Places to Volunteer This Holiday Season in Little Rock

Friday, 17 November, 2017

The holidays are a time to get together with family and celebrate the people in your life. However, this can be a difficult time of year for some. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have family close by or at all, afford to buy presents for loved ones or even have a home of their own.

Why not spend a little time this holiday season paying it forward? There are plenty of places here in Little Rock to volunteer your time this holiday season.

We’ve compiled a list of organizations that have opportunities to volunteer. Click on the name of the organization for more information about their volunteering needs.

Image: The Salvation Army

* The Salvation Army *

Everyone knows about The Salvation Army during the holiday season because of the bell ringers. Volunteers station themselves outside grocery and other stores from Black Friday to Christmas Eve with red kettles and ring bells in hopes of getting donations. The Red Kettle Campaign brings in money for food, shelter for homeless people, medicine and utilities for people in need and support for Salvation Army Christmas programs in in Central Arkansas.

The Salvation Army has a ton of other ways to volunteer this holiday season too, like serving meals, hosting a food drive and supporting their Angel Trees.

Image: Our House

* Our House *

Our House is a facility that works to help near-homeless and homeless people and their families with a variety of programs and services to overcome homelessness permanently. Volunteers and donations are always welcome, but for the holidays volunteers can get involved in a variety of ways. You can adopt a family for the season, fill a stocking for a resident, participate in a holiday drive, serve a meal or make a donation.

Image: Toys for Tots

* Toys for Tots *

The U.S. Marine Corps Reserve hosts Toys for Tots drives each year to collect new, unwrapped toys for children throughout the community for Christmas from October through December. Drop off for toys ends November 30 and they are distributed December 10-20. If you don’t have time to buy a toy and drop it off at one of their drop sites or you’d rather give money, they accept donations as well.

Image: Arkansas Dream Center

* Arkansas Dream Center *

The Arkansas Dream Center (ARDC) does a little of everything and there are several locations around Arkansas, including Little Rock. Their mission is to reach out to the community, serve their needs and restore their dreams. They do this through after-school and summer programs for kids; giving support to women who have been abused or are going through rough times; providing homeless individuals with food, laundry and showering facilities; collecting donations of clothing, furniture, toys and other goods for distribution at their warehouse; and tons more.

For the holidays, the ARDC is hosting Thankserving and Christmas Mall, both of which need volunteers and donations. Thankserving is a chance to provide meals and food boxes to those involved with the ARDC’s programs.

Christmas Mall an event for parents to shop for Christmas presents for their kids for free. Parents apply for an invitation through ARDC outreaches or referrals from schools, churches and partnering organizations. Parents who receive an invitation are paired with a personal shopper to find gifts for their kids.

* Your local church *

There are tons of churches here in Little Rock and Central Arkansas and most of them have programs during the Christmas season to gather presents, food, clothing and other items to distribute to children and families.

These are just a few organizations in Little Rock that need volunteers to continue the amazing work they do throughout the year, but there are tons of places to serve. Get out there and find an organization with a mission you’re passionate about and pay it forward this holiday season!

Categories : Community Events , Local

Tags : little rock , Volunteering , christmas , Holidays