How To Help Our Community: A Guide

Our country is in a state of disarray, no doubt about that. SNAP benefits are being cut, prices for everything from groceries to hospital visits are becoming less and less affordable for everyday people, and things overall are feeling a little hopeless. 

In the face of all of that hopelessness, I know that a lot of people, including myself, are looking for ways we can help our community. I’ve worked to compile a list of places in and around Beloit that could use your help, giving a hand to those who need it.

1. The Salvation Army has a program just before Thanksgiving for volunteers to put together dinners to be delivered to people’s homes. An email from Randi Mogul states: “Hi everyone, last year I volunteered at the Salvation Army along with several Beloit students to put together Thanksgiving dinners to be delivered to people’s homes and it was a lot of fun!  If anyone is interested in helping out, we are doing it again this year on Tuesday, November 25th from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., if you are going to be around and are interested, please let me know as soon as you can and I will add your name to the list, thank you!” If you are staying around for Thanksgiving and want to help out, reach out to her! The Salvation Army has a number of other volunteer programs as well, visit https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/volunteer/ to learn more about those.
2. Project 1649 exists to serve the needs of Rock County’s unhoused and unaccompanied youth population. If you would like to help out with any of their many different projects and service programs, please visit https://project1649.org/volunteer/ to fill out their contact form and indicate that you would like to work with them! You can also visit https://project1649.org/wish-list/ to see what supplies and items they are looking for to help support the kids they help, and you can donate any of these items to the locations listed on the site.
3. Caritas Community Resource Center is a food pantry, a diaper bank, and a community garden. They focus on providing food and clothing to neighbors in need in the Beloit area. They are always looking for people to donate food, host food drives, and donate money to the center. To become a volunteer, fill out this form on their website: https://caritasbeloit.org/become-a-volunteer/ or navigate to the “Ways to Give” tab on their site to see how to donate. 
4. Beloit Meals on Wheels is a meal delivery service for housebound senior citizens. If you would like to help, they are looking for volunteers to deliver meals, either on a scheduled basis or to be on standby for short-notice deliveries. To apply to volunteer, visit https://beloitmealsonwheels.org/volunteer/. You can also donate online to help out their organization that way at the same site.
5. Community Action is a nonprofit organization that offers programs to fight poverty in Beloit and the surrounding areas. They have a large variety of opportunities for volunteers to get involved in their many events and initiatives! To learn more about that and contact them about volunteering, visit https://community-action.org/give/volunteer/. You can also buy something off of their wish list, designed to help people in the community, or donate to the organization at https://community-action.org/give/. 
6. Family Services of Southern Wisconsin is also always looking for volunteers. They have worked closely with different programs at Beloit College in the past, and always love help. To learn more about what you can do and to reach out, visit https://familyservices1.org/volunteer-opportunities/?utm_source=www.beloit.edu&utm_medium=referral
7. The Beloit Health System has a large volunteer program. They are dedicated to matching volunteers with programs and placing them in areas that match their unique skills and interests. To apply and learn more about how to train as a volunteer with them, visit https://www.beloithealthsystem.org/about-us/volunteer-with-beloit-health-system/?utm_source=www.beloit.edu&utm_medium=referral
8. Family Promise of Greater Beloit runs a number of programs that could use volunteer assistance. According to their website, you could help with a wide range of things from “serving meals, to providing financial literacy training, to assisting with fundraising events, to serving on our board of trustees. There is something for everyone!” To get started, visit https://www.familypromisebeloit.org/volunteer?utm_source=www.beloit.edu&utm_medium=referral
9. Last but certainly not least, Beloit Public Library has a couple of different community support and outreach programs that depend on volunteers! You can help out in the library, in local Beloit schools, or through delivering and outreach programs to people who aren’t able to get to the library due to age, disability, or a number of other factors. To get involved with any of these, visit their website: https://beloitlibrary.org/be-involved/volunteer/.

If any of these seem interesting to you, please visit their website and see how you can help out! We can all get through this life if we do it together.

Featured image: Unsplash