National Volunteer Week

It’s National Volunteer Week, a week where we get to celebrate and promote volunteerism. This week is dedicated to bringing awareness to local, national, and global volunteer efforts.  Many communities host events emphasizing the important non-profit work being done locally, and to encourage people to find something they are passionate about and volunteer.

We will be highlighting the volunteer work our employees participate all week long.  At Babb, we are dedicated to giving back to our community.  Our Babb Gives Back program allows us to have a positive impact on others throughout the year.

In a previous post, we spoke about a few volunteer opportunities in the Greater Pittsburgh area.  This week we would like to promote a few more organizations that are always looking for new volunteers.

North Hills Community Outreach

In 1986, a flood devastated the North Hills area.  Local religious and community leaders came together to assist those impacted.  Through this, they all realized that their community was in great need of an organization that would be able to assist those in need in their community.  There are so many ways to help within this organization, whether you are interested in helping develop and work on children’s programs, you are concerned about making sure the senior community is taken care of, or you want to help grow a food pantry to feed the hungry, North Hills Community Outreach has opportunities for you.

Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy

The Parks Conservancy works closely with the City of Pittsburgh to restore and maintain the four main Pittsburgh parks: Frick, Highland, Riverview, and Schenley.  Their mission is to restore the parks with ”respect for the environment, historic design, and the needs of our diverse regions.”  There are so many ways to volunteer with the parks.  Businesses, schools, and communities are invited to participate in days of cleanup, gardening, planting trees, etc.  Some other opportunities include: becoming a docent for the Frick Environmental Center, maintaining park gardens, and joining the EcoStewards who spend the year cleaning up the park from invasive species, cleaning up trash, and creating and environment that is inviting to the community.

Women’s Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh

The Women’s Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh has been providing shelter, support, and most importantly, safety, to victims of domestic abuse for over 40 years.  Statistics show that 1 in 3 women face domestic abuse in their lives.  This organization is dedicated to helping creating resources for women escaping abusive relationship and helping them rebuild their lives.  They are dedicated to empowering women and helping them find their sense of self again.  As advocates for the rights of women, children, and all victims of domestic abuse, they offer free legal services to victims and medical aid.  They are dedicated to educating the community on effects abuse has on victims, how they can help those affected, and provide hope.  They offer sanctuary for women and children escaping domestic abuse, where they can help them start to rebuild their lives in safety.

United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania

The United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania is an organization that focuses on building educational opportunities for children, providing resources and tools for families, ensuring that people with disabilities have all of the same opportunities that everyone else does, and that seniors are able to remain independent.   They have volunteer opportunities that span so many different groups of people and areas of Pittsburgh.  The United Way also offers unique and engaging leadership opportunities.  These events and volunteer opportunities allow you to create change in your community while connecting with other likeminded professionals.

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

Our local libraries provide an immense amount resources to our local communities.  They not only offer us all the ability to borrow books, but they provide students with tutoring help, teach computer skills, host book discussions, help people with their writing and resume skills, offer classes to learn new languages, and mentor teens and children about art, books, and technology, just to name a few of the programs the Carnegie Library System offers.  The easiest way to volunteer with them is by becoming a Reading Buddy.  A Reading Buddy  is a mentor to children who reads with them, helps with their homework, teaches them about new technology, plays games, and provides a support system for them.