Help students of all ages build their skills for greater success this fall by serving as a mentor or tutor.

Catholic Charities of Washington has been meeting the needs of those in Washington, DC, and five surrounding Maryland counties for more than 90 years. Catholic Charities-Montgomery County Family Center operates to resolve crises and provide family support through services such as assistance with food, clothing, diapers, and emergency financial assistance. Catholic Charities' Spanish Catholic Center (SCC) educates individuals in English literacy and has been one of the leading ESOL service providers in Montgomery County since 1993.

During their fall volunteer recruitment period, Director of Volunteer Engagement Maggie O'Neill says that they are seeking skilled, self-directed ongoing volunteers who are willing to commit to one half-day a week for a year in critical behind-the-scenes roles to add additional capacity to their current staff.

The roles might be organizing and managing projects in areas such as marketing or volunteer management, or helping to enrich programs for adults and children with developmental disabilities, such as physical activities or crafts. They are looking to fill 27 different roles with multiple people in each role. Maggie welcomes first-timers. "New faces, come on in! Join us!" she says.

Volunteers can learn new skills or use skills gained through education and experience, make new friends, and be part of something bigger than themselves.

Catholic Charities will require all volunteers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by September 19, 2021. Find all of the current Catholic Charities opportunities here.

The current volunteer recruitment period ends on September 15.

Here are some resources for those of you who want to provide support to the many needs that have been headline news. Here is a list of local Afghan and Haitian relief efforts, put together by the Montgomery County Office of Community Partnerships.

Find organizations on our website that have selected the cause "Disaster Response" to see their needs and links back to their own websites. If you see an organization that you'd like to stay in contact with, click on the "Fan" button and you will automatically receive a notification when they have posted any new opportunities.

This article from our colleagues at The Point of Light Foundation provides advice about how to support Hurricane Ida relief efforts.

Adventist Community Services is one local nonprofit that is engaged in helping Afghan refugees and is regularly looking for volunteers to help with sorting and packing the many generous donations they have received from the community. Their Facebook page is a regular place for "day of" requests for sorters.

September is a great month to begin or renew a commitment to serving your community. Find hundreds of ways to serve, including the opportunities below, on the Volunteer Center website. To focus your volunteer interests, use the red search box at the top of this email or visit our All Opportunities page and select one or more search filters (hidden under the wrench symbol when viewing on a mobile device) and/or keywords to narrow the results. Below you will see a number of outdoor events that

ROCKVILLE WEED WARRIORS on 9/11: Join Rockville Weed Warrior Leaders for a non-native, invasive plant removal workday at Mt. Vernon Park. See other opportunities to volunteer on the 9/11 Day of Service.

PARADE EVENT VOLUNTEERS: Volunteers are needed to help with the Wheaton Arts Parade & Festival on Sunday, September 19, rain or shine. The event will have more than 40 booths of original art, continuous performances from 12-5 pm, art demonstrations, children's art activities. Volunteers are needed to help with activities such as manning the parade route, helping performers, working with children's activities. Click here to see the parade route. Register by September 10. Contact Dan Thompson at Danthompson@wheatonartsparade.org.

KIDS TRIATHLON VOLUNTEERS: There are many volunteer roles available on race day, Sunday, September 26 as well as Saturday, September 25. Cheer on racers as they swim, bike, and run to the finish line. Just TRYAN IT Kids Triathlon is a timed event with a non-competitive atmosphere for kids ages 6-15 held at Landon School. All participants race in solidarity with a child fighting cancer. Questions? Contact them here.

RIDE DAY OR PRE-RIDE DAY VOLUNTEERS: The 15th Annual Lymphoma Research Ride on October 3 needs volunteers to put together registration packets, help with route marking, staff registration pick-up the table, set up and check-in, clean-up, serving as bike marshalls, and other roles. The ride starts at Barnesville School and goes through Poolesville, Dickerson, Beallsville, around Sugarloaf Mountain to Boyds, and back to Barnesville. To volunteer, fill out the volunteer application.

EVENT VOLUNTEERS are needed in many capacities for the Walk to End Alzheimer's Washington, DC (National Mall) on Saturday, October 9. Volunteers help with event set-up, clean-up, refreshments, greeting, registration, advocacy sign-up, finish line brigade, and route monitoring. Great for groups, individuals, and families!

Opportunities marked with the graduation cap icon meet the MCPS guidelines for Student Service Learning (SSL) hours--but they're not just for students! Other opportunities may be eligible for SSL hours; visit the MCPS SSL website to learn more.

Like most of Montgomery County government, during the pandemic, the Montgomery County Volunteer Center (MCVC) has forged new partnerships to respond to community needs in new ways, where volunteers were most urgently needed.

We are grateful to all of our local nonprofits and volunteers for stepping up to serve. Our community is stronger for your generosity and hard work. Read how we responded here.

While MCPS will return to full-time, in-person instruction during the 2021-2022 school year, the school system has extended its temporarily established virtual SSL guidelines. This means students may continue to earn SSL hours for select virtual/remote service completed from home under the remote supervision of an approved nonprofit organization (or school sponsor) throughout this summer and until the end of the 2021-2022 school year.

Due to extenuating circumstances related to the pandemic, any unsubmitted SSL forms for service completed after June 1, 2019, will be accepted by schools’ SSL coordinators when students return to school in the fall. Please note that after the 2021-2022 school year, SSL forms will no longer be accepted from previous school years. A complete list of SSL coordinators may be found on the MCPS SSL webpage at www.mcps-ssl.org.

Any questions about the SSL program may be directed to the SSL dropbox at SSL@mcpsmd.org.

Student Service Learning is a requirement for high school graduation in Montgomery County. In the process of gaining those SSL hours, students can learn about the number of ways they can be of service to the community. There are many SSL opportunities in our database. These opportunities are identifiable with the blue graduation cap icon.

Make a Difference, a monthly County Cable Montgomery program, highlights the contributions of stellar county volunteers and organizations that work to better our community. In July's show, Yelba Mojica, Participant Services Manager and Katie Sayago, Volunteer Manager from Manna Food Center, were featured. Host Sandy Smith also talked with Anthony Cohen, President of The Menare Foundation, Inc. located at Button Farm.

Deborah Missal, Program Manager of MCVC's 50 Plus Program, was a guest on Seniors Today's September broadcast. The show is a monthly program of the County's Commission on Aging. Deborah talked with host Katie Smith about the "reservoir of talent" in the 50 plus community and how this program helps, through a hands-on interviewing process, to match volunteers with their ideal volunteer opportunity.

Do your part. Serve your community by getting vaccinated. Click here for more information.