OT: Volunteer Opportunities in SE Mich

This is a great idea. I do hope it stays politics free (even implicitly).

NT

If you have any interest in literacy programs, at   literacydirectory.org   you can enter your zip code and locations near you will pop up and tell you what is available (children, adult, ESL, etc.) Gives contact info for volunteering.

It's an organization in Detroit that provides vital services (housing, legal, job search, ESL, etc.) to people seeking asylum in the U.S. I've worked with them through UofM and I know a lot of other students/alums have as well. HUD recently pulled a major source of their funding, so they can use all the help they can get!

http://www.freedomhousedetroit.org/

I'm involved with a Detroit based 501(c)(3) charity called Partnership for Dads.  We have programming and events designed to aid dads build stronger families and we partner with existing organizations to make this happen.  Our flagship event, the annual Fathers Conference, is today.  Always looking for volunteers and support.

http://www.partnershipfordads.org

facility, rainbow of hope farms, which provides housing and life skills for individuals with mental and physical challenges.   i'm guessing there are plenty of those types of opportunities to be found in SE michigan.  along with that there will be opportunities to serve those communities for various events and trips they might have, donations of time (and of course money) can be made.  

another mgoblogger (we'll call him lawrence)  who is a great guy is this very minute on a ski hill up here helping handicapped skiiers. 

if you are a person of faith, many denominations have ways to help those in need and that might be a ready-made opportunity for you. 

lots of good ideas and kudos to you for wanting to get involved. 

Here's something simple my wife and I discovered. So our kids' school district isn't too affluent. Apparently, there is a program at each school where parents/PTA gather food from food pantries or just make it themselves, organize it and give that food to the guidance offices where students who need help getting food over the weekend can pick it up discretely.

scary to think about, but about 10-15% of kids like school b/c it's a warm place where they can get warm food on the regular (free/reduced price). long weekends can cause stress on those kids. And this is the richest society in the history of civilization.

Edit: IDK if you're in A2, but I know A2 has a significant free/reduced pop. you wouldn't think so, but it's actually a very top and bottom heavy district economically. not a ton in the middle.

When I was a senior in high school, this was our congregation's youth group project.  The local branch of Big Brothers Big Sisters paired each of us with a child (checking their national website, I see the age range for the kids is 6-18).  They describe it as mentoring the child, but for me at 18, it seemed more like simply being there as a friend, being able to share experiences they wouldn't otherwise have access to, letting them know there was something else out there.

My strongest memory was when my best friend and I took our girls out for an activity and had milk and cookies afterwards.  My charge, generally quite shy and quiet, said, "We have milk at home, too.  But it's for the baby."

The downside for me was that only a few months later I had to leave for Ann Arbor and felt I was abandoning my girl.  But she sent me a lovely note wishing me well "up at college."  Something I've never forgotten.  (And this post makes me wonder if I'd be able to track her down years later through BBBS and see what became of her.)

University of Michigan's own "Prisoner Creative Arts Project", aka PCAP

You can work with high-schoolers or adults.

Look into it. It is absolutely one of UM's finest social-mission driven programs hands down, and one of the most fulfilling things I've ever done, no question.