Website: Operation Shanti

Activity types: Fundraising – If you can’t manage to get to India and physically help this organization yourself the next best thing is raising money for them.

Time Required: If you are an attendee of the class about two hours. If you are organizing it you will have a couple of weeks of administrative type work in your spare time.

Skills Required: Basic Physical Fitness (attendee) or A Certified Aerobics/Yoga/Aqua/Pilates/Dance Instructor (organizer).

Attire: For a yoga or exercise benefit wear appropriate exercise attire (example: yoga = long stretchy pants, no shoes, t-shirt). Even if you are the organizer there is no need to dress up.

The Goods: Yoga and Pilates benefits are a great-untapped fundraising source. Why? Because often people will pay top dollar for a good yoga or Pilates class so wouldn’t they rather give their money to a good cause and get to go to a great class.

My Volunteer Journal:

Yoga Benefit for Operation Shanti

Activity Types: Preparing meals, Delivering meals, Helping out in the office.

Time Required: A few hours in the morning for cooking or a few hours in the afternoon to deliver meals.

Skills Required: Cooking ability is a plus, but all are welcome.

Attire: Bring a baseball hat or you will have to wear a hair net! Wear a short sleeve shirt in the kitchen or a shirt you can roll up over your elbows.  No earrings or jewelry that dangles. Close Toed Shoes. Tennis shoes recommended. Casual Clothes.

The Goods: Cooking is fun but preparing 1,600 meals is a workout.  You can pick up some culinary secrets and rub elbows with real chefs.

My Volunteer Journal:

The Project Angel Food Workout

Activity types: Rehabilitating homes = painting, light construction, cleaning

Time Required: One day or whenever you would like. 

Skills Required: If you can swing a hammer, sand, or use a paintbrush you’re hired.

Attire: Wear anything that you don’t mind getting paint on.

The Goods: This is a great activity for those who love old homes and love to see them preserved instead of ripped down. Working with this group will also teach you skills to help you redo your own home.

My Volunteer Journal:

Rebuilding Together for Veterans

Activity types: Give blood, Give plasma, Help with disaster recovery, and so much more…

Time Required: Giving blood only takes an hour or two, plasma takes a bit longer than blood.  To be a member of the disaster services team you have to go through training and then there are regular meetings, but you are on the front lines when a disaster strikes doing tremendous good.

Skills Required: If you want to give blood you can’t be anemic (they will test you for this). You do have to pass a medical screening for the plasma and blood. 

Attire: When you give blood and plasma make sure you wear a shirt that can easily be pushed up over your elbow.

The Goods: This awe inspiring group moves in during the most desperate times to help those who are suffering.  Interesting fact: Did you know the Red Cross functions under a code of neutrality meaning they cannot take sides in any conflict or deny help to anyone regardless of sex, religion, race, etc.?  Pretty cool!

My Volunteer Journal:

Giving Blood Without Crying

Website: Meals on Wheels

Activity types: Deliver Meals, Work in the office

Time Required: To deliver meals you must commit to a once a week route, which will take about 3 hours a week, however office work can be done whenever you have time.

Skills Required:  A current drivers license and a car (comes in handy).

Attire: Anything, but you will be walking up steps and around apartment buildings so leave the 5-inch heels at home.

The Goods: Bring a friend along for the ride.

My Volunteer Journal:

Meal on Wheels in West LA

Website:  This site has a searchable map

Activity types: Serving food, prepping food, cooking food, handing out supplies, setting tables, setting up rooms, clean up

Time Required: It will only take the person in charge to tell you what your job entails.  In total the experience will probably only take a couple of hours out of your day.

Skills Required: Good Humor, Friendliness, Ability to Serve

Attire: What ever you like but make sure your okay getting food on it if you have to cook or serve

The Goods: The smiles and thank you’s will lighten your heart. You cannot appreciate being served till you have served others.

My Volunteer Journal:

A Soup Kitchen Christmas Party

A Lesson in Presumption

Website: http://www.habitat.org

Activity types: Build homes, work in the habitat offices or in their store

Time Required: One full day to build a house, work in store or the office. You can also commit to work for weeks or months.

Skills Required: If you know your way around a tool shed your ahead of the game.  If not don’t worry you’ll learn.

Attire: Jeans, Closed toe shoes, old t-shirt

The Goods: Gain knowledge of construction practices – great training ground for architects.

My Volunteer Journal:  Building a Home with Habitat for Humanity