CHESAPEAKE, Va. – A major effort is underway as organizers from VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads sort and distribute supplies for this weekend’s Family Volunteer Day, which will be Saturday, November 21.
More than 300 volunteers from various companies and individual families will help with many projects that will benefit 14 different non-profit organizations across Hampton Roads.
Some projects will be done outdoors; for example, placing bird feeders and planting seed bombs at nature preserves. Other projects will be done indoors, like making cards or memory books for homebound seniors, packing hygiene kits and holiday meals for those in need.
News 3 caught up with volunteer Robin McKenzie, who was picking up donated supplies to make bird feeders with her children.
“With COVID, it was kind of more of a challenge to do the typical things the children would do,” commented McKenzie.
On Thursday, VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads staged a distribution area inside a warehouse owned by Damuth Trane, an energy services company in Chesapeake.
“We usually have 500 volunteers at Virginia Wesleyan with different companies. This year, we’re going to have our company with our families, and we’re going to spread out in this warehouse,” explained Phil Damuth, the Vice President of Damuth Trane.
This year, various groups are splitting up and some are even doing projects from their home.
“We’re going to miss having everyone together this year,” said Stephanie Gorham, Executive Director for VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads. “Hopefully we can share our own experiences via social media and kind of still be together.”
Most of the needs for Family Volunteer Day have been met; however, Gorham says there’s a calendar full of volunteer opportunities on their website that’s constantly being updated as non-profit organizations request assistance. She added that the holidays are often a popular time to help; however, they can especially use volunteers during the months of January through March.
