November through December is all about the time of family and gratitude.
But what about the people who don’t have anyone to celebrate these upcoming months?
Here are five volunteering opportunities that you can sign up for to make your community a better place.
Graffiti Cleanup
When you look around outside at your surroundings, what do you see? You might be thinking of trees or cars, possibly even graffiti.
Graffiti is taking over our city by a storm and the city of San Antonio needs your help.
For this volunteer opportunity specifically, there are group wipeouts and individual work. For the group wipeouts, you will be assigned into groups of 10 with paint, supplies and also a location, where you will be scheduled for one to two hours of clean up.
For the individual work, you pick up your supply kit, which is free and comes with wipes and an optional safety vest and goggles, and you choose your own location to work at. You can call Lisa McKenzie at 210-207-5430 for further information.
Senior Centers
There are many different kinds of senior centers where you can volunteer, which includes comprehensive senior centers, city part-time senior centers, and senior nutrition program centers.
What you are interested in doing determines the volunteer opportunity you can pick from and it’s especially important you pick the right one for you.
According to SA.org, a first option is the comprehensive senior centers which are open Monday through Thursday, seven AM to eight PM, and seven AM to four PM on Fridays. When volunteering at these centers, you will receive a mid-day meal daily. This center is run by City of San Antonio employees and a nearby location is the Converse Senior center.
Next are the city part-time senior centers. Unlike comprehensive senior centers, this one is open Monday through Friday for only four hours a day, however, a daily meal served is still included. Similar to the first option, it is run by City of San Antonio employees as well.
Lastly, there are senior nutrition program centers, which are open four to eight hours a day Monday through Friday, with a daily meal provided as well. They do this because their main goal is to offer a healthy meal that meets nutrition to support a good social setting. This center is different in which it is operated by communities and partnership organizations.
All three centers have wellness activity programs which include arts and crafts, basic health screening, exercise classes, field trips, library, recreation and dance and many more fun things to assist with.
If you also happen to not have a ride and live within a five mile radius, you can make a transportation reservation one week in advance. If you are interested in finding a senior center near you, you can follow this link Link To Locations Of Senior Centers or call (210)207-7172.
Winterfest
On Saturday December 2, 2023 Winterfest is being held at North Central Baptist hospital.
You might be wondering what this opportunity entails. The job includes ensuring children have the best time, while supervising and keeping them safe throughout the event. You will also receive an Event t-shirt, plus access to the event for free. It is recommended that you sign up quickly due to them running out of space and shirt sizes.
The first role you can sign up for is the snow slide, which has many different positions in the role itself. The first role would be positioned at the top of the slide to help kids slide down, or at the bottom of the slide, keeping the sleds in place and the kids safe. Lastly you can run sleds back up to the top of the stairs, making sure each child is ready to go.
You can also be a general helper, who assists as needed or a runner.
Another option is the obstacle course position, where you’d be helping kids off the course, while keeping them safe and making sure they leave with their shoes. There is also a snow play area where you’d have to keep the area raked, and make sure the kids are safe while making turns on their sleds. If you are interested in this holiday volunteer opportunity, here is the link to sign up Winterfest Volunteer Sign Up
Elf Louise Christmas Project
Elf Louise is an amazing opportunity to help out during the holiday season. There are many different roles and variations that you could be apart of, making it fun and helping your community.
This event itself takes place November 18th 2023 on 333 Morris Witt street. There are many different roles which include breakdown and clean up, data entry, gift wrapping, processing letters, Santa delivery team, toys stockers, warehouse checkers, and wrap room checkers. If you are interested in volunteering for Elf Louise for any of the positions mentioned before, please press this link. Elf Louise Volunteer
Raul Jimenez Thanksgiving
Raul Jimenez, a San Antonio native had been hosting a Thanksgiving for senior citizens who are alone and, or who can’t afford one for years. Due to his passing in 1998, his daughter Patricia Jimenez has now picked up the practice, serving 25,000 senior citizens as of now.
This event will be held November 23th starting at 10 AM, with a worship service, and ending at 4:30 PM. You have to be 14 or older to be in the kitchen and eight or older to volunteer the day of the event. Different roles you can volunteer in is serving meals, food preparation, day meal delivery, kitchen, and event dining room. The days will vary based on the position you pick. If you are interested in helping Patricia Jimenez, here is the link to volunteer. Raul Jimenez Thanksgiving Dinner Volunteer
Volunteering is a great way to help our community during the holiday season, if you’re interested in volunteering for any of the events make sure to click the links and apply.