Thanksgiving Day: Volunteering At Your Local Soup Kitchen

There is no better way to give thanks on Thanksgiving Day than to head down to your local soup kitchen to volunteer. If you live in New York City, here are some resources for you. The Bowery Mission is probably the most popular, but there are several other organizations that are well known in the city and that do good work.

The Bowery Mission in New York City: Thanksgiving Volunteer Information. [NOW FULL] You’ll need to fill out an online form to register before you can volunteer.

City Meals On Wheels: Citymeals-on-Wheels’ Senior Centers need your help on Thanksgiving Day. Help PREPARE, SERVE and DELIVER MEALS.

New York Cares: New York Cares has hundreds of different ways that you can make a difference in our city this holiday season.  Help prep and serve a Thanksgiving dinner for the clients of the Yorkville Common Pantry on the Upper East Side.  Check out there blog here. (I’ve participated in several New York Cares events and they are top notch.)

EDIT: More organizations to volunteer at on Thanksgiving Day– Feel free to send me other organizations that I can add to this list.

VolunteerNYC: Opportunities to volunteer (LINK FIXED!) – The Isaiah J. Jones Memorial Foundation will be hosting their third annual Thanksgiving dinner for our homeless. VolunteerNYC lists opportunities with various charities and nonprofits in the NYC area.

Robin Hood– Volunteer opportunities.  The following organizations best match your interests. Click on the name of an organization to find out more about the available volunteer opportunities as well as who to contact to get involved.

Hope for NY– Lists many different types of volunteer opportunities in and near New York City.  Please visit there site to browse through the opportunities and RSVP for any that interest you.

• Put together food boxes (to be delivered to the needy).  Can be done with the family. RSVP HERE.
• The Bowery Mission.  You won’t be working directly with the homeless but since this is a big operation, there are plenty of opportunities to help with the logistics, planning, and coordination.  The catch is that you have to attend a training on Nov 15.  There are four shifts you can RSVP for: 6:30am-10am; 9:30am-1pm; 12:30pm-4pm; 3:30-7pm.