Way more than 1000 points of light

I just finished my fourth volunteer project through Catchafire, which ‘strengthens the social good sector by matching professionals who want to donate their time with nonprofits who need their skills.'

The nonprofits I have worked with all insist on making things better for our most vulnerable neighbors.

One org serves adoptive, foster, and special needs families with services from education-plan guidance to trauma training for educators to home meal delivery - services that provide fundamental support through whatever challenges the families and the individuals in it are facing. One connects the uninsured to health care, filling the frightening gaps so many people find themselves in. Another serves at-risk kids and families, preventing neglect and abuse by offering a crisis nursery and protective services for kids, teens, and parents. The most recent organization I worked with is a community food bank figuring out how they can provide Thanksgiving turkeys to thousands of families as they always do, but this year without the help of their usual retail partners who - due to COVID and flooding - don't have the inventory to support this vital program.

All of these nonprofits are in faraway states, nowhere near where I live. Catchafire removes the common barriers to volunteering, giving us the opportunity to learn about and support outstanding organizations doing the difficult and necessary work to lift others. If you're looking for a way to give back or to pay it forward, Catchafire can connect you to opportunities to pop in and help.

Catchafire also provides the perfect antidote to all the rageful raging rage that dominates so many interactions. Look through a few projects, read about the programs seeking volunteers and you will know that '...a thousand points of light' is too small a number to measure the caring for strangers that happens all over this country every day.