People of all ages and abilities can find ways to help those less fortunate in our community, as well as work toward environmental causes. In addition to being a fun and social activity, volunteering can add a sense of purpose to life, while providing much-needed help. There may even be physical health benefits.
According to a 2023 National Institutes of Health article (tinyurl.com/NIH-volunteering), “Volunteering provides unique benefits to organizations, recipients, and potentially the volunteers themselves.” Researchers studied the social, mental and physical or general health benefits of volunteering and “benefits were found in all three domains, with reduced mortality and increased functioning exerting the largest effects. Older age, reflection, religious volunteering, and altruistic motivations increased benefits most consistently,” the authors stated.
Following are several organizations in the local area that welcome volunteers in a variety of capacities.
Benefitting children:
• Monkey Toy Gathering. Use your crafting skills to make sock monkey toys for the young patients at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. For over 30 years, the city of Los Altos’ Senior and Adult 50+ programs have hosted this weekly social group, which meets noon to 2 p.m. Mondays in the Los Altos Community Center Sycamore Room, 97 Hillview Ave.
For more information, call (650) 947-2797.
• Assistance League of Los Altos. This all-volunteer nonprofit funds various philanthropic programs through grants, donations from its membership and the community and special events. Two of its signature programs are Baby Bundles and Operation School Bell.
For more information, call (650) 941-2610 or visit assistanceleague.org/los-altos.
Benefitting the homeless and food-insecure:
• Community Services Agency (CSA). Volunteer to sort and shelve food in CSA’s Mountain View food pantry or volunteer with the Senior Services Program as a general escort, grocery store escort, medical appointment escort, translator or Friendly Visitor.
For more information, call (650) 968-0836 or visit csacares.org/volunteer.
• Hope’s Corner. Opportunities include helping with breakfast service in Mountain View on Saturdays or Mondays; organizing donated clothing and supplies; or socializing and answering questions as guests wait in line.
For more information, email [email protected] or visit hopes-corner.org/information-volunteers.
• One warm scarf. Knit or crochet scarves and hats for the homeless as part of Los Altos resident Sandy Goldstein’s long-established One Warm Scarf campaign. The project also includes scarves, hats, blankets, slippers and booties, which are delivered to shelters located in several Bay Area counties.
For more information, contact Sandy Goldstein at (650) 968-2751 or [email protected].
Benefitting the environment:
• Grassroots Ecology. This nonprofit is “dedicated to caring for public lands and waters across Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.” On March 21, from 9 a.m. to noon, help out the Mountain View Shoreline marsh habitat by planting California native plants that grow specifically in the marshlands of the San Francisco Bay and removing invasive non-native plants (warning: weeding involved).
For more information and a calendar of future events, visit grassrootsecology.org/event-calendar or email [email protected].
• GreenTown Los Altos. The nonprofit’s mission is “To protect and enhance the environment of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills through community engagement, education and advocacy while contributing to and leveraging regional and global environmental efforts.” Opportunities include planting trees; researching and writing; blog posting; photography and videography of GreenTown events.
For more information, visit greentownlosaltos.org.
