In this season of giving, and of giving thanks, many folks feel strapped for resources. No doubt about it, these are lean times for just about all of us. However, perhaps nothing reminds us better of all we have to give, and all we have to be thankful for, than giving of ourselves. When we give of our talent, our experience, our caring, or our time, the total and instant gratification of giving back can make giving stuff for the holidays feel like a substitute.

For those who want to pay it forward for the holidays and not just pay it out, then, we’ve compiled a list of just some of the local volunteer opportunities available. Anything one can do, in whatever time one has, makes an impact on someone’s life, in the life of the neighborhood, and in the larger community. Good will ripples.

And of course, to quote the closing musical number of The Muppet Christmas Carol, one of the greatest holiday movies ever made, “It is the season of the spirit / the message, if we hear it / is ‘make it last all year!’”

Staff a Food Bank Helpline

The Alameda County Community Food Bank needs volunteers for its Food Helpline. Volunteers answer calls from people who need food, referring them to local food pantries, in addition to offering other information and follow-up. Folks with good phone skills and basic computer skills who can commit to a few months of weekly 3-hour shifts should contact the Food bank, which is located at 7900 Edgewater Drive (near the airport) in Oakland. Phone is 510-635-3663.

Care for Animals

The Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society tells us, “Volunteering at BEBHS is fun and very rewarding. You will not only be helping the animals, but will meet others who share your interests. The staff, Board of Directors, and our four-legged residents are deeply appreciative of the commitment of time, energy and attention by volunteers.” Volunteers are needed to take care of dogs and cats, including helping potential adopters find their new family members, to do Mobile Outreach, to provide foster care for dogs and cats until they can be adopted, to give educational talks at local elementary schools, to help with special events, administrative support, and repairs, and much, much more. An orientation is required, as are training classes for anyone who would like to help care for the animals directly. There are even some opportunities for kids (with parent supervision) and teens. Space is limited, so prospective volunteers are asked to contact the Volunteer Department by calling 510-845-7735, ext. 13, or email volunteer@berkeleyhumane.org to enroll.

The Oakland Zoo also has volunteer opportunities in a variety of departments: Animal Management, Conservation and Education, Events, Operations, Grounds, Janitorial, General Office work, Internships, and EMT. “Volunteer opportunities are especially exciting for individuals who are concerned about animals in captivity and the wild, conservation issues, and educating today's youth.” The Zoo offers internships and apprenticeship programs for those who are considering careers working with larger animals, in addition to needing ambassadors and docents, and habitat restoration. Call 510-632-9525.

Garden and Help Outdoors

Outdoorsy? Good! One need not stay indoors to make a difference. Save The Bay needs folks to plant seedlings, take pictures, and participate in dozens of restoration projects on the west coast’s largest estuary.

With recent budget cuts in city landscaping, some neighborhood organizations are trying to fill the void, and could also use help. As always, Oakland Local’s own calendar section features community volunteer events in addition to other community events and entertainment. Some of these are neighborhood-specific park and neighborhood beautification projects. The Calendar can be perused for those events in specific neighborhoods.

For those who are passionate about local open spaces, but perhaps feel lacking in the green thumb department, other skills are still needed to help the larger effort. 

Keep Oakland Beautiful (KOB) is looking for enthusiastic leaders to join in its efforts to make Oakland cleaner, greener, more beautiful, and litter-free. The Board meets on the fourth Wednesday of every month at City Hall, and they are also active on subcommittees. Board members serve a two-year term and may reapply for successive two-year terms. Interested applicants can obtain information and applications from Cookie Robles-Wong, at 434-5126.”

Mentor and Help Kids

The OreMi Mentoring Program issues a powerful reminder: “On any given day, there are over 200,000 children in California who have one or both parents in prison." Further, "it is estimated that approximately 5,280 of these children reside in Alameda County. When parents go to prison or jail, their children suffer. The loss of a parent to incarceration can precipitate trauma and disruption that few experience without serious consequences. Without meaningful intervention, these children are seven times more likely to be at risk of involvement in the criminal justice system themselves. Therefore, finding mentors is not only helpful, it is essential.”

This organization (whose name, "OreMi," is Yoruba for "my friend, mentor, and someone in whom I can confide") brings children of incarcerated parents together with mentors, with positive results impacting us all. For more information about the OreMi Mentoring program, contact OreMi Social Worker Hannah Danto at (510) 834-2443, extension 3009, or OreMi Program Coordinator Lisa Lee at extension 3057.

The New Horizons Mentoring Program also offers similar mentoring opportunities, as well as specialized services, with the ultimate mission being “to stop the cycle of incarceration and lead these children to a different pathway.” Contact Meilan Liu at (510) 795-6488, extension 177, or at mliu@beamentor.org.

Folks over 55 looking to lend their know-how and experience to the community—and particularly to kids—have a few options just for them. RSVP of San Francisco, for example, is “a leader in the area of volunteer recruitment and placement for adults over the age of 55,” with “over three decades of experience identifying and meeting community needs.” New volunteer opportunities include helping children get school gardens started, and school mentors.Call 510-452-0868.

Experience Corps also seeks Baby Boomer volunteers, aged 55 and over, to tutor and mentor students at seven underserved elementary schools throughout North and East Oakland (Civicorps, Cleveland, Emerson, Monarch Academy, Piedmont Ave, Santa Fe, and Think College Now). “As little as 2 hours a week can make a huge difference and scheduling is flexible. No prior experience tutoring or working with kids is necessary. For more information, contact David Moren at 510-495-4966.”

What if giving stuff really does seem like the best way to help? Great! Opportunities for financial and food donations abound, and new toys and gently used coats are especially welcome right now.

Donate Toys

The Lake Merritt Business Association and the Oakland Firefighters Random Acts (among others) are currently engaged in a toy drive, with help from PG&E and Lotus Bloom. They ask that anyone with toys to donate kindly drop them off at one of these locations: East 18th Street Shopping Mall, either at Merritt Bakery & Restaurant, or at Lucky’s Supermarket; Lotus Bloom Children Resources Center at 2008 Park Boulevard; or Woody’s Café, just up the street at 1841 Park Boulevard. At the end of the drive, Santa Claus will be coming by for holiday cheer and kid photo ops at Woody’s Laundromat’s back patio on Thursday, December 17, from 3 – 6 p.m.

Donate Coats

If you’re one of the fortunate who has too many coats—ones that don’t fit, or have been outgrown, or that don’t get worn and just take up space—someone could sure use it. The One Warm Coat community service project urges us to make sure nobody in our community has to “go without such a basic necessity as a coat this winter. Coats of all shapes sizes are welcome. One Warm Coat is dedicated to distributing reusable coats, free of charge, directly to local children and adults.” Simply take your clean, gently used coats and jackets to Marquardt Property Management at 4164 MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., December 1 - 18, or Saturday, December 12, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Coats will then be distributed directly to those in need.

The Support Oakland Teachers Facebook group has received a request for warm coats. Anyone wanting to help keep a kid warm by donating a coat, or wanting to buy coats, or pick up some coats at garage sales, should contact Holly Kernan at hkernan@mills.edu.

Donate Blood—or Work the Phones for Donors

Did you know that only 38% of Californians are eligible to give blood, and only 8% of those actually do? Further, The Red Cross reminds us, whole blood has a shelf life of only 42 days, which means they must constantly replenish the blood supply. Even for those who aren’t eligible to donate, though, help encouraging others to do so, and help assisting blood donors when they visit, are still greatly needed. More details are available at Volunteer Match.

Indeed, Volunteer Match can match aspiring volunteers with the perfect volunteer opportunities. Here is just a sampling of some of their offerings: help with the holiday parade, send out a mailbag with Clinica de la Raza, help vaccinate, tutor a teen, help out at recess, mentor an immigrant business woman, teach an exercise class, tutor in English or serve lunch, teach kids chess, work in the office at Children’s Hospital, help at St. Vincent DePaul dining room, be a crisis intervenion counselor, or support public gardens. Those interested in finding out what’s available in their own neighborhoods, or that they would be especially good at or curious about, should go to Volunteer Match and try the handy search window.

Find Another Opportunity Match

For those who want to volunteer, but aren't sure what to do, some other organizations, like Volunteer Match, have already compiled lists of different kinds of opportunities in search of volunteers--many with searchable databases. Each of these few such organizations represented here has its own take on what’s needed.

Nonprofit organizations, most of which serve the community all year round, always need help—especially the charitable organizations, and the new ones. OLX offers Oakland-specific nonprofit job and volunteer listings, as well as free classifieds. Volunteer opportunities helping nonprofits include logo and website design, grantwriting, Spanish translators, writers, and park ambassadors, among many others. It’s a great way to help the helpers this season.

The Volunteer Center of the East Bay has dozens of volunteer opportunities, as one might well imagine, with holiday-specific opportunities indicated by the inclusion of a festive little candy cane icon next to the listing. Those opportunities range from holiday decorating at nursing homes, to gift wrapping, to helping with holiday parties and dinners, to visiting folks, to being a bell-ringer for the Salvation Army.CZall 925-472-5760.

Volunteer in Oakland offers opportunities to help out right in the neighborhood, getting involved with important causes close to home, even for folks who don’t have much time to volunteer—time commitments start an hour (or less) a month—and that means less travel time, too. They specialize in volunteer activism, because “it's the greatest feeling in the world knowing you're part of the solution.” Their Quick Guide to Making a Difference in Oakland features multiple kinds of projects for which to volunteer: environment, politics, government, education, communities, Volunteering Oakland, religion, and military.

Let us conclude here with a Christmas carol. Remember Good King Wenceslas? He wasn't just "good" because he was a fine statesman, or because he led great battles and claimed new territory. He is immortalized in song (and was canonized) because, even as a king, he served the poor. He brought a peasant firewood and sustainance through the snow, his footprints miraculously radiating warmth that kept his page alive through their journey. He kept it local, too.

May your holidays be happy--for you and for all the folks whose lives you touch.