National Volunteer Week to make difference

MIDDLETOWN — Next week is National Volunteer Week, and we want to say thank you to everyone who serves others by volunteering, as well as encourage people to give volunteering a try. By giving your time to your community, you are helping to make Middlesex County a better place to live, work and raise a family.

At Middlesex United Way, we are very fortunate to have the support of many incredible volunteers. These amazing volunteers, donors, and the more than 40 programs who partner with us work hard to make measurable, positive impact in the areas of education, income, health and housing.

From our board and committees to our Young Leaders Society and Women’s Initiative, our volunteers provide their talents, time and services, allowing Middlesex United Way to continue to grow stronger every day. Last year, we were fortunate enough to have over 600 volunteers dedicated 5,200 hours of service.

We simply could not do our work without our volunteers, and we know many other nonprofits could not get by without them either. We receive weekly calls and website visits from individuals looking to get involved in some way or another. We can match hundreds of volunteers each year with other local nonprofits seeking help through our Volunteer Connection page, where local organizations can post opportunities and events for which they are recruiting more volunteers.

You’ll find a listing of opportunities with many local organizations, such as event planning volunteers, tutors, food pantry volunteers and more.

Right now, you can find hundreds of opportunities to volunteer, including Literacy Volunteers of Central Connecticut, which is looking for tutors to work with adult students once a week for two hours on English literacy and math skills. No experience is necessary, as all volunteers receive free training.

You can also browse opportunities from The Community Follows the Patriot, currently looking for volunteers to provide mentorship to veterans through “One Veteran, One Hour” career mentoring initiative. To search for all volunteer opportunities, visit middlesexunitedway.org/volunteer. Volunteering doesn’t always have to be an individual project. In fact, we encourage workplaces to recruit groups of their employees to work together through volunteering activities. Throughout the year, the Middlesex United Way works to match groups of volunteers with meaningful projects. Any help is always appreciated, and volunteers often leave with a feeling of accomplishment and pride in helping their community.

To find out more information on how you or your organization can get involved, please call or email Maria Wood at 860-3468695 or maria.wood@middlesexunitedway.org.

Thank you to all of our volunteers, and happy volunteer week!