Interested in volunteering? These Columbia non-profits need your help

It’s National Volunteer Week and Midlands non-profits need your help. After a year where it was difficult to volunteer in-person due to COVID-19, organizations are opening back up their volunteer programs and opportunities.

“Our operations have resumed as normal, and this first service project of 2021— in a week— will be the start of us getting back on track and going out into the community to help others,” said Destinee Means, executive director of Feed My Sheep Movement and Ministry in Columbia.

Here are a few local, non-profit organizations that need volunteers to help run daily programs. This list is not exhaustive, but it is a place to start.

For animal-lovers

Pawmetto Lifeline, 1275 Bower Pkwy., Columbia

“Life has changed, but lifesaving certainly has not—especially when the lives of homeless pets are at stake,” said Alexa Sparkman, manager of volunteer programs at Pawmetto Lifeline.

The animal shelter’s biggest needs are for power walkers for the dogs (they are specifically looking for people who feel comfortable handling larger, stronger dogs for walks), data entry and adoptions and customer service help. Pawmetto Lifeline needs front desk volunteers from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Mondays through Saturdays.

If you’re interested in volunteering, fill out an online application and choose an online orientation date on the application. Keep in mind, volunteers are required to serve at least two hours per month, with exceptions for college students for summer and winter breaks.

Final Victory Rescue, 2136 Sumter St., Columbia

The organization posted on social media that it needs dog-walkers, dry dog food and laundry detergent to help take care of its rescue dogs and puppies. You must be 18 or older to volunteer and can fill out an application on Final Victory’s website to apply.

Dog walking is needed 7 days a week from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., according to the website.

For medical professionals

The Free Medical Clinic, 1875 Harden St., Columbia

Volunteer physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, pharmacists and pharmacist technicians are needed to help provide additional staffing at the Free Medical Clinic in Columbia. Providers must be licensed in South Carolina.

The clinic will also train clinical and administrative volunteers to help run the facility with no medical expertise required. Clinical volunteers are required to attend a medical skills class. Volunteer orientation is held once a month and you can apply to volunteer on the clinic’s website.

Clinic officials ask that you do not apply if you’re currently a student or looking for a short-term opportunity.

Prisma Health vaccination sites

Volunteers are still needed to work at Prisma Health’s vaccination sites, according to United Way of the Midlands.

Volunteers can be clinical volunteers or medical professionals able to either vaccinate patients or observe them after vaccination. Non-clinical or general volunteers are also needed to greet, screen and guide patients through the vaccination process.

To sign up and learn more about required training to volunteer at a vaccination site, visit Prisma’s volunteer portal.

For Spanish speakers

Sistercare

Sistercare is seeking Spanish/English bilingual volunteers to provide language interpretation services for non-English speaking clients and those with limited English proficiency. Sistercare will provide training and shadowing with experienced staff.

In an average year, Sistercare serves around 7,000 survivors of domestic violence and their children in the Midlands with shelter and other services. During the pandemic, reports from the American Journal of Emergency Medicine have shown that domestic violence around the country increased with stay-at-home orders and increased isolation.

The organization has other volunteer opportunities on its volunteer brochure for those who do not speak Spanish. All volunteers must be 18 or older, submit two background checks, submit three references and undergo training.

Opportunities to help children

Ronald McDonald House, 2901 Colonial Drive, Columbia

Located inside Prisma Health Children’s Hospital, the Ronald McDonald Family Room is 100% staffed by volunteers.

Volunteers are needed to work shifts at the Family Room from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. or 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 12 p.m on Saturday. Volunteers must be able to commit to three to six months of service, according to the Ronald McDonald House website.

To volunteer, you must fill out a Ronald McDonald House application and a Prisma Health application online. For kids or those who can’t volunteer in-person, another way to serve the Ronald McDonald House is to collect pop-tabs from cans and deliver them to the house.

Epworth Children’s Home, 2900 Millwood Ave., Columbia

Volunteers are needed throughout the year at Epworth Children’s Home to mentor children, help with campus projects like landscaping and repairs, to work events and to lead mission trips or day projects.

Extensive background checks, references and interviews are required to become an Epworth volunteer. Those interested can contact Beth Robinson, volunteer coordinator, at brobinson@epworthsc.org to attend a quarterly information meeting and sign up.

The 125-year-old organization on a 32-acre campus has an average of 20 sibling groups living there at any given time. Epworth offers foster care, counseling services, early intervention programs, recreational activities and more, all with a faith-based, approach, to help children placed there by family members or social services.

Opportunities to fight poverty and hunger

Harvest Hope Food Bank, 2220 Shop Road, Columbia

Harvest Hope posts weekly volunteer opportunities on its website for easy sign-ups. Volunteer opportunities usually involve loading groceries into clients’ cars, “shopping” for clients inside the facility, or sorting products to be handed out, according to Volunteer Coordinator Kara Pippin.

At Harvest Hope’s 1117 Bluff Industrial Blvd. location, volunteers sort products received from food drives. Occasionally, Harvest Hope will post volunteer opportunities to pack boxes for the Mobile Food Pantry or the Senior Feeding Program or to work events. Once you find a shift to work, you will fill out an application, watch an orientation video and sign a safety waiver.

“The past year we have experienced an increase in the need for services from us and a decrease in how many volunteers we are allowed to safely have here. There have been times when it was difficult to keep up with the demand with the little amount of volunteers we were allowed to have helping us,” said Pippin.

Lately, Harvest Hope has been able to receive more volunteer help due to vaccination efforts, said Pippin, and throughout the pandemic she’s been thankful for generous donations to the food bank.

United Way of the Midlands, 1818 Blanding St., Columbia

United Way shares volunteer opportunities year-around at uway.org/volunteer. Any local 501(c)(3) can register with the site and post its volunteer needs as well as any in-kind needs it may have.

Individuals can browse through available opportunities, and once they register, they can sign up for a volunteer project as well as sign up to receive updates when future projects appear that are relevant to their interests.

Some volunteer opportunities listed this week for National Volunteer Week include gardening with Communities in Schools, virtual reading for the Boys and Girls Club in Newberry and painting an administrative office at Palmetto Place Children & Youth Services. The organization has gathered more than 200 volunteers for the week.

“We’ve been almost at capacity in terms of our volunteer needs, but we know that the needs will start to increase in the coming year as more people get vaccinated and feel more comfortable going out and volunteering in person,” said Becky Morrison, director of community engagement.

The Salvation Army, 3024 Farrow Road, Columbia

At this time, volunteers are needed to help serve meals to the homeless and serve at our Family Stores, according to Lisa Huffman, a volunteer coordinator with The Salvation Army. Four volunteers are needed to serve meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) to the homeless at Transitions Homeless Shelter in Columbia.

The Salvation Army needs volunteers to help sort, organize and tag donated goods at the Family Stores at 1312 North Millwood Ave. and 1341 Dutch Fork Road. Individuals or groups of up to 15 can sign up to volunteer by contacting Huffman at Lisa.Huffman@uss.salvationarmy.org to sign up to volunteer.

“Volunteers are the army behind ‘The Army’,” said Huffman. “It has been a challenge securing enough volunteers this past year due to COVID-19; however, the community has stepped up and helped us get through.”

Feed My Sheep Movement and Ministry, 1224 Pickens St. Suite 110 and 120, Columbia

Feed My Sheep Movement and Ministry is a local non-profit created in 2019 that provides meals, “blessing bags”, professional clothing closets and technology services for those in need.

The organization is in need of two to four weekly volunteers to either work in the main and operations offices or the storage facilities. Office volunteers would help organize the clothing closets and provide an online shopping experience for the homeless and those who have experienced loss due to catastrophic events. Volunteers in the storage area would help organize the overflow donations.

Feed My Sheep is just starting its regular volunteer opportunities again on April 24 after a year without the ability to do in-person service projects that were normally held every weekend.

“Although it was a challenging year, we provided volunteer opportunities for those that wanted to help our seniors by painting pictures, writing encouraging letters and poems, hand-made jewelry and other items that were delivered to various nursing homes around the Midlands,” said Executive Director Destinee Means.

To volunteer, email athonywhitley@feedmysheepmovementandministry.com or visit the website.