[dropcap style=”light” size=”4″]A[/dropcap]s the weather becomes colder, the season of giving reminds people to give back and help local charities. Rock Bridge Reaches Out (RBRO) president and senior Catherine Ryberg said the holiday season is an opportune time for volunteering and community giving.
“I think the holidays make us feel especially grateful for all that we have. They make us think more about those who don’t have food, a warm home and a family,” Ryberg said. “We feel empathetic. That sense of empathy is what inspires many people to feel the desire to give.”
This sense of empathy can also lead to the betterment of an individual and a community. Volunteering with the Rainbow House this year made RBRO core leader of ROY G BIV and senior Erica Garrison more aware about the problems impacting her community.
“I think it is important for students to become involved in volunteer organizations because it allows you to become apart of your community. Working with the Rainbow House allows me to be a part of something more important than me and help others within my own community,” Garrison said. “When I started volunteering with the Rainbow House I didn’t really understand how big of a problem child abuse and neglect was in Columbia. The Rainbow House shines a light on this subject and does a lot to be there for the children and families in our community.”
[heading size=”15″ margin=”10″]Student volunteers help nonprofit organizations[/heading] Communications coordinator for the Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri, Janese Silvey said student volunteers are critical to making their operations possible and aiding all the people in need. The association appreciates canned food drives because of the overwhelming support from members of the community.
Volunteers are especially valuable during the holidays as many underprivileged families need a lot more support such as food for holiday dinners and presents. It’s during these times that the Food Bank relies heavily on volunteers to repackage food, which saves the organization about $2 million a year in labor costs, allowing them to use their resources more efficiently.
“Students bring a wonderful sense of energy into our volunteer room. The Food Bank serves, on average, 104,000 people every month in our 32-county service area,” Silvey said. “While the holidays serve as a great reminder of the needy, many of these individuals face food insecurity year-round. We also provide food to about 7,500 students every week through our Buddy Pack program and school pantries.”In addition to the Food Bank, students can help out in the schoolwide RBRO events that individual cores are arranging to benefit their respective local organizations. The core ROY G BIV plans to use the money made at their last fundraiser to make child friendly pillow cases for the children at the Rainbow House and buy something on their wish list.
“To help this season, students could donate money so we can purchase the pillowcases,” Garrison said. “[We want to] buy more expensive items on the [children from the Rainbow Houses’] wish list that other people may not be able to donate, or [students] can help out with making the pillow cases.”
Ryberg says that help from students is appreciated and there is always more room in the club for students who want to volunteer their time.  The school organization supports local charities and offers many different cores for students to help out with. The club also provides easy access to information and times for events.“The best way for students to help RBRO cores this season is to join RBRO. Students who want to give their service to others this holiday season will have no problem finding opportunities to do so once joining RBRO,” Ryberg said. “Even if you aren’t interested in joining RBRO, students should keep their eyes open for flyers and posts in the InfoBruin advertising service opportunities that we have going on, such as holiday supply drives.”
How did you help this holiday season? Tell us about it in the comments below.