LOVE IN[DEED] 

Wooddale Church

Date/Time: Saturday, December 3, 8:30 am-Noon

Location: Wooddale Church Gym, Door 5, 6630 Shady Oak Road, Eden Prairie

Join Love In[Deed] in making a difference in the Twin Cities. Just show up, choose from a variety of pre-planned volunteer opportunities, and then go serve the community. Buses will be provided to transport volunteers to sites they select.  

Ages: All ages are welcome.

Time Commitment: 3.5 hours

Contact: For more information visit www.wooddale.org/loveindeed. To contact the church regarding Love In[Deed] please email them at  loveindeedwc@gmail.com. You may preregister online if you prefer

Peace Dinner

Liemandt Foundation

Date/Time: Tuesday, December 20th, 2011 5:30pm-8pm

Location: Ascension School Cafeteria, 1726 Dupont Ave N, Minneapolis

Each month the Liemandt Foundation hosts a Peace Dinner and activities for families and youth in North Minneapolis. The goal of the event is to create a time and place conducive to mutual relationship building, where all voices can be heard, community and family treasures can be recognized and celebrated, and genuine needs can be served. This is a participatory and social volunteer opportunity. Volunteers are invited to be part of the community, participate in the activities, and socialize with the families in attendance while sharing a meal. Volunteers will engage in a variety of roles that can include greeting guests, helping guests with nametags, serving dinner, helping guests select a book and assisting guests with the evening's activity.

Ages: All ages are welcome but may be more appropriate for children ages 5 and older. Young children need one to one adult supervision.

Time Commitment: 2.5 hours

Contact: Katie Chock, 763.228.5409, or katie.chock@liemandtfoundation.org

www.liemandtfoundation.org

Meals for Minds

Second Harvest Heartland

Dates, Times & Locations: 

Thursday, December 8, 5:30-8pm, Sheridan Elementary, 1201 University Ave NE, Minneapolis

Thursday, December 15, 4-6:30 pm, Obama Elementary, 707 Holly Ave, St Paul 

Thursday, December 15, 5-7:30pm, Nellie Stone Johnson Elementary, 807 27th Avenue N, Minneapolis 

Tuesday, December 20, 5-7:30pm, Maxfield Elementary 380 Victoria Street N, St Paul 

Thursday, December 22, 2:30-5:30pm, Pillsbury Elementary 2250 NE Garfield St, Minneapolis 

Thursday, December 22, 4- 6:30pm, Sullivan-Anishinabe Elementary 3100 East 28th St, Minneapolis   

One in 8 Minnesota children lives at risk of hunger. To provide direct and convenient outreach, Second Harvest Heartland distributes food through local schools to students and their families as part of the Target Meals for Minds program. Each month, a mobile food pantry is set up inside participating schools where families can receive approximately 30 pounds of groceries for each child enrolled in the school. As a volunteer you will help set up the mobile food pantry and distribute food to those who need it most. Volunteers are vital to the success of these events by running the pantry and ensuring participants have a positive experience!

Ages: Minimum age is 10

Time Commitment: Two and a half hours

Contact: Volunteers can sign up online via www.2harvest.org/volunteer or by contacting Kris Jensen, Volunteer Coordinator, 651.216.3761, or kjensen@2harvest.org. If registering online, volunteers will need to choose "Metro Wide" as the opportunity location to populate the Meals for Minds events calendar

www.2harvest.org

Holiday Mail for Heroes 

Date/Time: Cards need to be postmarked no later than Friday, December 9

Location: Send cards to: Holiday Mail For Heroes, P.O. Box 5456, Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

Be part of the 2011 American Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes. For a fifth year, American Red Cross and Pitney Bowes are partnering to ensure all Americans have an opportunity to send a touch of home to members of our U.S. military, veterans and their families, many of whom will be far away from home this holiday season. The process is very simple and takes no time at all. All you need is a pen and piece of paper to share your appreciation for the sacrifices members of the U.S. Armed Forces make to protect our freedom.

Card Guidelines:

Every card received will be screened for hazardous materials by Pitney Bowes and then reviewed by Red Cross volunteers working around the country. Please observe the following guidelines to ensure a quick reviewing process:

• Ensure that all cards are signed
• Use generic salutations such as "Dear Service Member." Cards addressed to specific individuals cannot be delivered through this program
• Only cards are being accepted. Do not send letters
• Do not include email or home addresses on the cards, as the program is not meant to foster pen pal relationships
• Do not include inserts of any kind, including photos, as these items will be removed during the reviewing process
• We encourage participants to mail as many cards as they are comfortable sending. If you are mailing a large quantity, please bundle the cards and place them in large mailing envelopes or use a flat rate box from the post office. Each card does not need its own envelope, as cards will be removed from all envelopes before distribution
• Please refrain from sending holiday cards with glitter. Many of these cards will be delivered to military and veterans medical facilities and the glitter could interfere with a patient's recovery  

Ages: All ages can participate

Time Commitment: Varies

Contact: www.redcross.org/holidaymail

Holiday Dinner Helpers

Neighborhood House

Date/Time: Thursday, December 15; set-up shift 4-6pm or clean-up shift 7-9pm

Location: 179 Robie Street East, Saint Paul

Volunteer to help with the Neighborhood House Holiday Dinner, which serves over 500 families a hot meal. Dinner participants may not get any special celebration around holiday time so Neighborhood House honors their hard work by providing a holiday meal for them. Set-up volunteers will set up tables, chairs, and place settings; some volunteers must be able to lift up to 75 pounds. Clean-up volunteers will be sweeping, wiping tables and taking down tables and chairs 

Ages: All ages, volunteers 14 and under need adult supervision

Time Commitment: Two-hour shifts

Contact: Riley Karbon, Volunteer Coordinator, 651.789.3626, rkarbon@neighb.org

www.neighb.org/

Bridging Welcome Home Kit 

Bridging

Date/Time: Flexible

Location: 201 West 87th Street, Bloomington

Imagine...how would you cook a meal without the basic kitchen utensils?

There are thousands of local families and individuals who face this difficult situation every day. Bridging's mission is to provide families and individuals transitioning out of homelessness and poverty with a one-time gift of quality furniture and household goods to stabilize and improve lives while effectively using community resources. Every year, Bridging serves approximately 4,000 households (nearly 13,000 individuals) from the Twin Cities. We would love to provide a Kitchen Essentials Welcome Home Pack to every family who comes to Bridging. That means we need over 80 packs each week!

You can help by putting together Kitchen Essentials Welcome Home Packs and delivering them to Bridging

Donate from your existing housewares or purchase new at a retailer. Each Essentials Welcome Home Pack should contain:

• Can opener
• Mixing spoon
• Spatula
• Dish towel/cloth
• Ladle
• Whisk
• Peeler

You can gather and donate single items or assemble the Kitchen Essentials Welcome Home Packs at your location. New and gently used items accepted. Simple and easy for all ages! 

Ages: All ages can participate

Time Commitment: Varies

Contact: Wendy Erickson, Volunteer & Program Supervisor, wendy.erickson@bridging.org, www.bridging.org/volunteer.html

www.bridging.org

Holiday Bureau Sponsors

Community Thread

Date/Time: Preferred deadline for sponsors is December 7, but sponsors can continue to sign-up as long as there are families in need of sponsors.  Toys can be contributed at any time. 

Location: 2300 W Orleans Street, Stillwater

Please consider sharing your holiday spirit with those less fortunate by becoming a Holiday Bureau Sponsor for the 2011 holiday season. Sponsoring is an easy way to make a big difference during the holiday season. Sponsors are asked to commit to providing holiday gifts either to a family, individual with disabilities, or low-income senior. The suggested donation value is $25 per person. All gifts must be new, and 'wish' lists will be provided with your match. Sponsors are responsible for shopping for gifts, then contacting your assigned recipients to schedule a delivery date by December 22nd. In addition to purchasing gifts for your sponsored family, we ask that you provide a holiday meal (or the makings for a holiday meal). The suggested value is $10 per family member. Gift Cards are also acceptable--we suggest Cub Foods. We usually have more families than sponsors.  As a result, we are always seeking donations of gifts, toys, gift cards, and financial contributions so that we can meet the demand. Please see our wish list if you would like to donate items.

Ages: All ages can participate

Time Commitment: Varies

Contact: Elena Ballam, Volunteer Center Program Manager, Elena@communitythreadmn.org, 651.439.7434 x207

www.communitythreadmn.org 

Christmas Meal Volunteers

Little Brothers - Friends of the Elderly

Date/Time: Saturday, December 25, noon-2pm

Location: Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, 285 N. Dale Street, St. Paul

Help brighten the Christmas holiday for clients of Little Brothers - Friends of the Elderly at their annual Christmas Meal event. There are numerous ways you and your family can help: 

• Drive elder participants to the dinner site, eat and visit with them during the event, and drive them home afterward. Total time commitment is from 11am to 3pm  
• Deliver a meal and have a brief visit with an elder participant unable to attend the dinner on Christmas Day. Meal pick up time is at 12:30; total time commitment would be about 2 hours
• Act as companions to elder participants at the dinner site. These are elders who will be arriving without a driving companion and need friendly volunteers to sit, eat and visit with them during the event. Total time commitment is from 11:30am to 2pm

 Ages: All ages can participate

Time Commitment: Two to four hours, depending on which volunteer option you choose

Contact: LuAnne Speeter, lspeeter@littlebrothersmn.org or 612.746.0753

www.littlebrothersmn.org

• Dish soap
• Laundry soap
• Trash bags 
• All-purpose cleaner
• Sponges or towels 
• Glass cleaner
• Toilet paper
• Paper towels
• Air freshener
• Cleaning wipes