Everybody has something to be thankful for. People show their appreciation in different ways. Volunteering in various activities is one of the best ways to give back to the community. In Houston, Texas Thanksgiving offers fantastic opportunities for one to volunteer. Thanksgiving is a perfect time for you to provide your time, services, and items to those who need them. Below are some of the ways that you can give back during Thanksgiving in Houston.
Super Feast For City Wide Club of America
City Wide Club of American holds its annual Super Feast to give back to the city of Houston. This non-profit club will distribute clothing, shoes, blankets, new toys, haircuts will be offered, and much more will be available to anyone in need at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Volunteers will prepare and serve Thanksgiving food, distribute new and donated items, and help make this event a success and run smoothly.
Register to volunteer:
www.citywideclub.com/volunteer-registration/
Houston Food Bank
The Houston Food Bank feeds 800,000 individuals each year, and there are volunteer opportunities year-round. Volunteers assist the food bank in meal prep and packaging of hot meals for daily distribution to the community. There are also opportunities to volunteer in the warehouse, which include inspecting and sorting food, repacking dry food into family-sized bags, stocking, and cleaning.
Register to volunteer:
www.houstonfoodbank.civicore.com/index.php?section=volOpportunities&action=calendar
Houston Turkey Trot
Houston Turkey Trot is a Thanksgiving Day race that takes place in the Galleria area next to Dillard’s for the benefit of BakerRipey.Including a wheelchair race, 10,000m, and 5,000m races, and a children’s course. Volunteers assist with many race-day activities and duties like: registration, water stops, medal distribution, setup and cleanup, and much more. There are also volunteer opportunities the week before the race to assist with the race-packet pickup.
Register to volunteer:
www.houstonturkeytrot.org/volunteer/
Meals-on-Wheels
Meals-on-Wheels Inter-Faith Ministries program provides home-delivered meals to disabled adults and homebound clients over the age of 60, which benefits more than 4,200 Houstonians every day. Volunteers will deliver premade meals to the elderly and homebound clients.
Register to volunteer:
www.volunteerhou.org/agency/detail/?agency_id=93011
Operation Turkey
Operation Turkey is an organization that has been 100% volunteer-run for over 19 years that works year-round to provide people in need a warm Thanksgiving meal on Thanksgiving day. Volunteers prepare, package, and deliver food to the less fortunate at various places within Houston.
Register to volunteer:
www.operationturkey.com/volunteer/
Holiday Project
Individual projects are coordinated by Volunteer Houston to benefit those in hospitals, nursing homes, and other institutions that offer long-term residence. Volunteers create holiday cards and can drop them off at Reunion Court of Kingwood or Grace Care Center of Cypress, and there is also an option to sign up for a scheduled visit to personally hand out the holiday cards to the nursing home residents. \
Get more info:
www.volunteerhou.org/need/detail/?need_id=152548
Buffalo Bayou Park
Buffalo Bayou Partnership holds monthly volunteer days to help restore and keep Buffalo Bayou Park beautiful. Volunteers will help with activities such as the collection of trash, weeding, and mulching, among others. These activities are suitable for people aged nine years and above.
Register to volunteer:
www.buffalobayou.org/support/volunteer/
Books Between Kids
Books Between Kids distribute two hundred and sixty thousand books to about 36,000 elementary schools in Houston. Volunteers are asked to count and pack the books and get them ready for distribution. Books Between Kids also accepts gently used children’s books as donations.
Get more information:
www.volunteerhou.org/agency/detail/?agency_id=17170
Star of Hope
Star of Hope provides three meals a day, 365-days per year for homeless women, men, and families. Volunteers can help prepare and distribute Thanksgiving and Christmas meals or any other day of the year. They can also indulge in various games, socialize with the locals, and write notes of encouragement.
Register to volunteer:
www.sohmission.org/volunteer/becoming-a-volunteer/
Search Homeless Services
There are many churches and other organizations in Houston that prepare care packages or blessing bags. You can volunteer your time at one of these locations, preparing the packages, or you can make your packages at home and drop them off at locations around town. If you do the packing at home, there are guidelines to follow on the different organization’s websites.
Get more information:
www.sohmission.org/our-stories/we-care-packages/
Conclusion
Thanksgiving is a time for us to show our care and concern for the needy, the sick, and the elderly. We can do this by dedicating our time, services, and material things to them. In Houston, there are so many platforms that none can volunteer through to help the needy.
