Our county abounds with amazing volunteers--and you probably a few of them. Recognize their service by nominating them for the 2017 Montgomery Serves Awards. This prestigious annual awards program, Montgomery County's highest honor for service, commends volunteers in the following categories: 

Nomination forms and additional details are now available online. Deadline to submit nominations is Friday, Feb. 24, 5 pm.

Award recipients will be honored at a gala ceremony attended by county and state dignitaries Monday, April 24, 6:30 pm, at Imagination Stage in Bethesda. Tickets are available at no charge, but advance registration is required.

Every day, hundreds of people in crisis in Montgomery County turn to Interfaith Works, a non-sectarian coalition of more than 165 affiliated congregations of diverse faiths plus schools, community groups, and individuals, all working together to meet the needs of the poor and homeless. And Interfaith Works responds, providing a range of services aimed at helping people lift themselves out of poverty--everything from emergency shelter and longer-term supportive housing to clothing, home goods, and job training.

In fact, the nonprofit organization, founded in 1972, now assists more than 16,000 county residents annually. That means making a difference in the life of a schoolchild whose family cannot afford to provide a backpack and school supplies, in the life of a mom who has been laid off from work and worries that she and her family will be evicted from their home, and in the life of a man who has struggled for years living on the streets and worries he won't survive a harsh winter.

In addition to trained, professional staff members who lead the work to help individuals and families in crisis, Interfaith Works relies on the incredible support of thousands of volunteers each year who dedicate their time and provide donations that enable the agency to continue to enhance the lives of those whom they serve. There are numerous opportunities available for volunteers of all age groups (young children, students, professionals, parents, retirees, and so forth) and from all backgrounds, cultures, and careers. Schools and other groups are also welcome.

Currently, the organization's greatest volunteer needs include providing meals at the Interfaith Works Women's Center in Rockville and the Carroll House men's shelter in Silver Spring, sorting and organizing donations at the Interfaith Works Clothing Center in Rockville, and hosting a supplies drive for essentials such as cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, and toiletries for the Interfaith Works Empowerment Center in Silver Spring.

To sign up or learn more about volunteering with Interfaith Works, visit the organization's online volunteer page, email Yvonne Esipila, or call her at 301-315-1097.

Just as some businesses now allow their employees to telecommute, several local agencies offer opportunities to "tele-volunteer"! Some of these serve-from-home ideas go to organizations' regular volunteers, but some are up for grabs to new help. Here are a few:

Compile a quarterly newsletter for Holy Cross Home Care and Hospice. Requires familiarity with electronic publishing software. Email Dotti Moorman or call 301-754-7744.

Serve as a Spanish-English translator for Gaithersburg HELP, which assists area residents with basic needs such as food, medicine, transportation to medical and social service appointments, and referrals to other agencies. Home-based translators handle voicemail messages left in Spanish, call clients, and schedule their support via an online system. Other Gaithersburg HELP volunteer-from-home opportunities include food distribution coordinators, grant writers, and IT team members. Email Patricia Bronson.

Assist with donation acquisitions for Habitat for Humanity Metro Maryland's ReStore locations in Silver Spring and Rockville. Donation acquisition interns research local businesses, solicit donations, and follow up with donors. Requires excellent communication skills, attention to detail, and basic computer experience. The organization is also seeking a social media intern to regularly post to Twitter, Facebook, Craigslist, YouTube, Flickr, and Habitat's blog. Both positions require some hours in the store as well as volunteering from home. For the Rockville store, email Alena Biagas or call 301-990-0014 x16. For the Silver Spring store, email Heather Bouley or call 301-990-0014 x29.

For more ideas, search our website for the keyword phrase "from home".

More than 5,000 volunteers participated in MLK Day of Service activities throughout Montgomery County last month.   A huge thank you to everyone who made the day off into a day on and honored Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy by serving others. Working together at multi-project sites in North Bethesda, Silver Spring, Gaithersburg, and Germantown, as well as individual service locations, our county's volunteers packed food for low-income families, donated blood, assembled toiletries kits for homeless individuals, made dog toys for animal shelters, bundled socks for hospitalized veterans, cleaned up streams, manned food drives, and much more!

Check out photos of some of the volunteer activities here. If you have images to share, email them to us.

Have you ever thought about one of those ultimate forms of volunteerism--foster parenting? Get details about how foster care works, eligibility requirements, and the application process at an information session sponsored by Montgomery County Foster and Adoptive Parent Services on Thursday, Feb. 9, 6:30-9:30 pm, in Rockville. (Additional information sessions are scheduled for Thursdays, March 9, April 6, and May 11.)

Families are particularly needed to foster children 13 years old and up, teen mothers and their babies, sibling groups, babies and toddlers, and children with complex medical and/or behavior needs.

Learn more on the county Health and Human Services Department's foster parent page, email Dana Leacock, or call 240-777-1664.

February is typically our region's snowiest month, and thus the time when elderly and disabled residents may need help with shoveling. You can volunteer to help your neighbors or sign up to get help with snow removal on Snowcrew, an online service that matches volunteers and needs through a GPS-based database. 

This grassroots neighbor-helping-neighbor site isn't coordinated by Montgomery County or the Volunteer Center, but the county is encouraging residents to give it a try. The more people that use it, the greater the tool's value!

The Montgomery County Board of Education is now seeking nominees for its Distinguished Service to Public Education awards. This annual awards program recognizes exemplary contributions to public education in Montgomery County.  Up to three awards will be presented in each of the following categories: community individual, community group, business, MCPS staff, school service volunteer, and individual pioneer. 

Completed nomination forms must be submitted by Friday, March 3, 5 pm. Get complete details and nomination forms here.