VolunteerMatch Provides More Ways for Individuals, Nonprofits and Companies to Fight Hunger This Holiday Season

Dec 12, 2012 9:00 AM ET
Volunteers with the Tempe Community Action Agency prepare meals for home delivery. Photo: Tempe Community Action Agency/VolunteerMatch

December 12, 2012 /3BL Media/ - VolunteerMatch, the Web’s largest volunteer engagement network, has announced a special campaign to fight hunger this holiday season and is inviting volunteers, nonprofits and companies across the country to join in.

Today one in six Americans – and one in five children – wrestles with hunger issues. Hunger is all around us, impacting families by eroding the physical, mental, social and emotional well-being of children and adults. Combating hunger in America, tens of thousands of nonprofit organizations provide mission-critical production, distribution, logistics, education and food preparation services.

With support from the Walmart Foundation’s Fighting Hunger Together initiative, VolunteerMatch is helping to meet the recruitment needs of thousands of U.S.-based food banks, social service agencies, soup kitchens and community gardens. The programs that are available this holiday season include:

A Map of Local Hunger Volunteer Opportunities – To encourage more individuals to volunteer for hunger-related causes, VolunteerMatch has released a Hunger Volunteering Map to help prospective volunteers connect with local needs. The map is located at  http://www.volunteermatch.org/fighthunger

Free Training for Nonprofits – Organizations that combat hunger can gain more skills, knowledge and resources by attending a series of free webinars developed specifically around the special challenges faced by hunger-related organizations.. Learn more about special resources for nonprofits at http://learn.volunteermatch.org/training-topics/fighting-hunger.

Telling the Story of Hunger Where You Live – As part of the holiday giving season, VolunteerMatch will share the stories of nonprofits fighting hunger, of individuals struggling with hunger, and of companies that support programs to end hunger. Individuals can submit their stories at www.volunteermatch.org/volunteers/stories.

Media Coordination – VolunteerMatch invites bloggers, media, nonprofits, companies and  individuals who are dedicated to the cause of fighting hunger to join in. Resources can be found at: http://blogs.volunteermatch.org/engagingvolunteers/fighting-hunger-blogging-resources

For more information about fighting hunger with VolunteerMatch, visit http://www.volunteermatch.org/fighthunger.

About VolunteerMatch

VolunteerMatch is the Web's largest volunteer engagement network, with more than 90,000 participating nonprofits, 160 network partners and 10 million visitors each year. Founded in 1998, VolunteerMatch offers solutions to make it easier for individuals, nonprofits and companies to make a difference. Since its launch, VolunteerMatch has helped nonprofits attract more than $2 billion worth of volunteer services. VolunteerMatch is a two-time Webby Award winner, a Smithsonian inductee, and has been recognized for its work by The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Time, Oprah Winfrey and Presidents Clinton and Bush. To learn more, visit www.volunteermatch.org.