Looking to do a Service Project with your Girl Scout Troop? Here are some organizations near Orinda/Moraga that can use your help!
Nursing Homes/ Senior Living
Moraga Royale, 1600 Canyon Rd, Moraga, (925) 376-8900
Aegis, 950 Country Club Dr., Moragawww.aegisliving.com/aegis-living-of-moraga/
Opportunities abound at the Senior homes:
--Provide entertainment
--Call BINGO
--Wrap doors with holiday paper
--Just visit with the residents
“When the girls were Juniors, we did a project wrapping doors with gift wrap at one of the senior residences in Moraga….Girls probably need step stools and adult help and lots of wrapping paper!Residents seemed to appreciate it. It took a long time so it's better with a larger troop.”
Soup Kitchens, Homeless Shelters, and Low Income Services
GlideMemorial Church, 330 Ellis St, San Francisco
Glide needs 60 volunteers every day to serve free meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) to the community.
--Convenient to the Powell St. BART Station
--Volunteers must be at least 12 years old to serve meals. Volunteers as young as 9 can prepare bag lunches.
--Rundown facilities and neighborhood
--Training provided
--Work alongside other volunteers
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Winter Nights Shelter, location varies
Help is needed entertaining children in the evenings, by leading activities, helping with homework, or just playing games.
--Location changes weekly
--For older Scouts
Contra Costa Interfaith Housing, sites in Concord, Pittsburg, Bay Point, Pleasant Hill
--Will work with you to create a service project
--Recent service projects have included landscaping, painting, and food distribution programs
Head Start, locations throughout ContraCostaCounty
Holiday/Seasonal Programs
Christmas for Everyone, ContraCostaCounty
This organization aims to provide a gifts, clothing, food, and entertainment to people in need.
--Volunteers must be 15 or older
--Tasks include serving meals, entertainment, holding babies, directing parking, and more
Angel Tree
Toys for Our Tots:two programs that provide holiday gifts to low income and foster youth, run by VESTIA (Volunteer and Emergency Services Team in Action, the non-profit affiliate of the county’s Employment and Human Services Department)
Agency can use donations of money and goods.
One Warm Coat
A national coat collection and re-distribution program endorsed by GSNorCal. The council needs donations of outerwear, and volunteers to work the coat drive on Black Friday, in various locations (including Walnut Creek). NOTE: All volunteer spots for 2013 are filled, but plan ahead to help out next year!
Environmental
East Bay Parks: Tilden, Sibley, Huckleberry, Redwood, Briones, and more.
Volunteers can work on trail maintenance, habitat restoration, clearing invasive species, coastal cleanup.
--Work alongside other seasoned volunteers
--EBParks supports Gold Award Projects
--Many parks are very close to home
Orinda Action Day, annual community clean-up day on a Saturday in April, OrindaCommunityPark. Plant flowers, litter control, other projects as needed. Many kid-friendly projects.
Crafting Opportunities
Do your girls like to make things? Many organizations collect handmade items: fleece blankets for cancer patients, pillowcase dresses for impoverished villages, capes for homeless children. Read for inspiration, then check out these sites to find a project that’s right for you: