[TOLEDO, OH] – United Way of Greater Toledo (UWGT) is providing safe and socially distant volunteer opportunities, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to drastically impact health and human services across Lucas, Wood and Ottawa County.
Since March 13, UWGT has filled 3,000 volunteer shifts, totaling roughly 5,000 hours of service to the community. This time has gone towards placing volunteers at nonprofit agencies needing assistance due to increased clientele, serving meals at 18 Connecting Kids to Meals sites and packing weekend snack
bags, which are then distributed on Fridays at the sites mentioned above.
“In just six weeks, we’ve packed 21,000 weekend snack bags here in our building. That’s double the snack bags we filled at our summer event ‘United We Eat’ and our fall event, ‘United & Thankful,’” said Jennifer
Archer, manager of communications and engagement at UWGT.
Weekend snack bag builds at UWGT have a max capacity of 25 volunteers, who are then divided into groups of seven or eight in separate rooms. Individuals are given a mask, gloves, and are asked their temperature and to wash their hands upon arriving. Each shift concludes with a deep cleaning of floors and surfaces, so that spaces remain sanitized.
“There’s been such an outpouring of support to help, which is a true display of how good people really are, even during a crisis,” said Archer.
For individuals who would like to volunteer, simply visit www.211nwo.org. There, you will see two content rows, one noting “Volunteer Opportunities” and the other “Agencies in Need of Volunteers.” By clicking on “Volunteer Opportunities,” you will be able to add your contact information to a volunteer
email list, which allows you to hear about new or updated volunteer happenings first.
You can view and sign up for open opportunities today when selecting “sign up to volunteer now.” UWGT also found it imperative to help place volunteers at other nonprofits or community-based organizations who are looking for assistance.
Many institutions that help our neighborhoods thrive need support with day-to-day logistics, as they have also made the tough decisions to furlough staff or are managing increased requests for services, given rising unemployment.
“If you’re an agency looking for help, when clicking ‘Agencies in Need of Volunteers,’ you can fill out a request form, outlining your needs, so that we can assist you during this very tough time,” said Archer.
Last week, UWGT celebrated National Volunteer Week on their social media pages, highlighting those who have gone above and beyond in giving service to the organization.
UWGT hopes to continue this sentiment and highlight the power of volunteerism, while providing safe opportunities.
