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As Thanksgiving approaches, families can integrate food-related community service into their schedules to honor the role that food plays in the holiday’s celebration. From community meals to food pantries to other food-related community resources, opportunities abound for families to engage in service or to participate in a community-building meal.
To learn more about how to offer community service or to find a community meal to attend, check out some of these community events on Thanksgiving Day…
Of all the possible ways to give back to your community during the holiday season (and the entire year, too), collecting socks might seem like the smallest of ways to make a difference. In reality, it’s not such a small gesture! The socks that you collect or donate don’t have to be boring six-packs of plain white gym socks…. they can be whimsical or even hand knitted!
Service-based learning at the Food Bank this summer.
SNAP offers nutrition assistance to millions of eligible individuals and families across the country, allowing them to put healthy food on their tables.
If your New Year’s resolution is to help strengthen our community by volunteering your time and talents, The Food Bank has a number of opportunities available for you throughout the year, including a series of Family Volunteer Days continuing this weekend in partnership with Hilltown Families!
Support Hilltown Families: Vote for Hilltown Families as “Best Blog” in the Valley Advocate’s Best of the Valley Readers’ Poll for 2016!
You have an opportunity to take action and support our community. In partnership with Hilltown Families, The Food Bank will be hosting our January Family Volunteer Day on Saturday, January 16 from 9 – 11 a.m. All ages are welcome, as families are invited to help prepare food to be distributed to our neighbors in need across Western Massachusetts. Reservations are required .
You have an opportunity to take action and support our community. In partnership with Hilltown Families, The Food Bank will be hosting a special “Giving at Thanksgiving” Family Volunteer Day on Saturday, November 14 from 9 – 11 a.m. This will be a fun opportunity to learn about the issue of food insecurity in our region and the impact it has on the community. All ages are welcome, as families are invited to tour The Food Bank and help prepare food to be distributed to pantries and meal sites across Western Massachusetts.
In partnership with Hilltown Families, The Food Bank will be hosting a special Family Volunteer Day on Saturday, October 31 from 9 – 11:30am… join us!
There is more than enough food in America to feed every man, woman and child. Yet, here in Western Massachusetts, more than 235,000 people are at risk of hunger and health problems that come with not having enough nutritious food to eat. As individuals, charities, businesses and government, we all have a role to play in getting more food to people in need. Together, we can solve hunger and help keep our communities healthy and strong.
Volunteering together teaches children positive values, like kindness, empathy and tolerance, and opens up channels of communication between parent and child. Engaging children in community service can increase their participation as future volunteers, helping to create more resilient and sustainable communities.
In partnership with Hilltown Families, families are invited to attend a series of monthly volunteer sessions at The Food Bank of Western MA where they will help sort food, take part in educational activities, and learn how to take actions to help fight hunger. Our next Family Volunteer Day is Saturday, Sept 12!
You can take action to support our community during Hunger Action Month September is Hunger Action Month, a time when the Feeding America nationwide network of food banks unite and ask everyone to take action to fight hunger in their community. It is your opportunity to join a movement that has a real and lasting impact on our effort to feed more people than ever before. Hunger affects communities all across our… Read More
During the summer months of June, July and August, food pantries and meal sites across Western Mass. see a 45% increase in visits over the holiday season. Find out how your family can support The Food Bank this summer by volunteering together while learning about the issue of food insecurity in our region and the impact it has on the community.
Families have a unique opportunity to support The Food Bank this summer through our Family Volunteer Days! Through service-based learning, participants learn about nutrition and the importance of food security. Giving people access to fresh healthy food is an important objective we all should support. See how your family can help and how much impact you can make!
Your entire family can take the first steps towards supporting your community, and find out just how much fun volunteering can be. The Food Bank and Hilltown Families are holding a special Pot-Luck Breakfast Family Volunteer Day at our Hatfield facility on Saturday, May 9 from 9 – 11:30 a.m. Bring a favorite dish to share. You will have the opportunity to learn about hunger in our region, as well as helping to prepare food to be distributed to pantries and meal sites across Western Massachusetts. Pre-registration is required for this free community service event…
April is National Volunteer Month and there are countless GREAT reasons to volunteer with your family — meeting people, helping people, building community… The Food Bank of Western Mass & Hilltown Families Family Volunteer Day checks all those boxes and so much more. Read on and see how your family can help.
Currently, an estimated 50 million people across The United States are food insecure – a truly unsettling statistic. National Nutrition Month challenges us to take pause and consider the absolute fundamental importance of eating, and eating smartly. While wonderful organizations such as The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts have this issue on the front burner constantly, their very own Chris Wojcik outlines why we need to always be aware of food security and learn how we can do something to help. Hilltown Families is proud to partner with The Food Bank, hosting a very special community engaging volunteer day. Read on for more information.
The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts & Hilltown Families present Family Volunteer Days! Over the years, Hilltown Families has partnered with The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts in several ways, offering families in the region opportunities to engage in service-based learning while volunteering together as a family in support of food security in our region. We’ve organized a field trip and a couple of virtual food drives and told you how you… Read More
This past Saturday, November 22nd, was the third Hilltown Families’ Family Community Service Event, a one of a kind event for families to volunteer together in a morning of community service! From teens to tots to grandparents, over 200 folks were able to generate 600 hours of community service at this intergenerational event for different non-profit and community organizations in our region that support education, children’s welfare, and human services.
As Thanksgiving approaches, families can integrate food-related community service into their schedules in order to honor the role that food plays in the holiday’s celebration. From community meals to food pantries to other food-related community resources, opportunities abound for families to engage in service or to participate in a community-building meal.
Hilltown Families will host our 3rd Family Community Service Event on Saturday, November 22nd from 10am-1pm at Leeds Elementary School in Northampton, MA, with five hands-on volunteer stations for ALL AGES that support education, children’s welfare, and human service. Event is free and open to all, but space is limited and participating families must preregister. Join us to volunteer with your family, helping to generate 600 hours of community service in a single morning!
Volunteer with your family to help local non-profits in a single free event on Saturday, November 22nd during the Hilltown Families’ Family Community Service Event in Northampton— a one of a kind event for families to volunteer together while educating children about important social issues and the value of community service! —
“Our goal is to give families service-based learning experiences by collaborating with local non-profits and community organizations in a single event,” says Sienna Wildfield, Executive Director of Hilltown Families. “Many families are interested in volunteering together but may find it difficult due to either a limit in time or to a lack of opportunities. Hilltown Families’ Family Community Service Event is an intergenerational & delightful way for families to volunteer together. It’s also an avenue for parents to discuss and educate their children on important community issues and the value of volunteering in our community.” —
Space is limited, so reserve a spot for your family today!
Food security is an important issue in Massachusetts with 1/5 kids classified as “food insecure.” It often happens when children are out of school that parents have financial difficulty making up the lost ground that was given by free school meals. Families can help in closing this summer meal gap by joining us at an intergenerational Family Volunteer event at The Food Bank of Massachusetts in Hatfield this summer.
Read on for more detailed information…
Hilltown Families’ Family Community Service Night at The Art Garden in Shelburne Falls, MA DIY Mittens & Scarves for Families in Transition Friday, January 17th, 2014 from 4-7pm What better gift to receive in the winter than a warm pair of handmade mittens or cozy handmade scarf; and what better gift to give to someone in your community than something you have lovingly made? On Friday, January 17th from 4-7pm, Hilltown Families… Read More
Volunteering together with your children teaches positive values, like kindness, empathy and tolerance, while opening up channels of communication. Thanks to Birthday Wishes, a nonprofit organization serving much of New England and New York, children living in homeless shelters are able to celebrate their birthdays with games, cake, and gifts – and there are lots of ways that families can help to support the organization’s efforts…
What better gift to receive in the winter than a warm pair of handmade mittens or cozy handmade scarf; and what better gift to give to someone in your community than something you have lovingly made? .. Join us for an evening of community service art-making on Friday, Jan. 17th from 4-7pm at The Art Garden in Shelburne Falls, MA, for “DIY Mittens & Scarves for Families in Transition,” the second in a series of five free family community service nights…
Have you heard of Spread the Bread? This global grassroots bread-giving initiative encourages families to bake bread and share with others. It was begun as a way to involve kids in charitable giving at an early age so that they would see it as a way of life… and a great way for families to participate in community service at home on a snow day!
Hands-on volunteering experiences can sometimes be hard to find for families with younger children. There are many terrific of organizations within our community that need volunteers to help with a variety of jobs, but often these jobs are skill-specific or take place in environments that may not be welcoming to young children. However, there are lots of community service projects that kids can do at home that make just as large an impact as in-person volunteering…
This coming Friday evening… Hilltown Families and The Art Garden will be collaborating again this year in a series of Free Family Community Service Nights! The first in the series will be on Friday, December 13th from 4-7pm: “A Serving of Art.” Join us in Shelburne Falls for an evening of art and community service, making reusable handmade canvas placemats and collecting nonperishable foods to donate to Stone Soup Cafe in Greenfield, MA. Families will also be invited to make a special canvas placemat to take and give to an elder in their life or a home-bound senior in their community…
Spread the spirit of giving and build community this holiday season by organizing a collection drive to support Socks for Seniors! The organization has been collecting socks all over the country for more than ten years! The socks collected in each drive are then given to elderly community members in order to keep their toes nice and warm throughout the winter and share some of the holiday spirit that inspired the project in the first place…
Hilltown Families and The Art Garden will be collaborating again this year in a series of Free Family Community Service Nights! The first in the series will be on Friday, December 13th from 4-7pm: “A Serving of Art.” Join us in Shelburne Falls for an evening of art and community service, making reusable handmade canvas placemats and collecting nonperishable foods to donate to Stone Soup Cafe in Greenfield, MA. Families will also be invited to make a special canvas placemat to take and give to an elder in their life or a home-bound senior in their community…
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