Do you like to garden?  Are you a dog lover?  What about scrapbooking and arts and crafts?  Turn your talent into a volunteer opportunity to help others.

Rider with side-walkers and horse leader

For example, if you love horses, you could volunteer for the “Tall in the Saddle” program that provides side walkers and horse leaders to help physically and mentally-challenged children and young adults learn to ride horses.   Your skill with arts and crafts can help keep senior citizens active and alert….and, you might learn something from them, too.  Become a tutor through the Literacy Council and help someone learn to read; what a great gift to give!

Pet therapy volunteers take their animals to senior housing, day care facilities, and rehabilitation centers so residents can enjoy the calming effect of petting an animal.  If that’s not your cup of tea, how about a cup of tea?  Visiting shut-ins and residents in senior homes, listening to their fascinating stories, and sharing a cup of tea is a great way to volunteer your time. 

If you like to get dirty, how about giving your time to maintaining greenery at a non-profit agency, senior citizens’ home, or at an elderly neighbor’s?  Volunteers are needed for planting flowers in the Spring and raking in the Fall.  Before you know it, the annual Midland Blooms planting along Eastman Road will be here.  This is a great opportunity that makes a huge visible impact on our community.

Serving on a board of directors, offering your professional services pro bono, and coaching a kid’s basketball team are more ways to get involved and give back.  There’s no shortage of need and no shortage of talent.   It’s the job of the United Way Volunteer Center to put the two together. 

So, don’t hide your light under a bushel….share your talent with your community!