Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Anyone can be great because everybody can serve.” It can be easy for a volunteer to question the difference they can make. What can really change in an afternoon of volunteering? A lot.

Hands On Birmingham’s 12th Annual MLK Day of Service is just one example of how the community can change in one afternoon. On Monday, January 16th hundreds of volunteers of all ages, races, ethnicity, religion and gender will band together to make one movement that will leave a huge impact. This year we have around 35 projects in the community that will cover a wide range of impact areas such as environment, education, homelessness and hunger, and disaster relief efforts (just to name a few..)

With the declining economy and the community still on the long road to recovery from the April 27th tornadoes the need for volunteers is greater than ever. MLK Day of Service engages over 1,000 volunteers in just one day. One hour of volunteer labor is worth $17.70 in the state of Alabama. This MLK Day of Service, HOB volunteers will be worth around $70,000 but that is just a number.

The impact that our volunteers will make on Monday will mean more than just money. It will mean a warm meal in an empty stomach, a more beautiful park for our children to enjoy, smiling senior citizens at a retirement home, a new home for a family that dreamed of one, a day of fun for children, and a community that came together to help one another.

That is exactly what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. meant when he said anybody can be great. It is easy to look at an afternoon of volunteering as just one afternoon, but that one afternoon could mean the world to someone in need.

If you are interested in being a part of MLK Day, please visit http://www.handsonbirmingham.org/MLK and sign up for one of our many great projects.

HOB would love to thank all of our amazing sponsors for making this MLK Day of Service a possibility!

MLK Day of Service Sponsors!

Whenever Hands On Birmingham’s staff is out in the field, at an agency fair, or just in general, they commonly get asked, “What does Hands On Birmingham do”?. It isn’t an easy question to answer! It helps people make the community a better place. Hands On Birmingham makes volunteering easier. It inspires change and brings about awareness on issues in the community. Hands On Birmingham lets the community know major needs in the area. It works with over 200 agencies in five counties find volunteers who cares about their missions. Hands On Birmingham brings strangers together to help people get back on their feet, a community space more beautiful, serve a hot meal to the hungry, or befriend and provide guidance to children. It was a first responder when the April 27th tornado hit. Hands On Birmingham is hope, change, and community.

The staff, board and junior board members could talk about the organization endlessly and everyone has a fond memory of Hands On Birmingham, whether they have been around since its inception in 1998, or if they have only been connected to the organization for a month. You will read about those stories as this blog continues, but for our first post we would love to just tell you about what makes Hands On Birmingham so hands on.

Volunteers making a difference

You can look at Hands On Birmingham as an organization that provides three different types of volunteer opportunities; every day, annual events, and corporate days of service. At Hands On Birmingham, we believe that every day is volunteer day. Times are tough and as the economy continues to suffer, the community’s needs rise Nonprofits often cannot receive enough monetary support to fund an increase in programs. In the state of Alabama, the worth of one hour of volunteer work is worth $17.17 and that hour is priceless to the organization that the volunteer is helping as well as the people receiving services.

That is why volunteers play such a vital role in the success of a nonprofit organization! Hands On Birmingham lists daily volunteer projects with agencies that would love to have you be a part of their mission! There are a variety of opportunities such as: serving a meal to the hungry, visiting the elderly, spending time taking care of animals, making a community garden more beautiful, office work, and working events! All these opportunities can be viewed and signed up for at the website: www.handsonbirmingham.org

Skill based volunteering has become very important. If you have a skill or talent you would like to share, let us know. There is probably a nonprofit that needs you! If you can’t find anything that works with your schedule or that you are interested in, let us know and we can help you find something!

Two girls cleaning up a creek during HOB's Family Volunteer Day

Hands On Birmingham has annual events where we ask for an extra push from our volunteers, both old and new. We have four days of service, which includes: MLK Day of Service, Family Day of Service, 9/11 Week of Service and Remembrance, and Project Homeless Connect. You can find out more details about these days of service on our website as well as see pictures of our amazing volunteers hard at work!

In addition, we have Do-It-Yourself At Home Projects that volunteers can participate in with school groups, friends, family, faith based groups, coworkers, or even individually. Volunteers can put together Easter baskets for Bunny Aid, care kits for Project Homeless Connect or backpacks our Back-To-School Backpack Drive. All products of these projects go to agencies that support and house those in need.

Lastly, Hands On Birmingham can organize corporate days of service for companies or other groups! Give us a call so we can get some details on the specifics of what project you want and can plan it within three weeks time!

Everyone at HOB can talk at great lengths about what the organization does, how it helps people and moving stories about volunteers and the people that they help, but we really just want to get one simple point across: We love our community and we love the volunteers that make it the best community that it can be. We believe even the smallest action can make a huge impact. We would love for all of you to be a part of the action! Help us make a change! Visit our website to see what you can do at www.handsonbirmingham.org