Volunteer Projects.
The Giving Circle Active and Backer members have participated in a variety of volunteer projects—diverse in their scope and nature—since the group's inception in 2006. Following is a list of organizations we have supported through volunteering, their missions and the nature of our participation.
- Giving Cycle 2010-2011
Child & Family Services of New Hampshire
Child and Family Services is dedicated to advancing the well-being of children by providing an array of social services to strengthen family life and by promoting community commitment to the needs of children.
Giving Circle members helped Child & Family Services, a 2010 finalist organization, prepare for their annual fundraising gala and auction (hosted by RiverWoods in Exeter) by assembling gift bags and assisting with event logistics.Day of Caring
The Day of Caring, sponsored by United Way of the Greater Seacoast, has become a Giving Circle tradition. In 2011, we gave the residents of the Mark Wentworth Home a spa day offering, head, shoulder and hand massages, manicures, pedicures, etc. while having a small visit with the residents. Then we spent the afternoon in the memory unit visiting with several residents and taking them outside for a stroll, many of whom it was the first day they had been out this season. One group graciously participated in a "Day of Beauty and Conversation" at the Mark Wentworth Home, an assisted living facility in downtown Portsmouth. They spent the day giving spa treatments to the residents and used this opportunity to share conversation and companionship. Another team arrived with gloves and sponges to tackle the spring cleaning jobs at the Community Child Care Center; there they cleaned and sanitized classrooms and play equipment, and they organized storage closets.Mark Wentworth Home
The mission of the Mark Wentworth Home is to provide a culture of successful aging for Assisted Living residents. They do this by providing services and amenities to encourage personal fulfillment and growth with compassion and kindness. The vision of the Mark Wentworth Home is to change the way seniors perceive and experience aging by allowing them the ability to age in-place with a variety of support services.
Families First Family Support and Health Center
Families First is a local non profit organization focusing on "one-stop-shopping" for a broad range of health care and family services for all. Due to Giving Circle members’ continued interest in helping families in transition, members once again prepared and served a meal during the center's Family Fun Night. This program helps families that are "in-between homes" by offering a home cooked meal to the participants followed by some time for kids to play and parents to connect with one another. In this volunteer project, members cooked and served an Italian style dinner for residents of the shelter.
Community Child Care Center: Community Child Care Center (CCCC) is a private non profit organization that provides a nurturing and stimulating early learning environment for children in the Seacoast NH area. CCCC provides early education, child care and recreation, including before and after school care, to children ages eight weeks through 12 years old, giving priority to families in need. Giving Circle members’ donations – including gift cards to area merchants, craft supplies, and a digital camera – in total over $1K was given to provide immediate assistance and support to the center and its clients for the holiday season.
- Giving Cycle 2009-2010
Day of Caring
The Day of Caring, sponsored by United Way of the Greater Seacoast, has become a Giving Circle tradition. In 2010, over thirty members worked in teams to:
• clean windows at the Children's Museum in Dover, NH;
• paint the common room at Wentworth Connections, a day program for seniors;
• organize goods donated to the Wonderland Thrift Store in Exeter, NH.Arts in Reach
Arts in Reach (AIR), a 2009 semi-finalist organization, provides confidence-building opportunities for at-risk adolescent girls through the creative and performing arts. Giving Circle members organized a drive to collect art supplies and healthy snacks. We donated $400 worth of creative materials and gift cards to support the young women of AIR. A team of Giving Circle members also created props for an AIR performance.Children of Incarcerated Parents (CHPS)
Giving Circle members organized a holiday drive to provide gifts for the children of incarcerated parents (CHIPS).A Safe Place
A Safe Place provides shelter for victims of domestic violence in Rockingham and Strafford Counties. Giving Circle members donated over $1400 in gift cards for residents during the holidays, enabling the women to shop for personal needs and gifts for their children.Seacoast Family Promise (formerly Seacoast Interfaith Hospitality Network)
This organization provides food and shelter for homeless families. Several area churches rotate the responsibility of hosting and organizing volunteers to provide meals for the families. Giving Circle members cooked several meals and organized activities for the children.Cross Roads House
Cross Roads House offers food, shelter, and a proven program that helps homeless individuals and families on the Seacoast achieve their goal of independent and sustainable housing. Giving Circle Members helped the staff of Cross Roads move into their state of the art facility by making beds, cleaning and stocking kitchens with microwaves, coffee makers and other supplies to support the individuals and families living at the shelter. - Giving Cycle 2008-2009
No Idling Campaign
The Giving Circle launched a public awareness campaign to reduce unnecessary vehicle idling titled "Turn the Key. Be Idle Free." Inspired by Airwatch Northwest, a portal to air quality management agencies in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia. These agencies monitor air quality in their regions and manage programs to protect and improve air quality so Northwesterners can breathe clean, healthy air, members reached out to local schools to educate parents, students, and the administrations about the environmental and health risks of unnecessary idling. To date, over a dozen schools are participating in this campaign.New Outlook Teen Center
New Outlook is an after-school and summer adventure program providing middle and high school youth with high-quality recreational, educational and prevention programming. Through the United Way's Day of Caring, our members participated in cleaning out and organizing this teen center's basement and art supplies closet. (??should we flush out the other Day of Caring recipients in past cycles?)Portsmouth Sustainability Fair
The goals of the Portsmouth Sustainability Fair in 2009 were learning and action. Visitors learned about ways to make their community more environmentally sustainable, whether by reducing waste, supporting local businesses or reducing dependence on fossil fuels and synthetics.
In support of the Giving Circle's No Idling campaign, "Turn the Key, Be Idle Free," members spent the day at the Portsmouth Sustainability Fair educating residents on the impact of vehicle idling on the environment and children's health.Earth Day
In month/year members worked with Timberland employees and their 'Reclaiming Parkland' Earth Day project to reclaim parkland by cleaning debris and cutting back brush at the Seacoast Science Center.Supporting our Troops
The Manchester Veteran's Affairs Medical Center mission is to honor America's Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being. Giving Circle members worked with this VA office to collect items such as moist wipes, hard candy, and hand sanitizers and to be shipped to our troops overseas.Holiday Drive
Members were inspired to support two different organizations during the 2008/2009 holiday season: The Housing Partnership, a non-profit affordable housing developer and provider of housing related services and Fair Tide, a local organization that provides short-term affordable housing in a safe dignified setting for people who are homeless. Each organization provided us with a wish list from families in need.
We were able to gift every family member with at least one of their wish list items. This effort supported 13 families living in temporary housing.Cross Road House
Cross Roads House offers food, shelter, and a proven program that helps homeless individuals and families on the Seacoast achieve their goal of independent and sustainable housing. In this volunteer project, members cooked and served dinners for residents of the shelter.Seacoast Family Promise (formerly Seacoast Interfaith Hospitality Network)
Seacoast Family Promise provides food, shelter and social services for homeless families. This is accomplished through the collaboration of several churches that alternate hosting up to 14 guests at a time. Giving Circle members cooked and served several breakfasts and dinners for these families. After dinner, members spent time playing games and reading to the children. - Giving Cycle 2007-2008
Seacoast Family Food Pantry
The Seacoast Family Food Pantry provides year round supplemental food pantry services, striving to fulfill the needs of low-income individuals with food, personal care products and education for healthy living.
To support the constant need to replenish supplies at the pantry, Giving Circle members and their families collected and delivered bins of non-perishable food items to help stock the shelves.Jenness State Beach Clean Up
Teaming up with the Blue Ocean Society, a local organization focusing on marine conservation, Giving Circle members and their families cleaned up trash and debris that littered the coastline of Rye, NH.Families First Family Support and Health Center
Families First is a local non profit organization focusing on "one-stop-shopping" for a broad range of health care and family services for all.
Giving Circle members gathered to host a meal and assist with a craft at the center's Family Fun Night. This program helps families that are "in-between homes" by offering a home cooked meal to the participants followed by a craft and some time for kids to play and parents to connect with one another.Cross Roads House
Cross Roads House offers food, shelter, and a proven program that helps homeless individuals and families on the Seacoast achieve their goal of independent and sustainable housing. In this volunteer project, members cooked and served dinners for residents of the shelter.Seacoast Family Promise (formerly Seacoast Interfaith Hospitality Network)
Giving Circle members cooked and served several breakfasts and dinners for these families. After dinner, members spent time playing games and reading to the children.
