Volunteering This Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is the season for eating lots of food and being thankful for what you have, but many people go without a happy family gathering, a homemade meal or even a warm bed to sleep in—even in Fairfax County.  There are many opportunities to lend a helping hand to those in your immediate area, here are a few.

Help the elderly
During this holiday season, there are many ways to help the elderly and those who care for them. Volunteers can help seniors gain a little companionship or help caregivers take a much-needed break, pick up groceries for the seniors, or help in the delivery of hot meals to those in need.

“With the changing of the seasons, there are a lot of seniors who need help with like raking leaves or as it gets colder, they might need more help outdoors,” said Meredith Crosson, owner of Independent You, a charitable organization that helps seniors in need.

Crosson also helps match volunteers, especially students, to places like the Sunrise of George Mason, where she said they will need help setting up and serving Thanksgiving and other holiday meals.

Department of Family Services needs a Meals on Wheels group coordinator in Clifton to help with client referrals, orienting new clients and various administrative tasks. The County also needs caregiver respite volunteers in the Fairfax Station area to help give caregivers of seniors a much-needed break. Another way to help seniors in the area is to a volunteer in the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program and help advocate for seniors’ rights, resolve conflicts and improve their quality of life.

To volunteer with Crosson’s organization, call her at 703-999-3006. To volunteer for Meals on Wheels contact Fairfax County’s Volunteer Solutions at 703-324-5406, VolunteerSolutions@fairfaxcounty.gov; for the care respite program contact Kristin Martin at 703-324-7577, Kristin.Martin@fairfaxcounty.gov; for the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program contact Lisa Callahan at 703-324-5861 or 703-324-5422, lisa.callahan@fairfaxcounty.gov.

Help the hungry
In a September 2011 report from the Department of Agriculture, 14.5 percent of all American households were food-insecure—meaning they did not have enough food at all times for all household members to remain healthy and active. This is the highest recorded number in the country’s history, so it’s no surprise that even residents of Fairfax are going hungry.

“We started Wednesday (November 16) giving out meals,” Nikki Clifford, volunteer coordinator at Fairfax’s Food for Others, “and I can already tell we’ll run out of turkeys.”

Food for Others is a charitable organization that helps feed the hungry in all of Northern Virginia. They are providing Thanksgiving meals to families with emergency referrals from their social workers. To help take part and donate an item, like a much-needed turkey, visit their website and see how you can help.

This organization also helps feed children year-round and is in need of more volunteers to help pack Power Packs, packages of food that go home with school-aged children on Friday to help feed them throughout the weekend.

Another way to help the hungry this holiday is to visit the FACETS’ Robinson location and pitch in cooking, assembling and driving holiday meals to the needy.

The cooks will be provided a turkey or main ingredients for side dishes on November 22 and these volunteers cook the food at their home and then bring it in to a church where the food will be served. On November 24, volunteers are needed to assemble donated dinners into containers and deliver the meals to specific locations. Food drive assistants will collect, sort and transport the non-perishable food items on November 26.

Food for Others and beyond is to help a child in need. Food for Others also helps provide food to school-aged children for the weekend. Children receive the packs on Friday and can contain food like tuna fish cans, fruit cups, granola and breakfast bars, individual pasta or meat cups and juice boxes.

Help the Animals
Every Saturday and Sunday, HART, a non-kill Fairfax Station-based animal rescue group, holds an adoption event. This upcoming Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving, they are in need of people to volunteer and hold leashes at the adoption events.

“We always need volunteers come to hold leashes at adoption events. . . and as the weather gets cooler, fewer people [help],” said Nancy Tarr, a volunteer with HART.

Foster parent volunteers for a dog or cat during the holiday season are also most welcome. HART also has a holiday party on December 10 from 7 to 11 p.m. for which they need volunteers to help with coat-check, selling t-shirts and helping with their silent auction. For more information on how to volunteer with HART, email Tarr at HART90Nancy@gmail.com.