Opportunity Details

You are cordially invited to join us at our next Operation Homefront Back-to-School Brigade event on Saturday, July 20, 2024, at Texas A&M University-Central Texas, Founders Hall, 1001 Leadership Place, Killeen, TX 76549. Doors open for volunteers at 7:00 AM, and the event culminates at 1:00 PM CST.

The Back-to-School Brigade is an annual nationwide campaign by Operation Homefront that collects and distributes school supplies to eligible dependents of service members. Military children receive free back-to-school supplies, including backpacks, through this assistance program to help them start the new school year on the right foot. The Back-to-School Brigade program has been a tremendous success since its inception. Operation Homefront distributed over 580,000 backpacks to military children nationwide, saving military families nearly $60M in school expenses.

This program is a crucial resource for military families facing financial hardship or other challenges as they navigate the back-to-school season. The backpacks provided through the program are of high quality, ensuring children have a durable and reliable backpack to carry their supplies. The program also includes a range of other school supplies, such as pencils, paper, and other essential items, to help children succeed in the classroom.

Operation Homefront aims to build strong, stable, and secure military families. Through our Back-to-School Brigade, we can help military children have the resources to succeed while easing their parents’ financial burdens. It is a great way to show gratitude to these courageous families who served our nation.

School supply shopping is the second biggest spending event of the year for military parents, and it comes during an already potentially costly season for families. Summer is the typical season for military families to move to new duty stations, and each relocation can require them to spend thousands out of pocket to cover unreimbursed expenses. The Back-to-School program aims to ease some financial burdens while offering military families a chance to meet others from the local civilian and military communities, thus helping foster an essential sense of belonging.

This year, locally in Killeen, community members, and associations join Operation Homefront to serve our deserving military families. Local participants this year are the Texas A&M University-Central Texas (TAMUCT), American Veterans Mission (AVM), Broadridge, United Through Reading (UTR), Dollar Tree, Southern Hampshire University, Mountain View Productions, Bell County Comic Con, Lightdance Photography, Girls Scouts of Central Texas, and Rudy’s BBQ. We would love to have you as an addition to these wonderful participants at this event. Together, everyone achieves more!

Available Shifts

Shift Name	Signup Max	Start	End
General	25	n/a	n/a
Cleanup and Close-Out	25	n/a	n/a

Opportunity Details

Provide literacy lessons for English to the youth group in Guatemala. This would be a weekly lesson. A lesson plan and material links will be provided.

Opportunity Details

The Northern Pass is an annual cycling fundraiser event that takes place in Muskoka and raises vital funds for life-saving cancer research. There are three routes to choose from, 40km, 100km, 160km, and all proceeds will directly benefit The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, one of the top 5 cancer research centres in the world. Every dollar raised will propel life-saving cancer research forward, improving patient care in Canada and around the globe.

Our mission inspires our ride and our community brings the grit that keeps it going. Help us Conquer Cancer In Our Lifetime. Come be a part of Northern Pass on August 10. This year, the event will start and finish at the Bracebridge Sportsplex and we are seeking volunteers to support our riders along the routes, who have raised significant funds for cancer research.

Available Shifts

Shift Name	Signup Max	Start	End
Port Sydney Dam Aid Station	6	n/a	n/a
South Portage Parkette Hydration Station	2	n/a	n/a
Muskoka Brewery Aid Station	6	n/a	n/a
Cheer Teams/Course Marshals	24	n/a	n/a
Muskoka Airport Aid Station/Cheer Teams	4	n/a	n/a
Sweep/SAG Wagon Drivers (vehicle/gas provided)	4	n/a	n/a

Opportunity Details

Volunteers can help assist in this event by working stations, gathering back to school supply donations, assisting with carnival games, and other general event volunteer tasks.

Available Shifts

Shift Name	Signup Max	Start	End
General	15	n/a	n/a

Opportunity Details

The Ignite on-site community garden provides endless opportunities for volunteers and youth to contribute. Located in our Belfort House backyard, youth living within the Bronzeville Youth Shelter and young adult community housing are able to enjoy the benefits of growing food crops and learn how to care for and maintain their outdoor space. Up to 15 volunteers will help with seasonal needs including: clearing out weeds, bushes, and plant beds; harvesting vegetables & flowers; raking and digging; cleaning up grounds around the property.

See our more about our Gardening events from this past June newsletter in the image attached.

Available Shifts

Shift Name	Signup Max	Start	End
General	15	n/a	n/a

Opportunity Details

Are you ready to change a life from the comfort of home?

Join ENGin as a conversation partner! This is a flexible and unique opportunity to make a direct impact on someone’s life while discovering a new culture and meeting a new friend.

We’ll pair you up with a buddy in Ukraine for weekly videochats at times that are convenient for you. During your conversations, you’ll practice English with your partner, learn about each other’s cultures, and offer an empathetic, authentic space for connection.

No teaching experience or knowledge of Ukrainian is required to volunteer with us. All of our participants can understand and hold a basic conversation in English. We offer ample training resources, session materials and total flexibility to customize your sessions to fit your/your partner’s goals and preferences. You’ll also have access to online communities to share ideas and ask questions.

Our only requirements for volunteers are English fluency, a strong internet connection, and the ability to commit to one hour a week for a minimum of 10-12 weeks.

Here's what three ENGin volunteers say about their experience.
- "I'm so glad that I got this experience and was able to make a new friend. By putting in a small amount of time, I'm able to make a huge impact on my student."
- "This program has been, I think, life-changing for both of us. I really consider her more like my daughter right now. That's how close we have become!"
- "I made a friend in Ukraine and we are teaching each other about our culture, our language, and our humor. We're even trading dad jokes! Both of us look forward to our chats and have a hard time wrapping it up."

To learn more about ENGin and become a volunteer, please visit www.enginprogram.org/volunteer or register to attend one of our weekly Zoom info sessions here. Info sessions are an opportunity to meet one of our team members, learn more about ENGin, and ask questions.

If you have any questions before signing up, please contact our team at info@enginprogram.org.

Opportunity Details

In more than 40+ countries around the world, Mercy Corps works side by side with families experiencing poverty, disaster, violent conflict, and the acute impacts of climate change.
It is easy to lose sight of what is possible for communities across the globe.
Over the course of this year, we have seen what we can do—together. Every day, we witness that collective action has the power to help people cope, adapt, and even thrive.
This holiday season we are inviting you to write a message of hope and gratitude to the families forging new paths to prosperity.
Though a small act, each message is a reminder that a more inclusive, resilient tomorrow is possible.

When we take action, our world transforms.

- Participants: This activity does not have a minimum or maximum participation requirement.
- Location: Virtual
- Facilitation: Non-facilitated; Please use the following link to send a message of support: https://web.mercycorps.org/survey/send-a-message-of-support-to-families/
- Duration:15 minutes
- Geographic reach: Mercy Corps has headquarters and offices around the world with a global team of humanitarians working across 40+ countries. To learn where we work, please visit, https://www.mercycorps.org/where-we-work
- Funding required: No

Opportunity Details

Our team volunteer days are incredible opportunities for your company to engage with the community, support the mission of the food bank and connect with one another!

During a Team Day, a group of 5-10 people will assist us in managing and preparing for our service days by receiving donations, organizing the warehouse, bagging food, sorting items, and setting up our grocery area. This role is perfect for those looking to make a tangible difference in their community.

Budget Request

Leading up to your volunteer day, we ask that your team support the food bank by making a contribution to our essential work in Parkdale. This can look like:

1) Your team can coordinate a food drive! Coordinate a food drive at your office - we will provide you with a list of the food bank’s most needed items and the resources you need to get started. Then, bring the food donations with you on your volunteer day. (Suggested donation: $700 value in food)

2) We can generate a custom fundraising page for your team! Use this page to fundraise for the food bank leading up to your volunteer day. We can customize your page with all of your company’s branding, photos, colours etc. (Suggested fundraising goal: $700)

3) We can invoice your company for a contribution to the Parkdale Community Food Bank. (Suggested donation: $700)

The suggested donation helps support our mission and essential work. Right now, the need is greater than ever. We provide food, free of barriers, to over 8,000 families every month. This support allows us to continue to support community members who are food insecure and need barrier-free access to high-quality, nutritious food with dignity and respect.

Available Shifts

Shift Name	Signup Max	Start	End
Parkdale Community Food Bank Team Day	10	n/a	n/a

Opportunity Details

• Early Learners Graduation: Our Early Learners Graduation is a celebration for our youngest learners of all their hard work as they exit pre-K and enter kindergarten! This year, we’re hosting it at the Mall of America and will have an exclusive Early Learner book fair, games, and cap and gown graduation ceremony in the Overlook room at the Mall of America. Afterwards, families can come down to the rotunda to participate in the Mall of America and Way to Grow Literacy Event that is open to all Way to Grow families.

• Literacy Event: This event is open to ALL Way to Grow families. It will feature a book fair in the rotunda, a variety of activities for families (Way to Grow families and mallgoers) to participate in (face painting, character meet and greets, children’s authors, crafts). The rotunda activities will be available starting at 10:00, with majority of the activities and crowd expected to begin around 1:00. The book fair is exclusive to Way to Grow families, but any passerby can join in on the activities happening.

Available Shifts

Shift Name	Signup Max	Start	End
AM - Flexible	no limit	n/a	n/a
PM - Flexible	no limit	n/a	n/a

Opportunity Details

We need fundraising help and we also need support with our first educational programs in Florida. These programs are critical to helping children who have lost their connection to each other, and their communities. Read about our mission and our projects. We have projects planned in Florida this Fall and early next year. Our fiscal sponsor is 501(c)(3) nonprofit Institute for Education, Research, and Scholarships (IFERS). Federal Tax ID number (EIN): 72-1585854.

Available Shifts

Shift Name	Signup Max	Start	End
General	no limit	n/a	n/a