5 Ways You Can Help Your Norwood Community

August 25th, 2022 by

Here at Nucar Toyota of Norwood, we’re grateful to be a part of the Norwood community of neighbors. We know that our communities are passionate about improving the lives of those around them and building a stronger, better Norwood. Keep reading to find out about five ways you can help your Norwood community.

Volunteer With Norwood Memory Café

Statues in Norwood, MA paid for by charity organization.

Norwood, Massachusetts by Doug Kerr is licensed with CC BY 2.0

If you’re passionate about caring for Norwood’s senior community, consider volunteering with Norwood Memory Café. This nonprofit organization hosts a monthly event for people experiencing memory changes because of dementia, Alzheimer’s, strokes, or other causes, as well as their caretakers and friends. The informal gathering features activities and live entertainment. Norwood Memory Café happens on the third Thursday of every month, from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., at the Norwood Senior Center on Prospect Street.

While the event only takes an hour, a lot of work goes into making it successful every month, so the Memory Café always appreciates volunteers. If you own a business, consider sponsoring the event by providing food, entertainment, or craft materials, so the Memory Café can continue to operate for free. You can also volunteer as an individual, helping to lead activities or preparing materials. You can find contact information on the Memory Café’s website if you’d like to volunteer.

Support the Norwood Food Pantry

The Norwood Food Pantry is located at the back of Grace Episcopal Church at 150 Chapel Street. This nonprofit organization is staffed entirely by volunteers and run by a collection of representatives from different faith communities in Norwood, including churches and synagogues. The organization’s goal is to ensure every family in Norwood has access to healthy food. At the Norwood Food Pantry, families and individuals can find nonperishable and fresh foods, along with toiletry items such as toothpaste and soap.

There are several ways you can support the Norwood Food Pantry. If you’re interested in donating food, the pantry can always use nonperishable goods, including gluten-free and kosher options. You can also donate money to the organization, which allows the volunteers to purchase high-demand items. If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer, the Norwood Food Pantry welcomes both teens and adults. You might perform a wide range of tasks depending on your skills. Volunteers might sort food, stock shelves, pick up donations, and assist clients. To become a volunteer, fill out an online application, and a representative will contact you.

Become a Literacy Tutor at Morrill Memorial Library

Literacy tutors help people improve their reading skills, usually at a library or school. If you’re interested in helping adults learn to read more fluently, consider volunteering for the Literacy Department at Morrill Memorial Library. Often, participants in these programs need more advanced literacy skills to pass a citizenship test or GED exam. As a reading tutor, you might work with individual students or conversation groups, where peers help each other improve their reading skills. This might be a rewarding position for avid readers, especially since it gives you a reason to spend more time at the library.

Before starting to work with students, volunteers complete a training session to learn how to support ESOL readers. After that, the program coordinators assign one or more students to each volunteer, depending on how many hours they can donate each week. You can customize your schedule to find times that work for both you and your students. If you’re interested in becoming a literacy tutor, you can call 781-769-4599 or email [email protected] for more information.

Collect Supplies for the Norwood Animal Shelter

The Norwood Animal Shelter, located on the Boston Providence Turnpike, houses stray animals in the Norwood area. The organization also puts animals up for adoption by families and rescue organizations, so you might have a former shelter resident living in your home right now. The Norwood Animal Shelter has a paid staff, so there are fewer opportunities to volunteer at the shelter. However, the shelter staff is always in need of donations to feed and clean the dogs and cats in their care.

If you’re interested in collecting supplies, you can drop them off at the Norwood Animal Shelter between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Mondays. The shelter can only accept unopened pet food with a clearly-marked expiration date to ensure the health of the animals. You can also donate unopened animal supplies, such as dog shampoo and new or recently-cleaned bedding and toys. The Norwood Animal Shelter also accepts monetary donations in the form of checks.

Get Involved with the Neponset Valley Humane Society

If you want to spend some volunteer hours interacting with cats, dogs, rabbits, and other domestic animals, consider volunteering with the Neponset Valley Humane Society. This nonprofit organization conducts rescue operations across the region, arranges foster families and adoptions for eligible animals, and cares for feral cats in our area. While the Neponset Valley Humane Society also accepts donations of cash and items, the organization also has a variety of volunteer opportunities that don’t cost anything other than time and dedication.

Your skills and level of experience with animals, particularly cats, might determine which volunteer tasks are best for you. For example, if you’re an organized, thrifty shopper, you might help by collecting cat food coupons or alerting the team when there’s a sale on a specific brand of cat food. More experienced animal handlers might join the cat rescue volunteer team or work as dog adoption coordinators. You can find out more about volunteer opportunities by emailing [email protected].

These are just five of the many volunteer opportunities available in the Norwood area, many within a few minutes of our lot. If you need a new set of wheels to transport animal supplies or drive volunteers to the Memory Café, Nucar Toyota of Norwood has the perfect vehicle for you. Take a look at our inventory of new Toyotas and quality used vehicles, or stop by our location on Providence Highway to talk to a member of our expert team.

Posted in Local, Norwood MA