Church member Geoff Lenox shares:

I volunteer because I find it to be an antidote to despair. When I am down, worrying about all the things in this world that seem to be in conflict with my values, volunteering, especially with a group working towards a common goal, gives me hope that my values will endure and that I am helping to work towards a better world. I find a purpose and involvement in something larger than myself.

Volunteerism has fallen off precipitously since the start of the pandemic and many organizations that rely on volunteers to fulfill their mission are in dire need today. This is a natural consequence of the isolation we all experienced and the fear of infection. Of course you must judge your level of risk to infection for yourself, but if you are feeling safer to engage again in the community, many organizations need your help.

Simpson Housing (one of our community partners) which prior to the pandemic provided 100% of evening meals for all its shelter guests through volunteer groups, can only find volunteers to cover less than 40 % of those meals today. This puts financial strain on the organization because they need to pay caterers for those meals not covered by volunteers. Habitat for Humanity (another partner) has much fewer volunteers helping to build housing than they did prior to the pandemic and the result of this is fewer affordable homes being built.

First Universalist is not immune to this problem. We are having a much harder time getting volunteers to greet and usher on Sundays, do grounds work, and help with memorial services. Building the supportive community we all want at our church and in the wider community takes more than good wishes, it takes work. Please consider volunteering when the church and our community partners reach out for volunteers. They can’t fulfill their missions without us.

By the way volunteering benefits you as well! What benefits do you get personally by volunteering?

• Brings fun and fulfillment into your life. Participating in volunteer opportunities can help you achieve a sense of fulfillment.
• Provides you with a sense of purpose.
• Helps counteract the effects of stress, anger, and anxiety.
• Allows you to overcome challenges.
• Helps you stay physically healthy.

We have many volunteer opportunities at our church and with any of our community partners. Please consider volunteering and help to build the beloved community we all want. Get involved!

Here are some volunteer opportunities at church and with our Faithful Action partners for the next quarter:

Volunteer at church as a greeter or usher for Sunday services. These roles are definitely needed and recently have been hard to fill. Greeting requires you to be at church 15 minutes before a service to welcome folks as the arrive. Ushers also need to arrive 15 minutes early, greet folks as they enter the sanctuary, count the congregation and pass the basket during the offering. Greeting or ushering is a simple way to help, especially if you already plan to be at worship. Sign up here.

Volunteer to provide meals via Meal Train for congregants experiencing a temporary need for help due to health conditions or other restricting events. It requires preparing a meal for one family and delivering it to their home. This can be contactless, so those of you who are at greater risk for infection might opt for this.

Volunteer to help with Memorial services for our church members who have lost loved ones. Greeters are needed, as well as folks to set up before and cleanup after the service and donations of food. Usually not more than a 2-hour commitment. Providing food can be done contactless.

Volunteer with UU the Vote to phone bank, text bank or write letters or postcards to get out the vote this fall. For those not ready to go out in the community UU the Vote has many ways to engage remotely. Contact Rebecca Donley (Rebecca.donley@gmail.com) or Susannah Marshall (Susannah.hm@gmail.com) for more information. You can choose how much time you are willing to commit and which of the options mentioned above are for you.

Volunteer with Habitat For Humanity on First U. There will be build dates in October, November and December. No building skills are needed, just a willingness to work. A work day starts at 8:30 and ends at 3:30. Learn more here.

Volunteer with Faithful Action partner Simpson Shelter to provide help preparing and serving meals. Contact Geoff Lenox (glenox2003@yahoo.com) to get your name on the email distribution for volunteers. Upcoming Dates are 10/20 and 12/5. Each is a 4-hour commitment from 5pm-9pm on those dates.

Simpson also has mentoring opportunities for Middle school and High School students and Geoff can put you in contact with the coordinator for these programs at Simpson. This is a year long commitment to meet with a mentee twice a month.

Families Moving Forward (FMF), a program of Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative, hosts homeless families in area hotels. First U has committed to supply evening meals for those families from Sunday, Sept. 4 through Saturday, Sept. 17. Meals are delivered to the hotel in which the families are housed. The commitment is to prepare and deliver meals for 4-6 families. If you are willing to cook but need someone else to deliver, please note in the Sign-up Genius. If you need reimbursement for any of the ingredients used in meal preparation, please keep your receipts and contact Peg Mitchell (pegmitch16@gmail.com) for the reimbursement form. Sign up to volunteer here.

First U’s Environmental Justice Team is organizing small groups on a host of environmental issues all this fall. Contact Cheryl Ritenbaugh (cheryl@ritenbaugh.us) for further information.