Needs From: United Way of Greater Charlottesville

Make a Difference in Your Community—Right from Home!

Are you passionate about your local community and want to help others discover how to give back? We're looking for seeking enthusiastic volunteers to help us update and enrich local pages on Ways to Connect, our national directory of volunteer sites.

Ways to Connect is a crowdsourced platform designed to boost traffic and engagement to local volunteer websites—like this one! With just a bit of online research and your enthusiasm, you can help neighbors easily find volunteer opportunity platforms, service clubs, mutual aid groups, and more—making it simpler than ever for everyone to make an impact locally.

What You'll Do:

Conduct quick, simple online research to identify active service clubs, mutual aid groups, and upcoming volunteer events in your community.

Enhance your community's page on Ways to Connect by ensuring the information is current, accurate, and inviting for potential volunteers.

Optional: Promote your community’s page on social media to help friends and family find a path to service.

Why Volunteer with Inspiring Service?

Easy and flexible: Volunteer remotely at your convenience.

Immediate community impact: Help your neighbors discover meaningful ways to contribute.

Small commitment: Volunteer for as little as 2 hours, or as much as you'd like.

Growth opportunities: Volunteers can explore deeper involvement through our Ambassador program.

Ready to help your community thrive? Join us today and make volunteering more accessible for everyone.

JABA is seeking donations for the Respite and Enrichment and Community Senior Centers!

These donations will be used to support older adults seeking social, emotional, and physical support and engagement at JABA Centers.

Please, NEW ITEMS ONLY.  Please do not include food, medications, used items, or puzzles with more than 300 pieces. We do not need yarn, costume jewelry, or greeting cards/stationery at this time.  Thank you. 

Donations Needed for Community Centers: Items in most need are in bold

Community Center Members so appreciate small gifts that are used for holiday gifts, birthday gifts, BINGO prizes, and fill individuals' needs.

Drop off at 674 Hillsdale, Dr, Suite 9 Charlottesville, VA 22901

You can also purchase items online and ship them to:

Thank you for supporting our community of older adults in this way!

Contact tcooper@jabacares.org if you would like to confirm that a certain item is still needed or to ask questions.

SNAP Benefits Education & Outreach Volunteer (Locations across Blue Ridge Area Region and Virtual)

You will help inform and connect guests to government assistance for food, so they can benefit from improved access, quantity, convenience, and choice of food. Training will be provided.

This role requires a commitment of at least 3-5 hours per week. Work schedule flexibility is available; location assignments are based on volunteer availability and willingness to travel locally. Work can be completed virtually from home.

Learn more about this opportunity on our website: Specialized Volunteer Opportunities - The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.

Are you caring, patient and have a heart for older adults? JABA needs volunteers to make monthly phone calls to our Home Delivered Meals clients. Volunteers will call the same people each month, confirming delivery and gathering information for the program. This can be done remotely or at one of our Community Centers and requires a few hours each month.

Calls are made with a user-friendly application that simplifies record-keeping and masks the volunteer's personal information. We provide training and support. Some clients welcome the opportunity to have longer phone conversations with the callers, providing critical socialization support.

Home Delivered Meals are provided to seniors who are unable to shop and/or prepare their own food. Complete nutritious meals are delivered regularly to their homes and can be easily heated. Most clients are able to choose their meals from a varied menu. 

We ask volunteers to commit to at least six months of service. 

Apply at www.jabacares.org/become-a-volunteer 

Host a Food Drive for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank!

The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank receives nourishing food from more than 1,100 food drives each year. Hosting a food drive is a fun and engaging way to fill the shelves with nutritious food to distribute to families experiencing hunger. Food drives are also a way to educate the public about the need in our community. We’re proud to partner with you and thank you. Questions or concerns? Please contact us at fooddrives@brafb.org.

Register your food drive at: Organize a Food or Fund Drive - The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank

On-Going House Needs:

If Online shopping is your thing, click here to send items directly to the House from Amazon:  Amazon Wish List

A Welcome Bag is given to each family that comes into the House. Collect items, provide totes, assemble them in attractive ways, or just bring them as they are for us to add to the bags. We stock them with essential items – a blanket for the hospitalized child, a stuffed animal, nail grooming or other grooming kits for parents, mints, coloring books and crayons or colored pencils, paper and pens for note taking, chapstick, etc. This helps us provide the extras that welcome a baby, pamper a mom, or take a little stress off a dad. Pacifiers, rattles, bibs, medicated creams, soft outfits, diapers and the like will bring comfort to a newborn and help mom.  Rich lotions, lip balm, sunblock, sanitary items, nail grooming kits, slippers, socks or flip flops, a new brush or comb will give mom a lift. A harried dad can use razor blades, socks, some energy bars, the distraction of a book of crossword or Sudoku puzzles. And siblings can be placated with puzzles, craft items, small toys and action figures, a deck of cards, healthy snacks and books — no gum, play dough or nail polish, please!

In our Adopt the House Program, an individual, group, family or business commits to providing essentials for the House for one week -- perishable items like fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, milk and bread; cleaning supplies to keep the House bright, cheery and healthy; or basic toiletries, like soap, shampoo, toothbrushes and toothpaste for families that need them. Sometimes people that adopt the House choose to purchase needed items themselves and sometimes they donate gift cards or cash for staff members to purchase the needed items.

Needs vary from week to week. One week we may need an extra gallon of milk. Another week, it might be supplies for dinner on a night we don’t have a meal scheduled. It all depends on the needs of the House and the number of families in the House at the time.

Every donation, large or small, helps families who are far from home and dealing with a sick or injured child.

Neighborhoods, work groups and families can join together for a good cause. This can be a one-time or recurring opportunity.

We are an all-volunteer organization.  We need someone to help us to rebuild/update our existing website in WordPress and also provide some instruction so we can maintain it ourselves in the future.  Our website can be found at:  www.louisacart.org 

Contact Mary Johnson by email at mjohnson@louisacart.org for more information.

Network2Work@PVCC is looking for people who are: 

- Passionate about helping people realize their potential.

- Believe in the power of positive relationships, &;

- Want to establish a meaningful relationship with a Job-seeker who is working on accessing a family sustaining wage job. 

Does this sound like you? Then you should sign up to become a volunteer Navigator with us!

If you would like to learn more about becoming a Navigator and what it means to be one, contact us at  Network2Work@PVCC:  network2work@pvcc.edu

We looking forward to getting you connected to the Network!

Our Virtual Impact Program connects volunteers from across the globe with students throughout Latin America, who attend our after-school Virtual English Academy on a full scholarship. Together, volunteers and students bridge cultures digitally and inspire and empower each other to reach their potential.

while making a lifetime impact on young students throughout Latin America. You’ll provide students with quality English instruction and inspire them to create opportunities for their futures. Join us and make learning fun!

Can you support the Families in Crisis Program such as by gathering NEW school supplies, NEW large college backpacks, NEW sneakers (men/women), toiletries (men/women) and FOOD CARDS for our local grocery stores. This is an ongoing project that takes a large impact to support our families each year. If there is a community partner to donate or assist with the above needs for our FAMILIES IN CRISIS

Contact Tireese Lewis or Melvin Bradley. Thank you!

tlewis2@k12albemarle.org

434-977-5615

TUTORS AND MENTORS are needed during the COVID19 crisis to help students with online learning and to keep them motivated.  A four-month lapse in learning  could prove to be an enormous academic setback for many children. Your willingness to engage regularly online with a student will make a huge difference during this challenging time. 

To learn more about the City of Promise visit: https://www.cityofpromise.org/copy-of-staff 

To fill out a volunteer interest form visit: https://www.cityofpromise.org/volunteer

Volunteers needed to perform data entry for The Activists’ Guide, the on-line directory of activists events and organizations for the Charlottesville/Ablemarle area. All work remote. Devise your own schedule.

Volunteers should be dedicated to activism and align with organization beliefs. View website here: https://www.activistsguide.org/ .