This year for the Martin Luther King Day Holiday, the Volunteer Center outreached to area agencies registered on our online volunteer opportunities database 1-800volunteer.org. Agencies were asked to create one-day projects for volunteers to attend. 8 agencies stepped up to organize or support events - Bridge of Hope, Monterey Bay Horsemanship and Therapeutic Center, The Homeless Youth Coffee House at the Red Church, The Homeless Garden Project, Loaves and Fishes, Quail Hollow Ranch, and Save our Shores.
The response from the community was overwhelmingly positive. Nearly 400 individuals answered the call to serve in Santa Cruz County! Local residents turned out to serve meals to the homeless, share their time with nursing home residents, pull invasive plants, or support handicapped youth programs. A number of spontaneous volunteer groups stepped in to organize beach clean-ups including two area mom’s groups, The Redwood Non-Violence Community, and the Santa Cruz Montessori School.
It is our hope the building momentum for service will translate into an increased number of long-term volunteers for area non-profits. Volunteers are needed everyday and are vital to keeping area non-profits and public services running. Many programs in this county simply could not exist without willing community members sharing their time and talents.To see our volunteers in action on MLK Day watch the slide show below.
To volunteer in Santa Cruz County visit us at www.1-800volunteer.org
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