willing to lend their time and energy, our communities’ ills must be all but gone! Right?

Not quite. The Holiday Spirit produces Holiday Volunteerism - the desire to give back to the community by volunteering on a holiday. Thanks to Holiday Volunteerism, nearly every organized volunteer activity (soup kitchen meals, toy drives, clothing drives, etc.) is full on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. And this is great, make no mistake. In fact, we find that volunteer opportunities on the holidays are typically filled weeks in advance.

The problem is the huge number of potential volunteers who get discouraged when they hear that there really is nothing left to do on Thanksgiving Day. They have opened their hearts to the spirit of volunteerism, and now they feel unwanted. Many end up not volunteering at all during the holiday season, or even during the rest of the year. And this makes us sad. It is great to volunteer on the holidays, but it is just as great to volunteer any time! The people and organizations that need help on Thanksgiving and Christmas need help the rest of the year, too. And the Holiday Volunteer Rush tells us that there are enough caring, willing volunteers out there to meet those needs – they’re just not thinking about it for most of the year.

Our suggestion: if you have been unable to find the kind of holiday volunteer opportunity you’d really like to participate in, don’t fret! Instead, spend an hour or two and look for volunteer opportunities in January or February (or any of those other months). Making the resolution during the holidays to volunteer afterwards is still Holiday Volunteering, as far as we’re concerned.
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- Still looking for a holiday opportunity? There are some left! Check out our Holiday Volunteering Page.

- To search for volunteer opportunities all year long, check out our Volunteer Opportunity Database.

- To meet personally with representatives from over 100 local non-profits who need volunteers, come to Volunteer Expo on Saturday, February 10th at Mall of America.