Helping through the holidays

When holidays come around, they often bring out the good in communities when more people venture into volunteering and helping communities. 

Whether the goal is to raise money for a special charity, donate clothes or food to the homeless or simply sit down and share what you have to offer, each volunteer can contribute what they have to helping those who are less fortunate, especially during the holiday season.

“Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the blessings that we have,” said Mimmi Stanton, a Homewood resident of 52 years. 

Stanton has been volunteering with Urban Ministry for the past four years. 

“By reaching out to charitable programs, we can, hopefully, make it possible for others to have some blessings and that they in turn can pass on some blessing to others.”

Urban Ministry, an organization on Cotton Avenue Southwest in Arlington-West End, aims to provide programs of compassion and wholeness to poor and low-income families in the Birmingham area. 

Like many volunteering institutions, Urban Ministry is historically a faith-based organization, which is how Stanton got started. 

“I am a member of the United Methodist Women at Trinity United Methodist Church, and our circle [Circle 2] sort of adopted to help with needs at Urban Ministry,” she said. She and her circle focus primarily on helping with food donations, which is a common and significant way to volunteer. 

“We have provided food items for their food pantry, organized the food pantry, donated school supplies for [the] tutoring program, helped serve lunch when daily lunches were served and are ready to help when other needs arise,” she said.

According to the Corporation for National and Community Service in 2014, the majority of volunteers in Alabama were affiliated with  a religious organization, and a great number of those volunteers deal with food collection and distribution.

“Through your church is a wonderful place to start,” Stanton said. 

While there are a number of volunteers who work year-round, Stanton also acknowledges that there is an influx of interest during the holidays.

“[Maybe as] a time of reflection and maybe those who are more fortunate feel a need to reach out,” she said. “Might be a feeling of guilt, but I think mostly out of wanting to give.”

Because there are more potential volunteers during the holiday season, residents are encouraged to either request to volunteer at specific events early or to consider donating items or money to a specific cause. This allows everyone to be involved without overwhelming organizations during particular times of the year, either through donating money, goods or time. 

“I think it is only fitting to give back when we have the opportunity and the means to do so,” Stanton said. “There are many ways to give back and not only in monetary ways, but in time and sharing your talents with others.”