Fun Ways to Give Back this Fall

When the weather turns chilly, sometimes we find ourselves spending more time inside on our booties and not being quite as active as we had been during the spring and summer months.

We’ve got super ideas about how to break up those days when you decide to hang out snuggled inside looking at Netflix for hours-at-a-time or playing the next big video game in front of your computer with a bag of chips and a giant bowl of salsa, with a different indoor activity - one where you’re having an amazing time and helping somebody else do the same.

There are so many fulfilling and gratifying volunteer opportunities in the Denver area. And a lot of them are surprisingly FUN!

Check out our list of fun ways to give back this fall (and all year round) -

Helping Veterans - If you’re looking for a way to help veterans, there are multiple ways to do so in the Denver area. There are many organizations in and around Denver that assist veterans in obtaining benefits and financial resources with the objective of helping to prevent Veterans from becoming homeless. The Support Services for Veteran Families, Female Veterans Program and Veteran Service Center are all around Denver and they all work to make lives better for Veterans throughout the Denver area.

Hang Out with Animals - If you love animals and have never volunteered at a humane society, we highly recommend you doing so! Talk about having an amazing time - you literally get to hang out with cats and dogs for hours at a time. It’s not all fuzzy snuggles and wet nose kisses (although there are lots of those) - you do have to work to clean cages, make sure your furry friends are exercised, clean and well cared for. But it really does not feel like work in the end. You go home hairier and happier than you were when you got there every-stinking-time!

Be a Companion to an Older Adult - Spending an hour or two with an older adult can be an enriching experience for you and for them. It’s no surprise that as we age, we tend to spend more time at home and away from our social circles. This has a negative effect on us both mentally and physically. Not every older adult is able to drive and get out on their own for a variety of reasons, from physical ailments to cognitive changes. There are multiple ways you can spend time with an aging adult - Meals on Wheels, a foster grandparent program, being a handyperson for someone who has a hard time doing tasks around the house, being a grocery program volunteer, volunteering at a retirement community or nursing facility. There are great friends to be made and hilarious stories to be shared.

Hang out with Kids - Big Brothers and Big Sisters, reading to kids at the library, help out at your local Early Childhood Education center, organize a gift-giving program for homeless children this holiday season, do a diaper drive for the local women’s shelter, become a tutor. There are so many ways you can help kids in your area to learn, grow and excel.

If none of these ideas sound like the perfect fit for you, check out the following websites to find what feels like a fulfilling option to you:

Volunteers of America - www.voa.org

Volunteer Match - www.volunteermatch.org

Habitat for Humanity - www.habitat.org

American Red Cross - www.redcross.org

Doctors Without Borders - www.doctorswithoutborders.org

Engineers Without Borders - www.ewb-international.com

National Multiple Sclerosis Society - www.nationalmssociety.org

American Cancer Society - www.cancer.org