‘Tis the Season to Make A Difference: Nonprofits in Search of Volunteers

‘Tis the season for giving back.

After last year's slump in volunteerism due to COVID-19, there's a big push this year to find volunteers for countless nonprofits in North Texas that need help.

If you want to find a way to make a difference, a good place to start is the Salvation Army Angel Tree, which NBC 5 sponsors.

You only have just a week and a half left to adopt an angel. The deadline is Friday, Dec. 3. The last day to drop off Angel tree gifts is Dec. 4.

There are still thousands of angels left with families who need help making their Christmas brighter. Click here for more information.

Another good way to find your volunteer groove this season is VolunteerNow.

The local nonprofit has a website, www.voly.org, which uses volunteer matching software to help organizations across North Texas find the volunteers they need to succeed. People can scroll through dozens of listing for holiday volunteer opportunities as well as countless opportunities throughout the year.

Last year, many nonprofits had so much work to do and simply not enough volunteers because of the pandemic.

However, with vaccine success and more people making a comeback to the holidays this year, there is some hope for more volunteers to be active this holiday season.

“I think everyone wants to turn the page, I think they want to return to something more normal and more normal includes volunteering,” said Tammy Richards, CEO of VolunteerNow. "I really think it is going to set a great standard going into next year as well and get that engine started again for volunteering. We really see that volunteering has about doubled from last year in terms of the people who are engaging. We are helping nonprofits rebuild volunteer programs.”

This is VolunteerNow's 50th anniversary. In a typical year, they help mobilize over 300,000 volunteers to help hundreds of organizations in North Texas.

Voly.org has opportunities posted all year but there is a special section with volunteer needs through the Christmas holiday.

Here are some nonprofits that have some critical needs this week:

Nov. 25

YMCA Turkey Trot is expecting over12,000 participants in this year's race. Because of this larger participation, the YMCA is currently in need of 30 course monitor volunteers ASAP.
Time: Morning hours only
Sign up here

Nov. 25

Peer 2 Peer Whole Wellness, a nonprofit serving veterans, needs dozens of volunteers to work their concessions booth at the Dallas Cowboys game. Proceeds from the booth will benefit the organization.
Time: 7 a.m. - all day
Meeting location: AT&T Stadium
Sign up here

Nov. 25

Best Buddies Texas is partnering with the Plano Turkey Trot 5K. They need nearly 30 volunteers to help with check-in, water stations and directing runners.
Time: 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Meeting location: Oak Point Park, 2801 E Spring Creek Pkwy, Plano
Sign up here

Nov. 26

Christian Community Action is looking for Giving Tree 'elves' to assist at Stonebriar Mall throughout the holiday season, especially during Black Friday shopping. Volunteers will take donation, offer receipts, and keep records.
Time: All day
Location: Stonebriar Mall, 2601 Preston Rd. Frisco, TX 
Sign up here

If you don't want to volunteer in person, there are also several opportunities you can do remotely from home.

For more information and a full list of upcoming volunteer opportunities, go to voly.org. You can also download the Voly.org mobile app in the Apple and Android app stores.