Long Island Community Volunteering (NEW)

HomeLong Island Community Volunteering (NEW)

LONG ISLAND COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERING

WOMEN'S CONNECTION LONG ISLAND COMMUNITY IMPACT

Our Community Volunteer Committee helps others by collaborating with various non-profit organizations on Long Island. It provides women the opportunity to make a positive difference in our communities. At the same time, we get to meet new women and work together in meaningful ways.

Everyone is welcome to attend our meetings and join our efforts.
Watch for our eblasts announcing meetings, collections, and volunteer activities.
If you are particularly interested in one of our collaborative relationships, please contact the name listed to learn more about how we help.

For questions contact Jeanine Briefel

Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative brain disease and the most common form of dementia. The Alzheimer's Association of Long Island’s mission is to eliminate Alzheimer's disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health.

To help clarify and explain this disease, the Alzheimer's Association of Long Island is asking Women's Connection for volunteers to serve as Community Educators, Caregiver Support Group Facilitators, Early Stage Support Group Facilitators, and Community Representatives

The Alzheimer's Association provides a program overview/orientation and comprehensive training to all volunteers.

If you are a good communicator, share their values and mission.

The Alzheimer's Association provides a program overview/orientation and comprehensive training to all volunteers.

If you are a good communicator, share their values and mission.

Animal Welfare Opportunities

Do you love animals and want to make a difference? Whether you have just a few hours

or more time to give, there are many rewarding ways to get involved. While Women’s

Connection does not partner with a specific shelter, we can provide contact information

for a variety of organizations across Nassau and Suffolk.

Shelters urgently need help with roles such as dog walking, cat socializing, fostering,

interviewing potential adopters, fundraising, and community education. You decide

how—and how much—you’d like to participate.

BOOK FAIRIES

Can you imagine never having a book to call your own? Right here on Long Island countless children do not own a single book and countless public facilities like schools, shelters, and prisons do not have adequate books for their population. The Book Fairies, located in Freeport, collects reading materials from people, schools and businesses and then re-distributes them where needed throughout New York to foster literacy and academic success, provide a respite from personal struggles and nurture a love of reading across all ages. Our volunteers can donate books and volunteer in the warehouse in Freeport to sort books. Help is also needed to assist monthly book fairs at the warehouse on weekends.

CARE TO KNIT

(Women's Connection Stitchers)

We are knitters and crocheters of varying skill levels who make hats, scarves, afghans, lap blankets, etc. We donate our items to Care To Knit. They, in turn, distribute these items as needed to LI shelters, hospitals, etc. and special programs such as SEAN'S GIFT blanket program, THINK PINK for breast cancer patients, WOMEN HEART for heart patients, and the BROOKE JACKMAN FOUNDATION. We meet the 1st Wednesday afternoon of each month which is when we collect the finished items, share ideas, and put together afghans.

FAMILY SERVICE LEAGUE

(Brentwood Shelter)

Under the auspices of Family Service League, our goal as Women's Connection Volunteers is to help enhance the lives of the more than 350 children living in this 100 room shelter in Brentwood. We help with Halloween and Christmas activities, special programs, and a Prom Boutique for graduating seniors who live at the shelter. We collect much needed items for the children.

HAIR WE SHARE

Hair We Share is a non-profit organization, located in Roslyn, that collects human hair and makes wigs for people with medical issues, such as alopecia and cancer. They have become inundated with donations of hair, and found themselves in a backlog of nearly three months of unprocessed mail. The women in Women's Connection have been helping this organization open and process donations. This will be an ongoing situation which will need “a few good women” to donate their time on a regular basis. Once they catch up, we’ll help them stay caught up! Please consider volunteering your time for this worthy cause.

HOPE FOR YOUTH

Hope For Youth is dedicated to facilitating positive change in the lives of children, adolescents, and families. They provide stable, nurturing, residential care, foster care, preventative and out-patient programs which educate, motivate, and empower individuals to become self-sufficient and achieve their full potential.

ISLAND HARVEST

Island Harvest provides critical food, products, programs and services to Long Island families, seniors, veterans, and children who live with food insecurity and hunger every day. They do this by distributing the equivalent of more than 10 million pounds of food, 8 million meals, to more than 316,000 Long Islanders living with hunger each year. Women's Connection Volunteers work in the office, help with mailings, help prepare backpacks for children’s take home weekend food, help with Island Harvest’s special projects, and help collect food donations which are distributed to over 570 Long Island based food pantries and soup kitchens that offer food to those in need.

The Opening Word

The Community Volunteer Committee

invites you to participate at The Opening Word. This is a non-denominational holistic literacy, ESOL, and job readiness program dedicated to helping immigrant and refugee women. Its mission is to enable future personal empowerment, increased civic and social responsibility and enhanced skills for membership in the workforce. The program provides coaching and financial and legal assistance for Citizenship classes as well. Students have come from 45 countries in Central and South America, Asia, and Europe. The Opening Word Program needs volunteers to work weekday mornings as teacher aides with New York State certified teachers. Other volunteer positions include teaching simple finance and computer skills and helping with fundraising events.

Opening Word has two locations in Huntington Station (south of Pulaski Road on Rte. 110) and in Amityville. Clients will not only develop English fluency but will learn how to read a medicine label, correspond with their children’s teacher, schedule a medical appointment, and read recipes and nutrition labels. Citizenship coaching is needed as well.

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”

---Gandhi

SOUTH SHORE CHILD GUIDANCE CENTER

The South Shore Child Guidance Center provides comprehensive outpatient behavioral health services to children and families residing in Nassau County. Located in Freeport, the Center needs volunteers in many areas. One-on-one opportunities are available to help school age children with homework, reading skills, math and other subjects and build a relationship with them. Volunteers will be able to specify the age group they will want to assist as well as choose to help via zoom or in person.

Art teachers and artistically inclined volunteers are needed to choose after-school art projects and lead the children in completion of the projects. A SSCGC therapist will be present to facilitate the endeavor. Money management skills are needed for teens and parents. Volunteers teaching budgeting skills, essential for everyone, are needed. Guidance for navigating the college application process for middle and high school students is also welcomed.