I saw that Northland's Serve Day this spring had a project to help NHFK and signed up right away -…read moreI've heard of them but never had any details. So about 18 of us went over a Saturday morning in March. Gloria took us on a little tour and explained more about what she and her organization does. The big part of their work is with grieving kids who have lost a loved one in the family. The big house they have in Maitland would host these kids and their family, with professionals helping with counselling, grief-/anger-management, and recreation that will give their souls a measure of respite. The other, smaller, part of their work is along the lines of "Make-A-Wish", where kids with serious/terminal illness and their family go to NHFK to have a wish come true. Very touching, meaningful, work. I would encourage you to seek out their website at NewHopeForKids.org. Perhaps you'll have a heart to support them with your time/energy/resources. I hope I still have my photos...

My kids have a heart to help the community and unfortunately, we missed the cutoff to fill shoe…read moreboxes for Operation Christmas Child, I just had to find something else we could participate in! I visited Feeding Children Everywhere's site, and saw an event at their headquarters in Longwood. I easily signed up my family of four for a one hour slot this past Saturday morning. We arrived a few minutes before our designated time. We were greeted at the door and immediately provided a hairnet. We killed a few minutes by looking at the merchandise available at the front. After a short briefing, we were divided up and sent to a table. We were given simple tasks and trained quickly. The meal we were assigned to put together was Hamburger Hero. It consisted of pasta noodles, vegetables and a special seasoning. I love that this is a volunteer opportunity the whole family can participate in. Kids get to scoop, pour, fill bags through a funnel... my boys both were in charge of weighing the bags after they were filled. They either had to add food, or remove it depending on what the scale said. They had a blast! The fun part was that their was Christmas music blasting and a friendly competition of who could fill up the most boxes. Each time a box was filled, we would ring a bell and the whole room would cheer. So much fun! We felt good that we did at least a SMALL part of helping fight hunger. Please do the same and sign up when you can.

I had the opportunity to volunteer with a wonderful non-profit organization that works to create a…read morehunger free world. We started with placing hair nets on, taking our jewelry off then cleaning our hands and those handling food placed on gloves. We assembled meals which included chicken flavored seasoning, carrots, lentils and pasta. This day we prepared over 2,000 meals. We worked in groups following the instructions of measuring the food portions and placing the food in separate serving bags. The staff was friendly and helpful. They can around often to see if we needed anything or had any questions. This organization also has an international focus working to help areas with extreme poverty towards self sustainability. Locally tbeir efforts work to support children, veterans and seniors with meals. Donations can be made or by purchasing t shirts, cups or other items. There was a lot of energy and positive reinforcement during our volunteer hour. Other opportunities are available like internships or participating with other programs. We are looking forward to participating again.

Harvest Time International, a faith-based nonprofit, was founded in 1994 in Sanford, Florida. It…read morefocuses on serving low-income, homeless, and impoverished individuals by providing resources like food, clothing, and household essentials through its Community Hope Center. The organization also offers emergency aid, gift cards, and Christmas assistance, and coordinates donations for local and international disaster relief efforts. They have this location in Sanford and also one in Port Orange. To date, 549 million dollars of supplies have been distributed. I was driving by and spotted Harvest Time. It looked so interesting that I had to stop to check it out. Inside is a guest services desk to help clients. The rest of the building is a store that sells discounted items. Corporate sponsors like Walmart. Disney, and CVS Health donate their extra inventory. There was pantry and frozen food including a wall of bread and bagels along with beauty items, hardware, clothes, sunglasses, pet supplies, cleaning supplies, party items, sheets and blankets, Mickey Mouse popcorn buckets straight from Disney World, and even oil for your car. Harvest Time charges a $7 membership to shop the store which I would gladly have paid if I was local but the friendly cashier let me know that one time visitors can get a free daily pass to shop. I grabbed a cart and stocked up on a summertime worth of snacks and goodies. I loved learning about this amazing organization and all of the good they are doing in the community. If you live local, Harvest Time can really help your budget. Bring your own bag!

First they get old crap outdated broken stuff Donated to them then charge u 50% of retail price…read moreit's all a scam as a non profit the owners are scam artists saying they're a church you must report them to the Florida State Attorney 1-866-9-NO-SCAM and shut them down

Everything. Andrew was on time, professional and expert in his work. It's wonderful to have service…read morethat's valued!

I volunteered for the 'Disney Give a Day, Get a Day' program, and painted a house with Hands On…read moreOrlando. I used to volunteer a lot, then got out of it as I got older, and was happy to have volunteering put in the forefront of the news with Disney. I knew the volume of people signing up for events, and was pleasantly surprised when I painted a house with Hands On Orlando. The day consisted of painting four houses, with 100 volunteer expected. The HOO coordinator was very organized, arrived early and was very friendly. There was a HOO coordinator for each house, and one who monitored the whole project. They were very clear in their directions, and made a very humid day painting a house in not a great neighbor hood a great experience. Being an annual passholder for Disney, I wasn't worried about the processing time for the receipt of the Disney voucher, and yet it was in my email by Tuesday. Its kind of sad, the coordinator said that the month before, for the same event they had only twenty volunteers, and now all their events are full. While we appreciate all the Disney is doing to help communities, I sure wish more people would volunteer without having to be bribed, and I can't wait til we do it again!

Wonderful experience volunteering to sort food with co workers. The staff are courteous and very…read morehelpful. The office is organized and has a awesome mission helping feed the community. We sorted over 7k in food handling frozen, fully cooked, poultry and snacks. It was good to see the community and businesses remain committed to supporting this mission.

Community service, anyone? What a wonderful opportunity to serve our community by contributing your…read moretime for a worthy cause! Thanks to Davie and Sara for their leadership and dedication and for guiding us through the sorting process on Saturday, August 15th. If you have never been, it's worth taking a tour!

I can't say enough things about the Ronald McDonald House Charity…read more I've been volunteering since I was a little girl...it was something that was always important to my parents and it's stayed with me all my life....but I can honestly say that I have found my "Forever Home", if you will. They have very few people on staff and are heavily reliant on volunteers, and so incredibly appreciative of their volunteers. I've never felt like I made such a difference to a single organization as I do now. There are two houses in Orlando. One is near Florida Hospital and one by Arnold Palmer on Orange Avenue, where I volunteer. The Charity is set up to have families and parents of hospitalized children stay near their sick kiddos. They ask for a donation of $15 a night. That's all. $15!!! And if a family cannot afford it, they don't have to pay. It's amazing. The Arnold Palmer house has about 35 rooms, a computer room, gorgeous living rooms, a monster kitchen and more. Local restaurants and organizations come in nightly to cook dinner for everyone and once in a while they will have to cancel at the last minute...and then volunteers like me can fill in. :) So far, I've helped at Bed Day. Tempurpedic donated all the beds to the Houses in the US and I made breakfast for lots of firefighters and police officers while they changed the beds out. I also helped at the Ice Cream Social and Golf Tourney...and I work the desk a couple of times a month at the Arnold Palmer House. I am currently trying to organize an edible garden planting at the houses. If you have any ideas, send them my way. You don't have a lot of interaction with the kids...it's their parents and families you help. Many times it's a quick hello...but sometimes they just want to be taken away from hospital speak for awhile...talk about Gossip Girl or gas prices...they just need a smile and a hug and cup of coffee. Like I said, they are heavily reliant on volunteers so if you have an interest, please visit their site at www.rmhccf.org You can volunteer at special events or if you have a consistent time that you are able to give weekly or monthly you can volunteer at the houses. It's a wonderful thing!

What a lovely facility! 37 families can stay here, the rooms are spacious and well appointed. The…read morecommon areas are lovely. The kitchen was just renovated and is spectacular. I recently volunteered under the "Share a meal" program, where people from the community can come in and cook (or bring in from a commercial kitchen) lunch or dinner. On my stop I baked cookies for the holidays and brought in cupcakes donated from Gigi's Cupcakes of Orlando. I was welcomed by the staff and the families who I met, everyone was very nice. The kitchen has every type of pot, pan and utensil you need to make a meal. I'll be signing up for a shift again in January. Here is more info on the program and how to volunteer: http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2013-12-04/features/os-ronald-mcdonald-heather-mcpherson-20131204_1_volunteers-ronald-mcdonald-house-charities-ill-children

A great place to donate and goes to help people who need it! Unfortunately no pictures as I am…read moreusually there dripping off items which is very easy and always fast, never had any issues. I have not been to the store but it is open on weekends so you can shop items they put there which then goes to a great cause when you spend!

had the opportunity to donate to One Heart for Women and Children after we hosted a Swap & Shop at…read morethe office, and I was truly impressed with how well-organized the process was. From the moment I arrived, the drop-off was quick and seamless, making it incredibly easy to give back. The staff was welcoming and clearly dedicated to their mission, ensuring that every donation goes to those who need it most. It's always great to support an organization that genuinely cares about the community. If you're looking for a place to donate clothes, food, or household items, I highly recommend One Heart for Women and Children. Their impact is felt, and their kindness is unmatched!

Offers a wide variety of complimentary services catering to the diverse Orlando community including…read morea weekly food bank, counseling, and rapid HIV and STI testing. Wonderful resource for the LGBTQIA+ community

To be honest I don't really know what all they do here. I bring my youngest child here for therapy…read moreservices once a week. It is done in conjunction with the Zebra Coalition just up the road. We've been coming here for a couple of months now and everyone we've met is very friendly. They do a lot of services within the LGBTQ community and they have listings on a board for events and more throughout the area. For the services that we've gone for they have been very reliable and understanding.