MLK Days of Service
Jewish Volunteer Connection (JVC)
Date/Time: Sunday, January 17 and Monday, January 18
Location(s): Varies depending on project. There are at-home projects, onsite and virtual opportunities.
Ages: Varies depending on project
Time Commitment: Varies
Join JVC as we move forward Dr. King’s vision of a Beloved Community. Volunteers can engage virtually in provocative learning experiences and a variety of service projects from home, as well as meaningful and physically distanced volunteer projects in the community. There will be three different ways families and individuals will be able to participate this year:
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Service “To Go”: Volunteer Projects To Do From Home
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On-Site Service: Volunteering Throughout the Community
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Virtual Experiences: Online Social Justice Learning and Service Project Gathering Opportunities
Click here to learn more about individual JVC 2021 MLK Days of Service projects. Jewish Volunteer Connection (JVC), the volunteer arm of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, matches volunteers with high-quality, hands-on volunteer placements and projects, developed in partnership with other nonprofit organizations throughout Baltimore. Each year, the organization helps volunteers of all ages, interests and abilities to give back at area schools, shelters, hospitals, synagogues and organizations throughout Baltimore.
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At-Home Volunteer Projects
United Way of Central Maryland
Date/Time: Ongoing
Location: From your home
Ages: Families with children of all ages can participate together
Time Commitment: Varies
Virtual volunteering helps to protect the health and safety of our volunteers. Your family can choose a project from the list below. You may also register to be sent additional opportunities to keep you and your family busy helping others.
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Art For Families: Families that are being moved into permanent housing will benefit from signs welcoming them home.
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Letter Writing for a Purpose: Write notes to your choice of veterans, hospital patients, children, or the homeless. These can be picked up at a later date to be distributed to the appropriate audience.
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Bookmarks & Notes: Color bookmarks and write inspirational messages inside the covers of books for kids.
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Locker posters: Make inspirational posters to hang inside student lockers to start their day off on a positive note.
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Virtual Story Time - LIVE ONLINE
Maryland SPCA
Date/Time: Thursdays from 4 - 4:30pm
Location: Online via Zoom
Ages: Children ages 5 - 12, though all ages are welcome. We encourage parents/guardians to remain present in the room with their children during reading time.
Time Commitment: Thirty minutes
Do you miss reading to the animals in the kennels during Wagging Tales Reading Hour? Join the Maryland SPCA for our brand-new Virtual Story Time! Thursdays at 4pm, each registered child will have the chance to read to a live animal - having fun while practicing their reading skills in a non-judgmental environment. Animal-themed books are encouraged but not required. Readers will be individually paired with Maryland SPCA volunteers and their pets in a virtual meeting space.
Contact: HumaneEd@mdspca.org. Registration is available online. Slots will fill up fast, so please register now. You'll receive an email confirmation, followed by details on how to log onto Zoom for the live event!
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Letters of Encouragement
My Sister's Place Women's Center
Date/Time: Ongoing project
Location: Mail your letters (or postcards) to:
Julie Martin
Letters of Encouragement at MSPWC
17 W. Franklin St.
Baltimore, MD 21201
Ages: Everyone can participate
Time Commitment: Varies. For students: 10 letters equals 2 service hours. If you would like to claim hours, please e-mail jmartin@cc-md.org
Open since 1982, My Sister's Place Women's Center is Baltimore City's longest-serving women's day shelter and resource center for women and children experiencing homelessness and poverty. We empower those we serve to overcome their situations through our services, which include extensive workshops centered on the 8 realms of wellness: emotional, spiritual, intellectual, physical, environmental, financial, occupational, and social wellness. More than just a meal program, My Sister's Place Women's Center provides a safe haven for women in Baltimore City, a place to receive love and support as they work to overcome their barriers. Everybody can use some support. Write a general letter of encouragement, mail it to us, and we will hand them out to those coming to our program. You never know who your sincere words may touch. For safety and security reasons, each letter will need to be opened and read prior to handing out.
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How to Help Now Wish List Needs
St. Vincent De Paul of Baltimore (SVDP)
Date/Time: Ongoing need
Location: Online
Ages: Everyone can help
Time Commitment: Varies
The mission of St. Vincent De Paul of Baltimore (SVDP) is to ensure those impacted by poverty have the skills, resources and opportunity to achieve their full potential. St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore is a leading provider of community services to people suffering from the effects of hunger, homelessness, and poverty in the Baltimore region. During this current crisis we need extra supplies for our shelters, to supplement meals, and to give our residents support with other needs. You can help by purchasing our most needed supplies and having them shipped directly to us through our Amazon wish list.
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Make Comfort or Toiletry Kits
Ronald McDonald House Charities Maryland
Date/Time: Reach out to Chloe Ring to schedule a date and time to drop off the kits
Location: 1 Aisquith Street, Baltimore
Ages: Families with children of all ages are welcome to participate
Time Commitment: Varies
Your family can help make a difference to families at the Ronald McDonald House. Choose from one of the following two projects :
Help provide families with a little extra comfort by making comfort kits:
- Idea #1: Wrap a new towel set (bath towel, hand towel, face cloth) in a ribbon or a gift bag. Include a note of encouragement.
- Idea #2: Wrap a new bath robe with slippers in a ribbon or gift bag. Include a note of encouragement.
- Idea #3: For winter wrap a hat and gloves or mittens tied with ribbon or in a gift bag. Include a note of encouragement.
- Idea #4: Make a ‘Goodie Bag’ with a variety of candies, gum, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, mints, playing cards, crossword puzzles, pens, etc. Package items neatly and include a note of encouragement.
Create a toiletry kit with a personal touch. These kits are placed in each bedroom for families to use during their stay at the house. To prepare a kit, please use the following guidelines:
- Kits should be placed in Ziploc bags. Please feel free to include a handwritten note to attach to the bag (Children’s handwriting is also welcome). Examples: “Someone Cares for You” or use encouraging words, such as: “Hope” or “Peace.”
- Priority contents for toiletry kits are (travel sizes only): shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and bath soap
- Additional contents: mouthwash, toothbrush/ toothpaste/floss, razor and shaving cream, deodorant, etc.
PLEASE DO NOT MAKE MORE THAN 5 OF EACH KIT AND PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE ANY TYPE OF MEDICATIONS. ALL ITEMS MUST BE CHILD SAFE.
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Donate Pre-made Lunches for January Lunch Patrol
B & Dee's Baltimore Love, Inc.
Date/Time: Sunday, January 31. Please drop off lunches between noon and 12:30pm
Location: January Lunch Patrol will be at Mund Park, E. 24th St, Baltimore
Ages: Families with children of all ages are welcome to help
Time Commitment: Varies
People are hungry and living on the streets of Baltimore 365 days of the year. The mission of B & Dee's Baltimore Love, Inc. is to provide life sustaining resources to the most vulnerable residents of Baltimore City by inspiring others to give back as well. Lunch Patrol is a monthly brown bag lunch distribution to those in need throughout Baltimore City. Your family can help by donating premade brown bag lunches. Your family can help by donating premade brown bag lunches. Please pack your lunches in brown paper bags and label with the type of sandwich that is included. Lunches should include a sandwich, snack, and drink. Check our Facebook page for more information.
Contact: Call Brian Dolbow at 410.622.9519 to donate pre-made brown bag lunches
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Recycle Used and Unwanted Crayons
The Crayon Initiative
Date/Time: Ongoing
Location: Ship crayons to:
155 Railroad Avenue, Suite E
Danville, CA 94526
Click here for detailed shipping instructions
Ages: Everyone is welcome to participate
Time Commitment: Varies
Did your children get new crayons this holiday season? The Crayon Initiative is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the environment and enriching the lives of hospitalized children through art and imagination. You can help by recycling your used and unwanted crayons. Do you have stray crayons lying around your house? We bet you do. And whether they’re still unopened, used or broken, we’re happy to take them off your hands. Crayons can turn up just about anywhere, especially after a good house cleaning. Take a peek in your junk drawers, your storage bins, your closets, your couch cushions, your child’s old backpack… you get the idea! Take heart, knowing that your crayon donation will soon brighten the day of a child in need of a pick-me-up. Start a collection box in your own home, box them up, and ship them to the Crayon Initiative.
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Volunteer to Color
Color A Smile
Date/Time: Ongoing
Location: Mail your drawings to:
Color A Smile
PO Box 1516
Morristown, NJ 07962-1516
Ages: Everyone can participate
Time Commitment: Varies
Color A Smile is a nonprofit organization that distributes cheerful drawings to senior citizens, our troops overseas, and anyone in need of a smile. Every month Color A Smile mails out thousands of cheerful drawings. Over the last 25 years, Color A Smile has given out over 1 million drawings. Their goal is to put smiles on people's faces and remind them that someone is thinking of them. Pick up your crayons and help to spread smiles! Click here for coloring templates and instructions.
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Send Letters to the Military & First Responders
Operation Gratitude
Date/Time: Ongoing
Ages: Everyone can participate
Time Commitment: Varies
The mission of Operation Gratitude is to forge strong bonds between Americans and their Military and First Responder heroes through volunteer service projects, acts of gratitude, and meaningful engagements in communities nationwide. Every year, Operation Gratitude sends 300,000+ individually addressed Care Packages to Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen deployed overseas, to their children left behind, and to First Responders, New Recruits, Veterans, Wounded Heroes, and their Care Givers. Each package contains snacks, hygiene products, entertainment, and handmade items, as well as personal letters of support. Every Operation Gratitude Care Package includes a bundle of letters from grateful Americans thanking their Military & First Responder Heroes for their service to our country. Your family can help by taking just a few hours to write letters of appreciation and send them to Operation Gratitude, so we can include them in the care packages we send to hospitals across the country.
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EXPLORE our growing list of at-home projects you can do whenever you're ready, each with conversation starters, book ideas, and more! Follow along on social media as other families tackle this month's project and share their stories! Simply join our Facebook group or find us on Instagram (@doinggoodtogether and #sharekindness).
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Let's add more kindness to the world.
And let's start at home!
Let's resolve to make 2021 a better year. That starts with big-hearted actions to serve our communities, share kindness with friends and family, and advocate for issues we care about.
Doing Good Together™ has the resources to make all of that possible, but if you're seeking extra guidance, expert advice, and perhaps, added incentives, our Membership Circle is for you!
Yearly family memberships cost just $29.99 – and help support the DGT™ projects and programs you rely on.
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Mailing Address:
5141 16th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55417
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This list was compiled by Doing Good Together™ (www.doinggoodtogether.org)
When calling to volunteer for any of the opportunities listed above, please let the coordinator know you found it through this listing. You are encouraged to ask any questions you may have of the sponsoring organization before committing to a project.
Disclaimer: This list is provided as a service to families. Inclusion of organizations in this listing does not imply affiliation, endorsement or quality assurance on the part of Doing Good Together.™ Doing Good Together™ bears no responsibility whatsoever for the activities and actions of the listed organizations.
© 2021 Doing Good Together™
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