Lend A Hand

Looking for volunteer opportunities? Grand Junction is the place to be! As a community we have many volunteer opportunities available. Homeward Bound hosted an open house for the homeless people. GJ has about 500 homeless people and that shelter can host 250 of them. They are looking for volunteers to help the homeless with their needs as well as people who can bring them any kind of socks. Through the month of September, they collected socks to hand out to the homeless as we get closer to the colder season to prevent frostbite. (Search Homeward Bound of Grand Valley Homeless Shelter for more information).

Having a boring day? Nothing to do? Help pick up trash around public lands and trails. Contact the Bureaus of Land Management to join them making our environment cleaner! (970-244-3024).

It is important that we help those in need. The American Red Cross is helping those who have been involved in a disaster. Go to their website to see how you can donate or volunteer.

Colorado Mesa University hosted the Walk for Water, which provides water and sanitation to families around the world. Together we can make a difference. Check out Walk for Waters homepage on Facebook to find ways to help or donate.

As a school, Fruita Monument also has many volunteer opportunities. National Honor Society is one of our most involved clubs in the community. To be in NHS you have to have a minimum of 20 community service hours, which may sound like a lot, but the group has so many ideas and options to chose from, and the volunteer hours come quickly. Every year when Halloween comes around, members of the club go out to collect cans for our local foodbank. Also, they volunteer at Independence village every Tuesday for game night,  and this goes all the way through summer. Throughout the year they are also involved in trash pickup, two in the fall, and two  in the Spring. Mckenna Nolan, an NHS member, stated, “The community service isn’t hard because the people in NHS make it fun. I feel so much better as a person after helping the community and knowing that I made a difference to people’s lives.”

Getting involved in the community isn’t hard, especially when you are a Wildcat. For those of you who plan to go to college, community service looks great on your application. If you are interested in finding more ways to get involved in the school or in the community make a meeting with your counselor. Remember it can only help our community and help build your character!

Picture credit: McMillan Memorial Library