Community Service Opportunities in Woodbridge

• The Senior Olympics – The Senior Olympics is a great way to get community service.  The Seniors Olympics is located in Woodbridge Township. There are 18 different sporting events, so it gives students a variety to choose from different sports so they are not limited from any. This gives students a time to complete their community service hours. Not only does this give students an opportunity to complete their hours for community service, but it gives students a great time to interact with the seniors in our townships and really get to know them and what they have done for our township and even our country. The senior Olympics are not just a one day program it is a 3-day program. This great community service usually brings in roughly about 750 athletes in New Jersey. This gives the opportunity to show what Woodbridge really has.

• Woodbridge Library -Teen volunteers welcomed year-round but are mainly needed in July and August. To apply- visit the Main Library Children’s room or your branch during operation hours and fill out an application.  These are the location of all the libraries in Woodbridge Township: Woodbridge Main library at 1 George Frederick Plaza in Woodbridge, Fords Branch at 211 Fords Avenue in Fords, Iselin Branch at 1081 Green St. in Iselin, and Henry Inman Branch at 607 Inman Ave. in Colonia.When volunteering at any of the libraries the tasks you may be assigned include, assisting with the Summer Reading Club, being a reading buddy, helping with craft program preparation, straightening books, magazines & DVDs, helping with drop-in crafts, teaching games for game days, helping at special programs, cleaning toys, putting toys away, washing books & erasing pencil marks, folding pamphlets, placing barcodes on library cards, counting for surveys, and tidying the library. Space is limited; positions will be filled on a first-come basis.

• Buddy Ball -Woodbridge Buddy Ball started in 1995 with one important goal, to give children with special needs an opportunity to participate in an organized sports program.  Their logo is NOW IT’S THEIR TURN TO PLAY. Buddy Ball is a non-profit organization for special needs children. Importantly, you do not have to reside in Woodbridge Township to be in our Buddy Ball Program. You just have to want to play sports and have fun doing it. The league offers free programs in soccer, basketball, baseball, swimming and bowling. Each participant will receive a uniform and instructional help to ensure a safe and most of all fun environment. They also offer many social functions such as trips to minor league baseball games, major motion pictures and Disney on Ice. There is a summer picnic, a Halloween party, Christmas Party and various other events spread out throughout the year. Volunteers are needed to spend a few hours on Saturdays to buddy up with a child to play: Basketball – January to the end of March, Baseball- April to the end of June, Soccer – September to the middle of November. To volunteer, contact Dan Taylor at [email protected] .

• Woodbridge Animal Shelter – Interested in making a difference in your community? Well go to the Woodbridge Animal Shelter and Pet Adoption Center. Volunteering with animals can be very fun and rewarding, but it should also be taken very seriously. Volunteers are a critical part of the daily functions; the Woodbridge Animal Shelter relies on volunteers for their support and dedication to the animals. The Woodbridge Animal Shelter and Pet Adoption center is located in Sewaren, NJ. The student volunteer program is open to students 12-17 years of age. A parent must remain on shelter ground while the student is volunteering.  Student volunteers can work on Saturday mornings (any amount of time) between 10am and 2pm. Additionally, students volunteers who are 16-17 years of age may also volunteer on Tuesday and Thursday evenings during shelter hours (5 to 8pm). Students will not have direct contact with any animal unless authorized by an Animal Control Officer and a parent is present and has control of the animal. Parents/ students are not permitted to promise any animal for adoption. Student volunteers are required to sign in and out in the log book located in the lobby. Student volunteers will be required to attend a brief orientation at the shelter prior to beginning their volunteer duties.

• Domestic Violence Response Team- The Woodbridge Township Domestic Violence Response Team (DVRT) is a volunteer organization that is committed to raising public awareness of domestic violence. DVRT is an organization that assists victims of domestic violence. They are dedicated in breaking the cycle of violence. DVRT provides the best possible support and assistance to any victim, regardless of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. The Woodbridge Township Domestic Violence Response Team is located at the Woodbridge Police Department #1 on Main Street, Woodbridge. DVRT offers several community service opportunities to students. Volunteers are expected to complete an application and be interviewed. Applicants must possess a valid NJ driver’s license and have their own transportation to police headquarters. Volunteers must also complete forty hours of classroom training. They then will report to police headquarters with veteran team members for field training. Once volunteers complete that process, they are assigned shifts and must assist a victim when contacted by headquarters. When team members are assisting a victim of domestic violence, they must explain all options to the victim and help them with the process in receiving help through counseling groups or other options. People should volunteer for DVRT because it will teach awareness, responsibility, and support a cause.
•  The Colonia Corner Newspaper – The Colonia Corner is a newspaper organization that is committed to specializing newspapers and providing students with community opportunities. It is located in Colonia, NJ.  Students should volunteer for the Colonia Corner because they excel at providing activities that interests everyone and it is fun and exciting. The Colonia Corner is all about participating in community events like costume contests, donating food items, collecting food, raising funds, holiday shopping, raffle tickets, recycling festivals, and so much more.  Colonia Corner is the source for news in Woodbridge Township. Anyone can sign up for The Colonia Corner’s events and earn community service hours. High school students should definitely consider The Colonia Corner because not only do they offer news around the area, but Colonia Corner allows families to be together on several occasions. Colonia Corner promotes teamwork and students looking to have fun as well completing their community service hours requirement will have a overall rewarding experience. They have fundraisers  for dinners and events which are scheduled in Colonia and Avenel so everyone has access to being involved. Students should volunteer at Colonia Corner also because the more people they have. the more success The Colonia Corner will have in preparing for their yearly events in the community.

• Angel Paws – There are many local places that high school students can volunteer to get their community service hours. One place that you can volunteer at is Angel Paws. This is a place that you should volunteer only if you are interested in working with cats and are not allergic to them. Angel paws are located in Colonia, New Jersey right behind the Food town on Inman Ave. What they do is they would have a spring cleaning at the cat center when they take every spec out of the store and clean the whole inside. They clean cages, floors, walls, etc. The amount of hours depends on how long I take them, and they do not have an exact date of the spring cleaning. If interested, visit their website at www.angelpaws.org/.

• Iselin Fire Department – The Iselin Fire Department is a volunteer organization and one of nine fire companies in the township of Woodbridge. They operate from two fire stations and are on call 24 hours a day. They offer many opportunities for community service such as maintaining public recreation areas and maintaining the fire stations themselves. If you are at least eighteen years of age, you can become a volunteer firefighter with Iselin after completing the necessary requirements. These requirements can be found on their official website.

• Community Emergency Response Team – The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is located in Woodbridge, New Jersey. Volunteers participate in 20 hours of free training in which you learn about basic firefighting, CPR, and first response. They use the health department for their meetings because they do not have an actual house for them where they keep their equipment and etc. They have been in Hoboken, Passaic, and other places doing first response activity’s that volunteers would get to participate in if selected. For more information if interested please visit them at www.woodbridgecert.org/.

• Woodbridge Township Historical Association – Another opportunity for community service is volunteering for the Woodbridge Township Historical Association. The historical association’s goal is to preserve local historical landmarks and discover new facts about the past of our township. In order to gain community service hours, you must assist in the maintenance and preservation in a landmark, or bring new historical information to the attention of the association. The association’s mission statement is “To inform, educate, advise and guide public officials and the community at large as an advocate for the preservation of the rich history of Woodbridge Township.”

• The Evergreen Center for Senior Citizens  – At the Evergreen Center at 400 Inman Avenue in Colonia, there are plenty of options for students to get involved and help out local citizens. Students can be a computer/technology coach. For this, students can spend time assisting seniors in using computers and other assorted technological devices. This takes place between Tuesday and Friday from 3-4:30 pm. Students can also be a part of the decoration team, where they will set up and decorate for themes events. This will usually happen on the third Tuesday between May and August. Another great opportunity is the event food service and clean up. This will take place on the third Wednesday between the months of December and May, or between February and June. There are sign-ups currently occurring for the holiday party on December 18. If students enjoy playing with a Wii console, they can sign-up to assist seniors with set-up, gameplay, and score keeping. This takes place on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3-4:30 pm. Another option for students is the hospitality team, where students will make care calls and send cards to seniors. The last option is neighborly assistance to seniors in the area. These are fantastic opportunities for students whom wish to participate in community service activities. They will receive community service hours for their work. They will also experience personal growth and development. Students will receive training and recognition for their hard work at the Evergreen Senior Citizen Center. Contact the Evergreen center at (732) 726-6261, or email the Evergreen Center at [email protected].

• The Evergreen Center for Youths – If students would like to work with young students, the Evergreen Youth Center might be their best option. Located at 400 Inman Avenue in Colonia, the Evergreen Youth Center houses plenty of opportunities for students interested in participating in a community service activity. At the Evergreen Youth Center, students will be involved in several activities and event that the Evergreen Youth Center has. Students can oversee volleyball matches or basketball games. Students can also help other students with their homework, and see them prosper in the subjects they may be facing difficulty in. The Evergreen Youth Center also has Wi-Fi for students to go online and play games. They can also study with students that may be struggling in certain classes. Students could also play alongside other students and watch over them as they play games. There are also ping pong tables where students can monitor matches and keep score.If a student likes to work with children and manage activities, they will get a chance to do so at the Evergreen Youth Center. They will earn community service hours for volunteering. Students will also receive training and gain abundant experience as they work with young students. If interested, contact the Evergreen Youth Center at (732) 738-6261.

• Thespian Society’s AIDS Quilt – Volunteering for the Colonia High School AIDS quilt is open to everyone nearly every day at 7:05 in the morning and 2:40 in the afternoon in room 204 with Mrs. Abrams. The AIDS quilt began in June of 1987 and has been growing exponentially ever since. The memorial for those who have died of AIDS has grown to 1.3 million square feet and is still growing. The support from the quilt has been fantastic and has risen over $4,000,000 towards AIDS treatment. Involvement in this cause is easy for students to become a part of. Progress on the quilt has already begun and will only require people who are capable of sewing, stitching and cutting shapes and objects for the quilt. Overall, this volunteer opportunity is one of the most rewarding. Giving back to the community in the form of a worthy cause is a worthy use of one’s time. Not to mention, every edition to the AIDS quilt is a step towards making history. As the quilt grows larger and larger is proves to be the largest quilt ever constructed with the help of nearly anyone and everyone who wanted to be part of the cause.
• Woodbridge Health Department – With the Health Department, you can help out with flu clinics, the annual health expo, and donating food to the homeless. If you would like to check out the Health Department for volunteer hours, go behind the main library in Woodbridge, and it’s sitting in the back.
• Libraries with Friends – Libraries with friends are also a good chance to get a few hours of service because they operate all year. If you go to the main library in Woodbridge, there will be a little table waiting for people to come up and help. Basically, all you do is help with selling books. But, you can just stroll into the library and ask to help for a future date, help is always needed.

• Blood Drive – The American Red Cross Blood Drive is a bi-annual charity event at Colonia High School in which are asked to volunteer. The minimum age to safely donate blood was 16 and the student was required to submit a release form signed by a guardian.  Students older than 16 did not require a parent’s signature and were allowed to donate. There were volunteering opportunities even for the squeamish that are likely to collapse at the first sight of blood. A sizeable portion of the student population took part in baking sweets for the blood drive and were awarded a single community service hour for their efforts. Volunteers actively donating blood were encouraged to get a full night’s rest, eat a nourishing breakfast and get plenty of exercise leading up to the day of the blood drive. Students volunteering have a moral incentive to donate as well. According to the Red Cross website, a single pint of blood can save up to three lives. Mrs. Sheehan, Health teacher at CHS, organizes the blood drive in the fall and spring.

• Woodbridge Recycling Center – With multiple locations around Woodbridge Township, the recycling community service offers a great deal of opportunities to help clean out our town. Anyone is able to sign up to volunteer for this opportunity. They have several events that happen multiple Saturdays in 2014, they also have the dates of September 27, 2014 and also in the month of April 2014. Jeffrey Mayerowitz is the one to contact when you’re interested in joining to help around town. Written on his flyers is his contact information of his number and email. It is highly recommended to sign up for this community service because it helps not only you get community service hours but helps better the environment we live in. it also helps the seniors that are in your community. You are creating a more beautiful place to live in for the people of your town.

• Sisters of Promise – Sisters of Promise is located all throughout the Woodbridge District. When someone signs up they are signing themselves up to
  group together with others to help build a family like atmosphere. You are given the opportunity to help mentor middle school kids. Their mission is, “to promote education, community involvement, confidence and leadership amongst teenage women ages 11-18 within the state of New Jersey.” They have an event on Saturdays in May from 5 pm – 12 am taken place at the Woodbridge Community Center. Here is where you will learn confidence and teamwork while you are having fun. By going on their website www.sistersofpromise.org you can sign up to volunteer or donate to the foundation.
• Tooling Around the Town – Tooling Around Town is a small organization based on Main Street in Woodbridge, NJ. If you volunteer for Tooling Around Town you will get eight hours of community service. Not only that, but they will work around your schedule and get you involved in actually hands on work. This organization only allows community services hours to be served on Saturdays and they are willing to work around your schedule and availability. When you volunteer for the community service they assign you to go to people’s houses and do household work for those who cannot do it themselves. The homeowners will have you do major household chores, such as raking leaves, mowing the grass, taking out the garbage, and/or other optional work.