If you are trying to find an outlet for your philanthropic spirit, look into Volunteers of America. You can find many opportunities to make a difference in your own community through volunteer work in this volunteer organization.
What is it?
Volunteers of America is a non-profit, faith-based organization that provides various services for children, adults, families, elderly, homeless, poor and others. These volunteers serve nearly 1.8 million people every year throughout the United States.
The program tries to help the whole person, rather than simply treat the problem. As a faith-based organization, they work to help people improve their lives and become self-sufficient.
It is an overall national organization, but the heart of the program are the community-level Volunteers of America groups, which each have a local volunteer board of directors. The board of directors is like an oversight committee that gives direction, but the volunteers are the people who have direct contact with the community members and can make a difference in their lives. It is the community-level programs that recruit volunteers to help keep the local programs running.
While Volunteers of America is administered by a staff of professionals, the board of directors is a set of local volunteers. The organization has extensive opportunities in each program for volunteers and community members to get involved. The volunteers can help with reading mail to nursing home residents, delivering meals to the elderly, tutoring children and many other services.
What does Volunteers of America Do?
They provide a variety of programs in many different areas. You can find a program that fits your volunteerism passion if you want to get involved, or your need if you are in need of help.
These volunteers runs many programs that provide quality, affordable housing for needy families and long-term health care and other services for the elderly, people with disabilities and community members trying to get back on their feet.
The Volunteers of America housing program helps these community members have an affordable place to stay. One of the most well-known housing programs from Volunteers of America is their help for the elderly. They provide either assisted living housing or long-term nursing home care. The organization also has a program that works like a halfway house to ease the transition for community members who are coming from prison so they can have a place to stay and also find a job to put their life back together.
Many of their projects fall under elderly care. The organization has community programs that focus on the various needs of the elderly in each community, whether they be daycare, assisted living, meal delivery, companionship or protecting against abuse and neglect.
At the other end of the age spectrum, they provides services for children and youth, including daycare, foster care and adoption, group homes, tutoring and many other needed services for children and at-risk youth.
Volunteers of America also works to help people with developmental disabilities to gain independence. The organization provides job training, helps them find jobs, teaches them life skills and offers assisted living, among other services.
Volunteers of America is also an inter-denominational ministry, as well as a volunteer organization. They feel the point that sets them apart from other volunteer groups is the spiritual aspect they integrate into the program.
The organization provides many other services to its community members. Each community is different, and they try to cater to the needs of the community.
By D. Blair Thompson