How Lives are Changed: Held annually in more than 600 communities nationwide, the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. This inspiring event calls on participants of all ages and abilities to join the fight against the disease! When you participate in Walk, your fundraising dollars fuel our mission, and your participation in the event helps to change the level of Alzheimer’s awareness in your community. The Alzheimer’s Association provides free, easy-to-use tools and staff support to help participants reach their fundraising goal. While there is no fee to register, weencourage participants to fundraise in order to contribute to the cause and raise awareness.
Volunteer Opportunity: Walk, once a year, in September
Website URL: http://act.alz.org
Clearwater Forest Presbyterian Camp
How Lives are Changed: A stunningly beautiful camp and retreat setting on Clearwater Lake in central Minnesota, Clearwater Forest has been changing lives in God’s woods and waters since 1954. Clearwater Forest provides programming including summer youth camps, women’s retreats, spiritual renewal events, non-summer youth retreats, family events, senior adult programs and teambuilding opportunities for all types of groups.
Volunteer Opportunity: Join us for various camping/retreat opportunities throughout the year. In January, we have the Women’s Retreat; in February, it’s the Men’s Retreat; in March, we invite everyone of all ages to attend the Intergenerational Weekend; in September, we help the camp while we have fun cutting and stacking wood.
Website URL: http://clearwaterforest.org
CROP Walk
How Lives are Changed: CROP Hunger Walks are community-wide events sponsored by Church World Service and organized by local congregations or groups to raise funds to end hunger at home and around the world.
Volunteer Opportunity: Walk, to raise awareness and raise funds for hunger issues, locally and internationally. It is held the second Sunday in October.
Website URL: www.crophungerwalk.org
Feed My Starving Children
How Lives are Changed: As a Christian non-profit organization, Feed My Starving Children is called to feed God’s starving children, hungry in body and spirit. You will hear us say this again and again: “We want to reach everyone, until ALL are fed.” We truly mean this. This means reaching the hard-to-reach people and places, the “least of these.” They will be found, and they will be fed. With God’s help we will work together with organizations and ministries across the globe to end hunger.
Volunteer Opportunity: Fill food bags, which are shipped to impoverished areas.
Website URL: www.fmsc.org
Green Valley Samaritans
How Lives are Changed: The Green Valley-Sahuarita Samaritans is an organization comprising people of conscience who offer humanitarian aid to migrants in the Arizona-Sonora borderlands.
Website URL: http://www.gvs-samaritans.org/
Mission Gift Fair
How Lives are Changed: Helping people obtain a sustainable source of food and income. Oak Grove holds a Mission Gift Fair and a silent auction of donated goods and services early in December. The Fair is an alternative way for Oak Grovers to shop for friends and family – while helping to end world hunger. At the Fair, shoppers “buy” gifts of animals, tools, clean water, and other items that are then given to low-income families around the world. The money raised from the silent auction of crafts and baked goods is donated to the Presbyterian Mission Agency.
Volunteer Opportunity: Make/create items for sale. Can you make wooden children’s toys, quilt, sew, paint a picture, bake, can nature’s bounty, provide a service. Get creative and donate your items for the sale.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
How Lives are Changed: Presbyterian Disaster Assistance enables congregations and mission partners of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to witness to the healing love of Christ through caring for communities adversely affected by crises and catastrophic events.
Website URL: http://pda.pcusa.org/
Presbyterian Women Knit Tree
Volunteer Opportunity: Knit or crochet items to donate to the Presbyterian Women annual mission project.
Race for the Cure
How Lives are Changed: Save lives by meeting the most critical needs in our communities and investing in breakthrough research to prevent and cure breast cancer. Susan G. Komen is the boldest community fueling the best science and making the biggest impact in the fight against breast cancer. Since 1982, Komen has awarded over $17 million in research grants in Minnesota to: Mayo Clinic and Foundation, University of Minnesota at Duluth and University of Minnesota at Twin Cities. Komen Minnesota invested more than $1 million in their local communities last year for early detection and treatment of breast cancer, breast health education and outreach. Nationwide, Komen Affiliates invested a total of approx. $130 million in their local communities.
Volunteer Opportunity: Participate in the Breast Cancer Awareness walk.
Website URL: http://www.komenminnesota.org/
World Jubilee
How Lives are Changed: The World Jubilee is a volunteer-driven, non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening the economic independence of artisans worldwide. We support grassroots community development efforts by coordinating a fair-trade market for international goods and raising local awareness about global poverty and social injustice.
Volunteer Opportunity: Assist with the sale of Guatemalan coffee and Palestinian olive oil