Volunteers Help Bring Our Mission to Life

Getting Ahead monthly meeting volunteer. We are looking for groups or churchs to prepare a meal to  serve to around 40 of our getting ahead graduates from 5:30-6:30 at OPEN M. The following dates are still open: February 14, April 10, June 12, July 10, September 11, and November 9. If you are interested in fulfiilling one of these dates please contact Angel at resources@openm.org or Hannah at family@openm.org.

Mountain of Food Distribution.This event takes place the third Friday of every month (excluding December). OPEN M receives about 3 to 5 tons of food from the food bank. We separate the food items into smaller qualities and then hand them out to the people who come in. We always need volunteers to help us get the food, sort it into smaller quantities, and then pass the food out to clients. We also ask volunteers to help clean up after the event if they can. This is a great way to help and for small groups to get involved, interact with our clients and make them feel better. The event is usually around four hours long, from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The actual time for distributing the food is from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact Angel at 330-434-0110 ext. 402 or at resources@openm.org.

Christmas for the Love of Children.This program allows donors to sponsor about 350 families for Christmas. The adopters buy the children gifts (2 gifts at $25 each per child or more), clothing, toys, etc. Some sponsors also provide the family with food, so they can have meals over the holidays. We need people to adopt one of our registered families, or volunteer on the day of distribution. Distribution day is usually a week to 10 days before Christmas. It is usually an all day event and we need about 8 people to help on that day. It is truly a time of giving; it is a very neat program to be involved with. If you are interested in getting involved this way, contact Hannah at 330-434-0110 ext. 403 or at family@openm.org. By the way, many times groups of people will come together to adopt a single family. Have an office pool at work? Do you belong to a social group or fraternal organization? This program is a perfect way to really have an impact on a family’s life!

Do a drive. This is a great way to help OPEN M without having to come up to OPEN M. We are always in need of certain staple items for our pantry. A food drive is always a tremendous way to help us and is relatively easy to complete. There are also staple necessity items that we always need, like toilet paper, soap, laundry detergent, shampoo, tooth brushes, tooth paste, over the counter sealed medication such as aspirin, feminine products and more. This really is a great easy way to get everybody involved without leaving the office. If interested, please contact Bobbie Boyer at 330-434-0110 ext. 416 or at food@openm.org.

Mentoring Programs. Come and speak to our Diamond Ladies mentoring program (girls ages 12-17) or B.O.Y. male mentoring program about your occupation or any testimonies. Or plan an activity/field trip to get involved with both or either group. If you are interested, please contact Felicia at 330-434-0110 ext. 410 or at homework@openm.org.

Hot lunch. OPEN M provides a hot lunch the last 2 weeks of every month (excluding December and July) to anyone in need. Between 150-300 people come to these hot lunches. We need groups to volunteer on a specific day to buy, prepare, serve, and clean up afterwards. If interested, please contact Bobbie Boyer at 330-434-0110 ext. 416 or at food@openm.org.

Summer Camp. We welcome volunteers who would like to help with a day’s activity or field trip. Depending on the day, we need different numbers of volunteers. If you are interested, please contact Felicia at 330-434-0110 ext. 410 or at homework@openm.org.

Outside Facilities Work. Plant flowers, pull weeds, spread mulch. Help us really make the outside of the building look nice. If interested in this opportunity please contact Angel at 330-434-0110 ext. 402 or at resources@openm.org.