Doing Good: Volunteer Opportunities in Union County

Volunteering is one of the best ways to get involved with your community. Most high schoolers strive to volunteer either to boost resumes for clubs they're involved in or because of unique passions that drive them to give back to their communities. I've never met anyone who truly dedicates themselves to volunteering and regrets spending their time that way. Helping people and doing good brings you happiness and fulfillment. Whatever the reason that makes you decide to volunteer, I hope you put your all into it to get the best experience possible and have the best impact possible!

If you are looking for ways to do good in Union County through volunteering, here are some great options for you!

Carolina Wildlife Rehabilitation Center

If you live in or around the Waxhaw area and love animals, you should consider a unique opportunity this organization is currently offering. Carolina Wildlife Rehabilitation Center is partnered with Waxhaw Animal Hospital to care for injured and sick wildlife. They have recently taken on a large group of baby songbirds that need to be fed and cared for hourly. They are allowing volunteers aged 16 and above to take 3 hour shifts almost every day of the week. During your shift you will feed the baby birds and assist with cleaning their enclosures when needed. Don't worry about not knowing anything about feeling baby birds, because a staff member will train you on your first shift. They really need help from the community because these birds can't be left unattended, forcing staff members to take time away from their other duties to care for them. If you are under 16, you can still sign up, but you'll need a parent to accompany you while you're volunteering.

Use this link to sign up for shifts: https://signup.com/go/nDAfNxF

The address you will go to is Waxhaw Animal Hospital: 601 N Church St, Waxhaw, NC 28173

This organization also has other volunteering opportunities throughout Charlotte that you can look into here: https://cwrcwildlife.org/volunteer .You will have to reach out to them via email for these opportunities, which include building enclosures, rescue and transport, and clinic volunteering opportunities.

Town of Waxhaw Parks and Recreation Events

The Town of Waxhaw Parks and Recreation department hosts plenty of fun events throughout each year. They are almost always in need of volunteers to help manage these events. It is really fun to volunteer with these events because you get to experience all of the exciting, interesting activities while also doing good. I have volunteered at their Autumn Treasures Festival twice and both times were full of good experiences!

Visit this page to explore all the events you can volunteer in: https://www.waxhaw.com/our-town/events/volunteering-at-events.

Card Making

This is one of the simpler ways to volunteer. All you need to do is to spend some of your time to make and send a card to uplift, encourage, and express gratitude towards someone who deserves it. There are several organizations you can do this through that will cater to different people.

1. You can send cards to active servicemen (our military) to offer gratitude and make them feel supported, appreciated, and uplifted. These are some options to donate to:

• America's Adopt a Soldier: https://www.americasadoptasoldier.org/

  • On this page you will see a section labelled Care letters with an address. Send your cards to this address! (P.O. Box 1049, Springfield VA 22151)

    
    

• A Million Thanks: https://amillionthanks.org/letter/

  • Follow the instructions to learn how to write a good letter and where to send it.

• Operation We Are Here: https://www.operationwearehere.com/ideasforsoldierscardsletters.html#anchor_434

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    This page has several other opportunities to write cards to servicemen, veterans, and their families.

2. You can also send cards to the elderly to give them companionship and support.

• Sending Sunshine:  https://www.sendingsunshine.ca/ 

  • Go to this page for instructions about card writing and an address to send your cards to: https://www.sendingsunshine.ca/card-writing-help

The time you spend on these cards is volunteering, and it can have a big impact on the recipients. Please put your all into your cards and commit to doing good for these people.

Humane Society of Union County

The humane society of Union County works as a foster based rescue organization. They try to save cats and dogs that have no homes and would likely die out on their own or be euthanized. You can fill out their volunteer application to choose from several ways you can help this organization.

• Animal care (feeding, walking)

• Adoption events (greeting, set-up, leash holders, product sales)

• Special events (set up, break down)

• Fundraising/sponsorship development

• Pet Food Pantry

• Transport fosters to veterinarians

• School pet education program

• Projects that require lifting/fixing/building

• Dog and cat photography (weekly)

• Creating newsletters/ PowerPoint presentations

• Vet Taxi: transporting fosters to veterinarian appointments

  
  
  
  

Use this link to find their volunteer application: https://hsuc.org/volunteer-to-help/

These opportunities are great ways for you to further engage in giving back to the local community and people in need. You can find true fulfillment within any of these activities, no matter how small they may seem, because they have real impacts on the people (and animals) that they help. If you are looking for even more opportunities, check out our earlier blog post: "Volunteer Opportunities for Teens"!