No matter the time of year, there is always a need for volunteers. But this time of year, around the holidays, a stronger need arises. On top of the people that already need help, many more families come to need help as the money they make gets stretched thinner. No matter their financial situation, parents will always want to give their kids a memorable Christmas, and the kids deserve it. Those of us with the means to donate financially and/or with time and talent don’t just benefit the community we get so much from, but we benefit ourselves! Let’s take a look at some of the ways and places you can volunteer in the Triangle and some reasons you’ll love it!

Why You Should Volunteer

We intuitively know that volunteering “makes you feel good”. But why is that? Maybe we’ve just heard it said enough that we believe it to be true. But as it turns out, it is true. The Mayo Clinic published an article in 2023 outlining three health benefits of volunteering.

1. Volunteering puts you in a position to flex both physically and mentally, depending on what you do. If you have a sedentary job, this is an awfully nice perk.

2. Volunteering gives you a chance to find purpose and meaning. In the modern world we live in, we have an epidemic of meaninglessness that leads to depression and anxiety. One essential aspect of overcoming this is finding something that gives you purpose and meaning. Giving back to your community by helping the less fortunate is a guaranteed way to find some purpose.

3. The third way volunteering makes you feel good is by helping you make new friendships! If you’re new to the Triangle and want to find new people, this may be one of the best ways to meet people. I know I’ve made friends volunteering, and I’m sure you will too!

Photo courtesy of Aaron Doucett via Unsplash

Where to Volunteer

If you can financially support, great! If you cannot or want to help more, volunteering your time is a great way to do so! There are quite a few places around the Triangle where you can volunteer. Whether you can commit to once a week, once a month, or once a year, please consider going to their websites or calling to see what you can do. This is FAR from an exhaustive list of places to volunteer in the Triangle, but this is a small list to get you started!

• Food Bank

  • Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina (FBCENC) - This is the biggest food bank and pantry in the eastern half of North Carolina. It not only functions as a food pantry but as a food distributor to other food pantries across the Triangle and the eastern half of NC. They have a Raleigh location serving half of the Triangle, including Morrisville and Apex, and a Durham location serving the other half of the Triangle, including Chapel Hill.

• Food Pantries

  • Catholic Parish Outreach (CPO) - This is the second biggest food pantry after FBCENC in the Triangle. They also have a Raleigh location serving half of the Triangle, including Morrisville and Apex, and a Durham location serving the other half of the Triangle, including Chapel Hill.

  • PORCH - This is a food pantry located in Orange County serving the Chapel Hill and Carrboro communities.

• Soup Kitchen

  • Shepherd’s Table Soup Kitchen - This is a Monday through Friday soup kitchen in downtown Raleigh offering lunch. They take volunteers to prepare the meal and clean up afterwards.

  • Oak City Cares (OCC) - Among other services, they provide weekend meals in Raleigh, complementing Shepherd’s Table.

  • Urban Ministries of Durham (UMD) - Among other services, this is a food pantry in Durham offering three meals a day, 365 days a year. Yes, they need a lot of volunteers!

• Shelter

  • Urban Ministries of Wake County - Among other services, this is a women’s shelter that provides basic needs for their guests.

  • UMD - They also have a homeless shelter, and they can help with other basic services as well.

  • Inter-Faith Council for Social Service (IFC) - This is a men’s shelter offering 24-hour shelter and food.

Photo courtesy of Camden

Camden Cares

One of the many things I love about Camden is its commitment to the communities it serves. Camden participates in “Camden Cares” initiatives, where employees volunteer at different community organizations, such as the Ronald McDonald House, trash pick-ups at local parks, and work at the FBCENC. Camden also organizes donation drives for residents to participate in. Before Thanksgiving, we collect non-perishables for the FBCENC; for Christmas, we have a Toys for Tots box; and we have done drives for back-to-school supplies and for the No Woman, No Girl Initiative. Aside from these regularly planned drives, we have participated in drives for natural disasters such as Hurricane Helene, where our residents really showed up and completely packed the collection space we had at my community!

Whether volunteering is something you’ve done in the past or not, it’s always a good time to start! After I began feeling the need to volunteer, I delayed getting involved for years, thinking, “I have a schedule that changes every week, I can’t offer a set day to volunteer, so I can’t do it,” but there is such a need for volunteers that they will work with you! If the first place you look into doesn’t have any need at the times you’re available, another will! Learn more about our Camden Cares efforts around the nation.