In the song Little Drummer Boy, the boy has no gifts to bring. He’s a poor boy. However, he has the greatest gift, himself and his God given talents.

As we end 2016, many participate in New Year’s Resolutions. Number one every year is losing weight and there’s a barrage of commercials on television bearing that out. Like pie crust promises, easily made-easily broken, a majority of resolutions fail before the Super Bowl.

Like the Little Drummer Boy we can give our talents. There are many places to volunteer time and talent. To be a volunteer for Catholic Charities of Southwestern Ohio is to bear witness for Christ to those in need in our community regardless of their faith.

A basic moral test is how our most vulnerable members are faring. In a society marred by deepening divisions between rich and poor, we recall the story of the Last Judgment (Mt 25:31-46) which instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first.
Catholic Charities of Southwestern Ohio has a wide variety of volunteer opportunities— short-term, long-term, special projects, and everything in between.

Su Casa Hispanic Center
Su Casa provides comprehensive social services and resources to the Latino / Hispanic Community. Volunteer needs include:
assisting with adult education classes, health promotion services, and bilingual case workers. Volunteers are needed also as drivers and interpreters. Being able to fluently speak Spanish is a plus but not required.

Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP)
RSVP is America’s largest volunteer network for people age 55 and over. RSVP is a Senior Corps program administered by the Corporation for Community Service and is sponsored locally by Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio. RSVP volunteers are placed at many non-profit organizations in Hamilton County.

Office Assistance
Volunteer needs include: filing, data entry, mail and receptionist duties, and a variety of other administrative duties.

Legal Immigration Department
Provides legal representation and assistance to immigrants, refugees, and their families within the immigration legal system. Volunteer needs include:
conducting intake of client applications for services over the phone, data entry and basic immigration form preparation, scheduling appointments for staff and volunteer attorneys, and assistance at legal clinics held periodically.

Food for All Mobile Pantry
The Food for All Mobile Pantry provides supplemental food for those in food deserts in the five eastern counties of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. These counties are Adams, Brown, Clermont, Clinton and Highland. Volunteer needs include: assisting with client sign-in, unpacking and organizing food, distributing the allotted amount of food for each customer and assisting food recipients with carrying food to their cars if needed.

Refugee Resettlement
Working with U.S. Department of State and U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Refugee Resettlement services works to resettle political, economic and war refugees from regions such as Burundi, Bhutan and Central Africa. Volunteer needs include: driving refugees for medical and safety-net appointments, tutoring, and picking up donated household supplies to set up apartments for refugees.

Second Harvest Food Bank in Springfield, Ohio For information on volunteering at the Second Harvest Food Bank in Springfield, Ohio click here

Get involved in 2017 and give back your talents volunteering. For more information click here