Lend a hand: Three ways to give back

Got free time on your hands? Looking for something worthwhile to do? Why not volunteer for a good cause? There are plenty of worthy organizations around the Upstate that could use a hand. These organizations have various positions, offer flexible hours and definitely need your help. We’ve listed three below, but there are plenty more around town that you could volunteer for.

Meals On Wheels Greenville

“We definitely have a need for volunteers at all times,” says Muriel Taylor, Meals On Wheels Greenville’s director of volunteers and community engagement. “We have to have 150 volunteers every day to get Meals On Wheels going.”

Taylor says Meals On Wheels has to get 1,500 meals each day packaged and delivered, and without volunteers, it’s a tall order.

“Volunteers are the bulk of our mission,” she says. “We have internal and delivery options, so if you’re not comfortable driving or delivering, we do have some internal roles from 8-10 a.m. or 10 a.m.-noon. That’s either packaging the meals from 8-10 a.m. in the kitchen or running the meals out to our delivery drivers from 10-noon.”

But volunteering at Meals On Wheels isn’t just about delivering food. It’s about connecting with people.

“Our volunteers really are the lifeline to our clients,” Taylor says. “Many of them don’t see anyone during the day except our volunteer who brings their meal. So just being willing to share a smile and say, ‘Hello, I hope you’re having a great day’ when you’re dropping off the meals means the world to our clients.”

Meals on Wheels of Greenville, 864.233.6565; mealsonwheelsgreenville.org

Safe Harbor

Safe Harbor is a nonprofit that provides shelter and other services for victims of domestic violence. If you visit their website, you’ll see a multitude of volunteering options, from help line advocates to childcare volunteers to resale shop workers.

“Volunteers make a real difference in the lives of the survivors of domestic violence and their children at Safe Harbor,” says Volunteer Coordinator Lisa Nalley. “We rely on both individuals and volunteer groups to partner with our staff as we carry out our mission. Volunteers make an impact in a variety of ways, from answering our help line to assisting with children to serving as an ambassador throughout the communities we serve, to collecting donations and completing shelter improvement projects, just to name a few.”

Safe Harbor, 800.291.2139; safeharborsc.org

The Ronald McDonald House

The Ronald McDonald House helps families physically, economically and emotionally during their health care journey. The Ronald McDonald House program helps reduce stress and financial burden for families when they must travel far from home to access medical care for their child. And they have plenty of room for volunteers, especially in the kitchen.

“If you’re interested in cooking, we have our Guest Chef program, our Cookies From The Heart program, and our Weekend Breakfast program,” says Stewart McCain, the Ronald McDonald House’s volunteer and communications coordinator. “Guest Chef is our largest volunteer opportunity; you’ll be able to come into the kitchen and cook dinner for our families staying here. That way our families don’t have to worry about the burden of what they’re going to cook for dinner. It’s from 4-6 p.m., you bring the ingredients, we provide the kitchen, and it’s a great bonding activity being part of our kitchen and getting familiar with the house.”

“Weekend Breakfast is pretty much the same as Guest Chef,” she adds. “You just bring your own ingredients, that’s from 8-9:30 in the morning, and it’s just a nice little treat for the families, something to look forward to over the weekend.”

McCain says Cookies From The Heart is a good place to start volunteering if you’re not sure how much time you can give but you still like to cook.

“In my opinion it’s a great way to dip your toe into volunteering,” she says. “It’s much easier and as quick as you want it to be. It makes the house smell a little bit more like home. If you want to bake cookies from scratch, you’re more than welcome to, or just bring the refrigerated dough to bake. Our families love to grab cookies on their way out of the house going to appointments or to the hospital, and that can be done from 12-2 p.m. in the middle of the day.”

And don’t worry, there’s plenty more to do if you don’t cook.

“If you’re not comfortable cooking, you’re welcome to sponsor a meal or donate a catered meal as well,” McCain says. “But besides that if you want to do something individually, we have opportunities like front desk greeter, where you’re answering the door, answering the phones, or accepting donations, answering any questions about the front of the house. We have house monitor, where you’re a little bit more involved with helping our operations manager, whether that be sanitizing things, restocking refrigerators, a little bit more to do than front desk greeter. We also have event volunteers.”

McCain makes a point about volunteering that could apply to all of the organizations we mentioned here: You can see the difference you’re making.

“It’s not like you’re just sending off a check and wondering where it’s going,” she says. “It’s instant gratification. It’s making a difference.”