March Campaign Drive  

Minnesota FoodShare

Date/Time: Bring your food and/or cash donations to your local food shelf prior to April 1  

Location: Your local foodshelf 

March is Minnesota Food Share month. Each March since 1982, Minnesota FoodShare has directed the March Campaign, the largest food drive in the state. Join people across the state in a concerted effort to stock food shelves during March Food Drive, a month-long campaign with yearlong benefits for food shelves and hungry families in Minnesota. This campaign recruits thousands of congregations, companies, schools and civic groups to run local food and fund drives to aid in the effort and it is the largest food and fund drive for food shelves in the state of Minnesota. Every dollar donated to Minnesota FoodShare during the March Campaign goes directly to food shelves to purchase food for the hungry. You can collect food or cash donations as a family and donate them to your local food shelf or you can recruit family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, or individuals from your faith community or civic group to help organize a larger food and/or donation drive.   

Ages: Your entire family can participate

Time Commitment: Varies

Contact: Suzanna Shatila, 612.276.1530. Bring donations to your local food shelf. If you are interested in organizing a March Campaign, Minnesota FoodShare is here to help. There is a wealth of resources available online at Minnesota FoodShare March Campaign
mnfoodshare.gmcc.org 

Empty Bowls  

Community Fundraisers to Benefit Local Food Shelves

Date/Time: Variety of different days & times in March

Since its small beginnings in 1990 at Lahser High School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Empty Bowls has become an international grassroots project to raise funds for local food shelves. Many metro-area events feature handmade soup bowls created by community members in partnership with local schools, community education departments, businesses and other community members. Local restaurants and businesses donate soup and other items. At most Empty Bowl events attendees make a free will donation, chose a bowl, enjoy some soup, and keep their bowl to remind them of all the empty bowls in their communities and beyond. Many events feature a silent auction, entertainment or other activities. Empty Bowl fundraiser proceeds are used to help families in their local communities with basic needs like food and housing. Local Empty Bowls events are held throughout the year-- here's a list of events happening in March. If your local community is not on this list, contact your local food shelf or school district to find out if there's an Empty Bowls event held in your community.   

• United Way of Washington County-East, Thursday March 5, 5-7pm. Stillwater Area High School, 5701 Stillwater Blvd. N, Stillwater.
• ICA Food Shelf/ResourceWest, Tuesday, March 24, 11am-7pm. Hopkins Center for the Arts, 1111 Mainstreet, Hopkins
• PRISM Food Shelf & NEAR Food Shelf, Tuesday, March 3, 4-7pm. Sandburg Learning Center, 2400 Sandburg Drive, Golden Valley
• CROSS Food Shelf, Thursday, March 12, 3-7:30pm. Maple Grove Community Center, 12951 Weaver Lake Rd, Maple Grove
• The Open Door, Thursday, March 5, 11am-2 pm & 4:30-7:30pm. St. John Neumann Church, 4030 Pilot Knob Road, Eagan
• North Anoka County Community Foodshelf (NACE), Thursday, March 19, 5-7:30pm. St. Patrick's Church, 19921 Nightingale St NW, Oak Grove
• Saint Paul Area Council of Churches, Department of Indian Work Food Shelf, Saturday, March 21, 11am-3pm. White Bear Lake United Methodist Church, 1851 Birch Street, White Bear Lake

Think Spring Volunteer Break!  

DARTS

Date/Time: Month of May -pick a day and time

Location: Dakota County area  

Grab your rakes and gloves and invite your friends, families and co-workers to a to a spring volunteer break. Help seniors take care of their yards by providing a day of outdoor spring-cleaning. Volunteers play a crucial role in helping older homeowners in Dakota County maintain a sense of pride in their property. This is a great opportunity for families to share in the experience of giving back to the community. Raking will happen in May but we'd like to start connecting with volunteers now.  

Ages: Families are welcome; all ages can participate

Time Commitment: Varies

Contact: Barb Tiggemann, 651.455.1560 or [email protected]. To sign up for family volunteering go to www.darts1.org/volunteer  
www.darts1.org 

Rake the Leaves Spring Yard Clean Up  

HOME Program of Senior Community Services (SCS)

Date/Time: Seasonal: starting mid-April (depending upon the weather). Clean up can be scheduled on either weekdays or weekends.

Location: Exact location TBD in Minneapolis or suburban Hennepin County, depends upon where the senior lives.  

Volunteers are needed to help with spring yard clean up for seniors in Minneapolis and suburban Hennepin County. Improve your health while helping a senior citizen remain independent in their home. You choose the date and time to rake and clean up the yard.  

Ages: Families with children ages seven and older. Feel free to sign up multiple times.

Time Commitment: Flexible

Contact: Jeanne, SCS HOME Program Volunteer Coordinator, [email protected] or call 952.767.7894
www.seniorcommunity.org 

Food Packing- Youth & Family Service Day  

Second Harvest Heartland West

Date/Time: Saturday, April 4, 9-11:30am or 12:30-2:30pm. Plan to arrive 10 minutes prior to the start of your volunteer shift. That will give you plenty of time to check in, hang up coats and secure purses and jewelry in lockers.  

Location: 6325 Sandburg Rd. Suite 1700, Golden Valley  

Youth Service Days are focused on opening our doors to youth groups and families with youth for a high-energy and fun service opportunity. Volunteers sort and repack donated food into consumer size packages. This activity includes a variety of positions, so there are jobs for a variety of ages and abilities. These repackaged items then go to our partner agencies, such as food shelves and soup kitchens that serve our hungry neighbors. We hope you will join the fun!   

Ages: This opportunity is available to youth ages eight and older. Adults who bring infants and children under eight years old will not be able to volunteer

Time Commitment: Two hours 

Contact: Kaia Arthur, 651.209.7909, [email protected]. Volunteers can sign up online via  www.2harvest.org/volunteer.  Please note that Youth Service Day volunteer spots fill up quickly.

www.2harvest.org 

Driving Older Adults for Easter Lunch    

Little Brothers-Friends of the Elderly

Date/Time: Sunday, April 5, 11:30am-2:30pm, Easter Sunday

Location: Prom Center, 484 Inwood Ave N, Oakdale  

Please consider joining Little Brothers-Friends of the Elderly for our annual Easter lunch. You and your family can help drive a couple elders to the lunch, be their companion during the meal and take them home. This is a great way to provide much needed social companionship to those we serve.   

Ages: A great opportunity for all ages. Volunteers under 18 years of age need to be with a parent/adult.

Time Commitment: Three hours 

Contact: Joshua Windham, [email protected] or call 612.746.0732
www.littlebrothersmn.org  

LOVE IN[DEED]  

Wooddale Church

Date/Time: Saturday, March 28, 9am-noon

Location: Wooddale Church Gym, Door 5, 6630 Shady Oak Road, Eden Prairie. A specific project in the city of Edina will be hosted at the Edina Campus, 5532 Wooddale Avenue South, Edina  

Join Love In[Deed] in making a difference in the Twin Cities. Just show up, choose from a variety of pre-planned volunteer opportunities, and then go serve the community.  

Ages: Some sites do require a minimum age due to safety concerns or the nature of the work. However, we ensure that there will be sites open to people of all ages.

Time Commitment: Three hours 

Contact: For more information visit wooddale.org/loveindeed or email Ben Forsberg, [email protected].
www.wooddale.org

Childcare  

RESOURCE, Inc

Date/Time: Two Thursdays every month from 5:45 until 8pm

Location: 1st and 3rd Thursday in North Minneapolis / 2nd and 4th Thursday in Roseville  

Ongoing childcare attendants are needed in north Minneapolis and Roseville two to four Thursday evenings each month. Volunteers will create and lead activities as well as provide supervision to children ages infant to eight years old while mothers attend career advancement workshop. This is a great opportunity for parent/child volunteer teams! We are looking for volunteers to make at least a six-month commitment; longer commitments are welcome.  

Ages: Parent/Child Teams with children over 12 years old, Sibling Teams if both siblings are over 14 years old

Time Commitment: Six months, some flexibility permitted

Contact: Samantha Sleeman at [email protected]
www.resource-mn.org

Caring Cooks  

RESOURCE, Inc.

Date/Time: Two Thursdays every month. The meal must be ready to serve at 6pm

Location: 1st and 3rd Thursday in North Minneapolis  

Meal service volunteers are needed at our evening client workshops. This is a great opportunity for small groups or families! We are looking for volunteers to provide a meal for about 15 workshop participants. Volunteers can either: 

• Prepare and serve a meal that has already been planned;
• Plan, purchase ingredients, and prepare a meal for one our programs that host evening workshops and activities. There is a kitchen available on-site for volunteer use;
• Bring store/restaurant bought food and serve participants;
• Prepare a freezable meal ahead of time and drop it off for one of our programs to utilize.

Ages: This is a great family opportunity. Children must be able to help parents in the kitchen and follow directions.

Time Commitment: Meal must be ready to serve at 6 pm, so please plan accordingly. The average time commitment is one and one-half to two and one-half hours. This meal service opportunity can be one-time or ongoing.

Contact: Samantha Sleeman at [email protected]
www.resource-mn.org 

Cook For Kids  

Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery

Date/Time: We have meals three times a day, seven days a week, so it can work for anyone's schedule! Check our online calendar for shift availability

Location: 4544 4th Ave S, Minneapolis  

Recruit a team of up to six people to purchase groceries, cook on site and serve breakfast, lunch or dinner to children at the Crisis Nursery. This is a great opportunity for your family to cook a meal for approximately 30 children, care provider staff and volunteers.  

Ages: Volunteers must be 12 or older. All volunteers under age 18 must be accompanied by an adult age 21 or older.

Time Commitment: Two hours at the Nursery (includes prep, serving, eating and clean up), plus shopping time. This can be a one-time opportunity or an ongoing one.

Visiting the Elderly  

Date/Time: Flexible 

Location: Various Twin Cities locations 

Many seniors in our community face loneliness every day. You and your family can share the kindness of a personal connection with an older adult. When your family visits a senior you help your children become comfortable with our aging population and bring cheer to those who are isolated and lonely. Regular visits with a senior can help enhance the lives of both the senior you visit and your family. Many programs provide training and ongoing support for volunteers; some will ask for a minimum time commitment, typically at least six months. Doing Good Together's Visit the Elderly project page offers lots of suggestions for visiting with seniors, reflection questions for your family, and additional resources. You can contact a local nursing home or care facility or an organization in the Twin Cities that offer senior visiting programs like Little Brothers-Friends of the Elderly and DARTS.    

Ages: Organizations may have differing age requirements but most will welcome families with children.

Time Commitment: Varies

Contact: Little Brothers-Friends of the Elderly, Joshua Windham, [email protected] or call 612.746.0732
DARTS, Barb Tiggemann, 651.455.1560 or [email protected]
You can also search for nursing homes in your area on Senior Linkage Line