Needs From: United Way of the Lakeshore

Volunteer Opportunity: Stories & Santa – Holiday Open House Support

United Way of the Lakeshore is hosting Stories & Santa: A Holiday Open House, a festive afternoon for local families to enjoy holiday crafts, refreshments, story time, and a special visit with Santa! We are looking for a few helping hands to support this joyful community event with set-up and clean-up.

Set-Up Volunteers (2 needed)
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Volunteers will assist United Way staff with event preparation, including arranging tables and chairs, setting up activity stations, decorating the space, organizing supplies, and helping our team prepare for guests.

Clean-Up Volunteer (1 needed)
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Volunteer will help United Way staff with breakdown and clean-up after the event, including tidying activity areas, packing supplies, and assisting with light lifting to restore the space.

This is a great opportunity to support families in our community and help create a warm, welcoming holiday experience. Volunteers should be comfortable working indoors, on their feet for portions of the shift, and assisting with light lifting and general event support.

Thank you for helping us make the holidays brighter for local families!

Volunteer Opportunity: Stories & Santa – Activity & Craft Table Volunteers

United Way of the Lakeshore is hosting Stories & Santa: A Holiday Open House, a festive afternoon for local families to enjoy holiday crafts, refreshments, storytime, and a special visit with Santa! We are looking for friendly, patient volunteers to assist at our holiday activity and craft tables during the event.

Activity & Craft Table Volunteers
12:45 PM – 3:00 PM
Volunteers will help children and families participate in holiday-themed crafts by welcoming guests to the tables, explaining simple craft activities, distributing supplies, offering encouragement, and helping with light clean-up at the tables as needed. All craft instructions and materials will be provided.

This is a mostly seated position and is a wonderful fit for volunteers who enjoy working with children in a calm, creative environment. Volunteers should be comfortable interacting with families and providing gentle guidance as children complete their crafts.

Thank you for helping us create a joyful and memorable holiday experience for our families!

Volunteer Opportunity: Adopt a Working Family – Intake & Distribution Support

United Way of the Lakeshore is seeking friendly, organized volunteers to assist with donation intake and family pick-up for our Adopt a Working Family Program. These volunteers play a vital role in ensuring gifts and donations are received, organized, and distributed smoothly to families during the holiday season.

Volunteers will help check in donations and gifts from donors/adopters, assist families as they arrive for pick-up, and help move items in and out of the building as needed. This is a rewarding opportunity to directly support local families.

Physical Requirements:

Ability to assist with light to moderate lifting

Comfortable standing, walking, and assisting with general event flow

Able to interact professionally and compassionately with donors and families

Available Shifts (2 volunteers needed per shift):

Tuesday, December 16

9:30 AM – 1:00 PM

1:00 PM – 4:30 PM

Wednesday, December 17

10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Volunteers will receive on-site guidance and instructions from United Way staff. This is a meaningful opportunity to support dignity, organization, and holiday cheer for families in our community.

Thank you for helping make this program a success for both our donors and the families we serve.

Volunteer Opportunity: Adopt a Working Family – Holiday Gift Delivery Drivers

United Way of the Lakeshore is seeking reliable, compassionate volunteers to help deliver holiday gifts and donations to local families participating in our Adopt a Working Family Program. This role is essential to ensuring families receive their gifts in time for the holiday season.

All deliveries will take place within Muskegon County. Volunteers will use their own vehicles to transport gifts and donations to assigned homes.

Volunteer Requirements:

Must have a valid driver’s license

Must use your own vehicle

Able to lift and move light to moderate items in and out of your vehicle

Comfortable with short-distance travel within Muskegon County

If you prefer a specific delivery area (for example: Norton Shores, Ravenna, Twin Lake, etc.), please note this in the response notes when signing up

Available Shifts:

Wednesday, December 17

12:00 – 2:00 PM (2 volunteers needed)

2:00 – 4:00 PM (2 volunteers needed)

Thursday, December 18

10:00 AM – 12:00 PM (2 volunteers needed)

11:00 – 1:00 PM (2 volunteers needed)

3:30 – 5:30 PM (2 volunteers needed)

Monday, December 22

12:00 – 2:00 PM (1 volunteer needed) - please note, this shift will support any last-minute donations/gifts that come in. If we don't have late arriving gifts, we may cancel this shift.

Volunteers will be provided with delivery details, family information, and route guidance prior to their shift. This is a meaningful opportunity to directly support working families in our community during the holidays. Shift may last up to 2 hours depending on how many deliveries are needed per shift, but there is a possibility that they they'll be shorter.

Thank you for helping ensure no family is overlooked this holiday season.

Help us unload, sort, and distribute 10,000 lbs to families in need in our community. Mobile food pantries help meet the community from where they are and provide nutritious and healthy ingredients for family nourishment. You can make a difference by volunteering today! Volunteers help with the intake process of the families, help direct traffic, sort the trucks' goods, and help pack/distribute. The mobile food pantry will be open to the public beginning at 5 PM.

This project is a project that requires several forms to be filled out but is relatively easy to complete. Essentially you walk through the Veterans History Project Instruction Booklet step by step to conduct an interview with your local veteran. You come up with prompts, record the interview, collect copies of any photographs or memorabilia, and have all forms and paperwork filled out.  

You can then either forward that information to the United Way of the Lakeshore, or you can send the documents to the Library of Congress. 

This project is a great way to spend time with some of our greatest community members (our veterans!) and record local history. 

The Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.

The Veterans History Project (VHP) of the Library of Congress American Folklife Center collects and preserves the firsthand interviews and narratives of the United States military veterans from World War I through the present. In addition to audio- and video-recorded oral history interviews, VHP accepts memoirs and collections of original photographs, letters, diaries, maps and other historical documents from veterans who served in the US armed services from World War I through the present. The Project makes accessible the materials that comprise this important national archive, which contains submissions from every state, and includes the US territories. VHP relies on volunteers, both individuals, and organizations, throughout the nation to contribute veterans’ stories to VHP.

VHP also collects oral histories with Gold Star Family members, defined as a parent, spouse, sibling, or child of members of the Armed Forces who died as a result of their service during a period of war.

Currently, the Veterans History Project only has 5 servicemen listed from the Lakeshore. None of these soldiers have their pictures available. This is a great opportunity to preserve not only Community History but to preserve the family history of those in our community as well.

This project is a project that requires several forms to be filled out but is relatively easy to complete. Essentially you walk through the Veterans History Project Instruction Booklet step by step to conduct an interview with your local veteran. You come up with prompts, record the interview, collect copies of any photographs or memorabilia, and have all forms and paperwork filled out.  

You can then either forward that information to the United Way of the Lakeshore, or you can send the documents to the Library of Congress. 

This project is a great way to spend time with some of our greatest community members (our veterans!) and record local history. 

The Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.

The Veterans History Project (VHP) of the Library of Congress American Folklife Center collects and preserves the firsthand interviews and narratives of the United States military veterans from World War I through the present. In addition to audio- and video-recorded oral history interviews, VHP accepts memoirs and collections of original photographs, letters, diaries, maps and other historical documents from veterans who served in the US armed services from World War I through the present. The Project makes accessible the materials that comprise this important national archive, which contains submissions from every state, and includes the US territories. VHP relies on volunteers, both individuals, and organizations, throughout the nation to contribute veterans’ stories to VHP.

VHP also collects oral histories with Gold Star Family members, defined as a parent, spouse, sibling, or child of members of the Armed Forces who died as a result of their service during a period of war.

Currently, the Veterans History Project only has 5 servicemen listed from the Lakeshore. None of these soldiers have their pictures available. This is a great opportunity to preserve not only Community History but to preserve the family history of those in our community as well.

Student United Need For Hour Tracking Purposes

About Mission United: 

Mission United engages military veterans and their families to serve and address veteran needs in income stability, education, and health. These individuals help steer the impact work of United Way veteran-based programs and host special events such as the Memorial Day Clean Ups and Veterans Day activities.

Region: Muskegon, Newaygo, and Oceana Counties 

Mission United Chair: Sunny Crenshaw
Mission United Vice Chair: Henrietta Hadley 

Meetings are on the last Wednesday of each month.

Do you have a passion for helping young minds grow? Are you looking for a meaningful way to give back to your community? Join us as a volunteer mentor in our Early Math Program at Martin Luther King Elementary and make a real difference in the lives of children in Muskegon Heights. We are looking for volunteers for each classroom grades 3-5 at Dr. Martin Luther King Elementary 55 E Sherman BLVD, Muskegon, MI 49444. 

A love for working with young students. Great communication skills and the ability to work both independently and with others. Comfortable with technology or willing to learn. A supportive and encouraging approach to math.

An hour & a half (1.5) time commitment, 3 times a week, Monday-Friday. The students need this intervention each day for the program to be successful. We do ask that volunteers commit to an entire school year so that we can ensure the success of our students.

A commitment to completing our training (provided by the school and United Way of the Lakeshore). This training is about 1.5 hours and will walk you through the basics of the math program and the technology skills needed. Place, date and time of training will be determined with volunteers.

Background checks (no fee required). For the safety of our schools and you as a volunteer, you must complete two background checks - an initial check with United Way of the Lakeshore and then a secondary with each school site you plan to volunteer at. These background checks are covered by our organization and are of no fee to you!

Do you have a passion for helping young minds grow? Are you looking for a meaningful way to give back to your community? Join us as a volunteer mentor in our Early Math Program at the Lighthouse Learning Center in Montague and make a real difference in the lives of children.

Where: Lighthouse Learning Center at RRO | 4859 Knudsen St. Montague, MI 49437

When: After school from 4:00 - 5:00 PM

This program has been made possible thanks to funding by: 

Do you have a passion for helping young minds grow? Are you looking for a meaningful way to give back to your community? Join us as a volunteer mentor in our Early Literacy Program at Beach Elementary and make a real difference in the lives of children.

Where: Beach Elementary |2741 Heights Ravenna Rd, Muskegon, MI 49444

When: 12:15-1:45pm 

Do you have a passion for helping young minds grow? Are you looking for a meaningful way to give back to your community? Join us as a volunteer mentor in our Early Literacy Program at Edgewood Elementary and make a real difference in the lives of children.

Where: Edgewood Elementary |3255 E Pontaluna Rd, Fruitport , MI 49415

What You'll Do

When: 2:00-3:30pm 

Mentor students: Help young learners increase their literacy skills through a structured routines.Assist outside the classroom: Work alongside teachers to support students’ educational growth.Share your experiences: Report back on the successes and challenges of your mentoring journey.Be a role model: Show students the joy of learning while maintaining appropriate boundaries and confidentiality.
A love for working with young students. Great communication skills and the ability to work both independently and with others. A supportive and encouraging approach to reading.A two hour time commitment once a week. (Monday-Friday available) The students need this intervention each day for the program to be successful.Volunteers will report to Shettler Elementary.
A commitment to completing our training (provided by MAISD and United Way of the Lakeshore). This training is about 3 hours and will walk you through the basics of the literacy routine, giving volunteers time to practice and ask questions.  Training TBD. 
Background checks (no fee required). For the safety of our schools and you as a volunteer, you must complete two background checks - an initial check with United Way of the Lakeshore and then a secondary with each school site you plan to volunteer at. These background checks are covered by our organization and are of no fee to you!

Do you have a passion for helping young minds grow? Are you looking for a meaningful way to give back to your community? Join us as a volunteer mentor in our Early Literacy Program at Bunker Elementary and make a real difference in the lives of children.

Where: Bunker Elementary |2312 Denmark St, Muskegon, MI 49441 

When: TBA

Do you have a passion for helping young minds grow? Are you looking for a meaningful way to give back to your community? Join us as a volunteer mentor in our Early Literacy Program at Campbell Elementary and make a real difference in the lives of children.

Where:  Campbell Elementary |1355 Greenwich Rd, Muskegon, MI 49441 

When: TBA 

Do you have a passion for helping young minds grow? Are you looking for a meaningful way to give back to your community? Join us as a volunteer mentor in our Early Literacy Program at Holton Elementary and make a real difference in the lives of children.

Where: Holton Elementary |6425 Syers Rd, Holton, MI 49425

When: TBA