Help Others Improve Their Literacy Skills

You can make a difference in someone’s life by volunteering to be a literacy tutor with SPCC.

Volunteering is easy and important. There are only a few requirements:

• a high school diploma or equivalent (GED, HiSET, or TASC)
• complete the in-house training
• a passion for helping others with crucial life skills

If you’re interested in volunteering, please contact Dr. R.J. Lightsey at rlightsey@spcc.edu or 704-290-5261.

Union County Senior Nutrition Program

There are four Senior Nutrition meal sites throughout Union County which will allow you to serve seniors in the area closest to your home during the week, Monday-Friday mornings.

Volunteer opportunities include: 

• delivering meals to homebound clients
• helping in the kitchen 
• putting on activities at any of the congregate meal sites
• and many more!

If you are interested, call 704-296-4300 x 5475 or email SeniorNutrition@unioncountync.gov.

Community Shelter of Union County’s food program

The Community Shelter provides a variety of different options to meet the varying needs of Union County Residents across the county. These food services include:

Dining Hall

Drive-thru Pantry

Senior Food Boxes

To offer this scope of services, they need all hands on deck! Looking for a way to get involved and be a part of meeting tangible needs for our community? Fill out a volunteer application and their team will help you find a volunteer opportunity that fits: https://www.unionshelter.org/volunteer/

Common Heart

Do you love to serve by cooking meals? Help provide dinner for a Getting Ahead session as these hard-working neighbors start their journeys out of poverty!

This is a great chance to gather a group of friends to cook and serve a meal together for 25-30 people.

Email Sandy at EconomicEmpowerment@CommonHeart.org or call 704-218-9060 ext. 1016 for more details.

Common Heart also needs more volunteers to pack food for their food pantries. The biggest needs right now are Tuesdays & Fridays from 3-5 p.m. to pack food for our evening pantries. They’re also looking for more grocery rescue volunteers to pick up donated food from local grocery stores, especially on Sundays. They also need substitutes to fill in on an as-needed basis. There are many other volunteer opportunities, too.

Get all the details and sign up online: CommonHeart.org/volunteer Questions? Call Riane Maltais at 704-940-6508 or email Volunteer@CommonHeart.org

Davids Backpacks for the Homeless

Are you, your family, church group, or civic group looking for a place to volunteer? Davids Backpacks would love to have you! Volunteer opportunities at The Garden Project are every Saturday (weather permitting), between 9-12ish. Everyone’s welcome! 1095 Poplar Hill Church Rd., Polkton. Email davidsbackpacks1@gmail.com for more information.

Turning Point

Help create a memorable summer and beyond for shelter families by becoming a Turning Point volunteer! Join a volunteer orientation on either Tuesday, June 4th, from 10am-11:30am or Monday, June 17th, from 6-7:30pm in Monroe. You’ll learn about all the ways to serve abuse survivors. Exact location will be sent to you a few days in advance.  Sign up at the link or reach out to Mary with questions! moakley@turntoday.net  Volunteer Orientation Sign Up

Turning Point also needs some very special volunteers for their Sexual Assault Resource Center. These “Companions” respond to individuals in crisis by picking up “on-call” shifts.

Companions accompany a sexual assault victim through their crisis, via telephone or hospital visit. When a crisis call comes in, a companion speaks with the crisis caller, listens to them, and helps them think through their options. In a hospital call, a companion meets a sexual assault victim at the hospital to accompany them throughout their time there. This is an opportunity to support the community, your community members, and to serve someone in need of companionship.

Companions do not have to go into these crisis moments feeling ill-prepared, as Turning Point has created an online, self-paced training module that walks companions-in-training through a variety of situations that they may encounter. The training modules all together take about 20 hours to complete. Questions about this volunteer position can be directed to the SARC Victim Advocate, Madison Lindenmuth. mlindenmuth@turntoday.net

Next Step Clubhouse

Are you looking to make a meaningful impact on your community? Next Step Clubhouse is always looking for volunteers! See the link to find out how YOU can become involved! https://www.nextstepclubhouse.org/volunteer-opportunities

Waxhaw Parks and Recreation

Parks & Rec is seeking dedicated leader volunteers to support their S.M.I.L.E. (Sensory, Mindfulness, Inclusive, Learning, and Engagement) Activity Trailer during Town events. The trailer is meant to be a safe haven where individuals with sensory needs can actively participate in the town’s activities and programs, fostering an inclusive community for all residents.

While the trailer won’t be operational until mid-July, Parks & Rec is actively recruiting and training volunteers to staff it during events.

To learn more or sign up visit this link: https://tinyurl.com/bd2psxb6

Community Health Services of Union County

Do you have a young adult in your family who has time to volunteer over summer break? Great! There are a variety of opportunities and tasks that are essential to the operations and growth of Community Health Services of Union County:

• Registering Clients
• General Office Duties
• Processing Paperwork
• Scheduling Appointments and more

Are you interested? Please complete the Volunteer Application available at https://www.chsuc.org/for-volunteers.html and fax it to 704-296-0946 or email it to TBoyle@chsuc.org

Council on Aging in Union County

CoA has several volunteer opportunties available, including

See more here: https://coaunion.org/volunteer

Carolina Equine Rescue & Assistance

“My regular volunteers will be going on vacation soon so I need to be prepared. Chores at CRRA are a piece of cake. I have tried to make it very easy with charts posted and a volunteer schedule. And also very safe. Supplies are always available and everything is labeled. Morning chores are about 2 hours and evening are about 1.5 hours. After you get your routine down the time will be less. You must be 16, under 16 accompanied by a parent. Please consider giving some time to CERA. If you are interested please text Darlene at 7042193559. Located at 1123 W Sandy Ridge Rd. Monroe.”

See more volunteer opportunties at https://philslist.org/volunteer-opportunities/