Feeling the holiday spirit? Here are five ways you can help your community

With the holiday season well underway, many of us are thinking about how we can give back to our communities, especially this year where times have been tough for so many of our friends and neighbors. 

At The Catalyst, we are committed to helping residents get involved through our Impact Connector, and there are a number of organizations seeking donations and volunteers. Here are a few suggestions:

• Collect or deliver durable medical equipment with Saving Our Seniors: This nonprofit helps Tampa Bay-area seniors with limited incomes by providing them with necessary medical equipment such as canes, walkers and shower chairs. In addition to donating and delivering items, Saving Our Seniors has other volunteer opportunities including warehouse staffing, marketing and phone support. 
• Donate toys and other items to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital: Donated items may be used as gifts for individual patients, or may be used in playrooms, support groups or therapy sessions. All items must be new due to health concerns. The hospital is accepting toys and games, school supplies, craft materials and kits and handmade items such as pillowcases and quilts. Top needs include crayons and colored pencils, coloring books and rattles. Donations must be scheduled prior to drop-off. To schedule a drop off, call 727-767-4323, Monday-Friday between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. For more information, click here.
• Connect people to employment leads to support ECHO of Brandon: ECHO supports people in need in a variety of ways including providing emergency food and clothing, GED classes and employment training. Employment leads can be shared with ECHO by calling (813) 685-0935 or emailing marlen@echofl.org. To view other volunteer opportunities with ECHO, click here. 
• Deliver food to seniors through Neighborly and Meals on Wheels of Pinellas County: Volunteers are asked to make a minimum commitment of two to four hours each week to deliver meals to seniors. There are also opportunities to help out with entertainment at adult day care centers. Urgent needs areas include Pinellas Park and Largo. Volunteers must complete an application, undergo a background check and attend an orientation session. For more information, click here. 
• Donate your bike to Wellbuilt Bikes: WellBuilt Bikes is a nonprofit bike shop that sells refurbished bikes at affordable prices and invests the sales revenue into its Earn-A-Bike program, so those with little to no money can access and own a bike of their own. The bike shop is now accepting all sizes and types of gently used bicycles that will be refurbished before they go to their new owners. For more information on how to donate, contact (813) 563-3024 or email wellbuiltbikes@gmail.com.

If your organization is looking for volunteers, click here to submit your opportunity. We’ll  help get the word out.