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.

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

These folks are really making a difference in the communities they serve. Very organized and clean…read morefacility. Friendly, helpful, and polite volunteer staff. My donation was weighed and I was given a receipt for the items I brought in. They don't spend a lot of time of money on advertising, so the help goes directly to the families in need. They need help! If you can volunteer, or make a donation, please know these folks are the real deal.

Servants Heart - just like Jesus showed us.read more

Hello, today is my second time attending the where house to organize the donations to fill the…read moreboxes to be delivered to needy families, the organization, companionship, punctuality that they have when attending the planned event is very satisfactory.

I respect and support the Southeastern Food Bank. They have been in operation for over 28 years and…read moreproven to be honorable and hard working for the good of others. Their mission is "Feeding the hungry and caring for those in need by sharing life's necessities and a message of hope." Their goal is to provide food and services for anyone in need. This free service includes the homeless, low income households, unemployed people, drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, people with disabilities, children's homes, senior organizations and more. They distribute over 200,000 pounds of food each month to fifty local nonprofit organizations that they partner with. The Southeastern Food Bank fed 137,005 families in 2019 and local volunteers gave 15,928 hours of their time. If you would like to get involved there is a calendar of events online with lots of volunteer opportunities for anyone looking to support a good cause.

I work Mon-Fri until late & Mustard Seed is far from my home but I needed to donate some blankets…read moreand comforters. So grateful for the drop off containers. There are two right outside the gates. This makes it easier for all who can to help out with donations. Times are hard & everyone needs a little help.

Very friendly, helpful staff. I did not know that they took furniture, clothes, food items,…read more toiletries any thing a family could use. They made me feel so good about donating I wanted to bring more.

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!

I left the One Heart April food distribution feeling honestly hurt and frustrated. The cars were…read moregetting loaded with multiple boxes of food, while those of us who walked had to wait the whole time--just to be handed one small bag at the end. It didn't feel fair at all. People without cars are often the ones who need the most help, yet we got the least. Watching that happen right in front of us was really upsetting. I truly hope they do better and treat everyone equally next time.

A Gift for Teaching is a Non-Profit retail store that is a true gift for…read more Teachers and Students. They provide educational supplies and other resources for students that need it the most. It's always a great experience and the staff and volunteers are so welcoming and eager to assist. I'm always excited about what they will have in store. As a Teacher I am able to "shop" each month for almost any school supplies you could think of... and when I say "shop" - I mean it's free‼

I volunteered here during the Christmas holiday & had an amazing time. I learned so much about this…read morewonderful organization. The mission for A Gift For Teaching is to improve public school education by providing resources and surplus materials for free to teachers for their students in need. I did a variety of things from sorting supplies, books, writing the name on items the teachers wanted, loading them items in the front & i ended the day with directing traffic for pick up. It was so refreshing and rewarding to give back. The staff was so friendly and welcoming. I def can't wait to come back and help with this amazing cause.

I've been coming here for about 6 months to help volunteer at Second Harvest food bank and the…read morestaff here is always great. They're always on top of cleanliness and Servín in four community. If you're looking for some volunteer opportunities you definitely have to come here

Mercy Kitchen is amazing! I have been volunteering with Second Harvest for years and I was thrilled…read moreto learn that they had recently opened another location dedicated to food production. This state of the art building is huge! Not only that, but there is plenty of room to social distance while you lend your hand for good. I highly recommend checking it out. The employees are all so nice and helping. You are immediately greeted with a smiling face and a temperature check upon arrival. The time always goes by so fast, thanks to other friendly volunteers and great music playing in the background.