Make Lasting Holiday Memories With These 5 Volunteer Opportunities In Manchester

MANCHESTER, NJ — Volunteering is a meaningful way to connect with neighbors in Manchester and make lasting holiday memories for both yourself and the people you help.

Volunteering also fosters a sense of shared responsibility and purpose, leading to a more vibrant, resilient, and engaged community with a higher quality of life.

Many of the organizations that make life better in the Manchester area depend on volunteers.

Here are five ways to volunteer in the Manchester area:

• The Ocean County Library needs teen and adult volunteers for a variety of things including delivering books to homebound people, "adopting" a section of shelves to keep tidy and cleaning disks. For more information, visit their website.
• The Ocean County Mentoring Program invites you to meet with local children at their school once a week and support them in any way they need. If you're interested, contact Barry Steinmetz, School Mentoring Coordinator at 732-288-7723.
• Popcorn Park needs volunteers for both their shelter and animal refuge, though the shelter will soon be closing temporarily as it is being rebuilt. For details, click here.
• Caregiver Volunteers of Central Jersey needs volunteers to help it provide free supportive services to the frail elderly and the home-bound, enabling them to live independently and with dignity in their own homes.
• Court Appointed Special Advocates of Ocean County assists foster children in Ocean County with a trained volunteer who will advocate on their behalf while they reside in foster care. The volunteer advocates "identify needs, make recommendations to the family court and provide these children with a steady, consistent adult presence during this difficult, and often tumultuous, time in their young lives."