The Volunteer Center South Bay-Harbor-Long Beach

We’re excited to participate in Long Beach Gives next week, which will give us a chance to connect with our local community.
We’ve set a goal to raise $2,500 by midnight on September 19, 2024.
If you’re eager to give now, early giving starts today at https://www.longbeachgives.org/organization/Volunteer-Bureau-South-Bay-Harbor
Will you be one of our first supporters by making a donation? Your early support inspires others!

We are excited to announce our 6th Impact Makers cohort, starting the first week of October. The program is open and free to all high school students.

The Impact Makers program is an immersive service-learning experience, focusing on leadership skills, identity development, community awareness, and mental health resources.

Learn more and sign up today at volcenter.org/impactmakers

It’s a family affair at the Volunteer Center! Thank you to the QuinStar Technology team for putting together Steam Kits for our next season of Operation Teddy Bear which will distribute over 5,000 literacy bags this school year. 📚 🧸

7 Days of Giving
Congratulations on 40 years of baking excellence!

We are thrilled Torrance Bakery has selected the Volunteer Center to be their cause on Wednesday, July 24. TB will donate 100% of the proceeds of all cookie sales for the day to support our cause

Tomorrow 11am - 5pm we will be at TOCApalooza. We would love to see you, and if you have food donations please drop them off at our table. Grateful to be part of the vibrant Torrance community.

Valero Energy employees have been supporting our Food For Kids program by sorting, bagging, and delivering food to Wilmington Park Elementary School. They have brought amazing energy and have helped us close out the 2023-2024 school year!

Thank you for supporting our Food for Kids Program to combat rising food insecurity in our schools.

Congratulations to our Spring 2024 Impact Makers cohort for completing the 12-week program. These amazing students, representing 8 different schools, took part in our program focusing on Identity Development, Leadership Skills, Community Awareness, and Wellness Support Resources. Furthermore, they applied what they learned by volunteering with various local nonprofits, contributing over 350 volunteer hours!

Sign-ups for our summer cohort are available on our website.

National Volunteer Week - Volunteer Appreciation

Our Food For Kids program relies on drivers each week to deliver our food bags to our partner schools & organizations throughout the South Bay, Harbor, and Long Beach Communities!

Thank you to Ron & Kristin Phelps, Bob Habel, Jim Specht, Sarah Chen, ICAN's Volunteer Club, and others for playing such a vital role!

National Volunteer Week - Volunteer Appreciation

Samantha, a freshman at Torrance High School, became part of our Volunteer Center community through our Impact Makers program. During our annual food drive, she and fellow Impact Maker volunteers dedicated their time to sorting, dating, and organizing thousands of pounds of food at our Food For Kids pantry. Following the completion of the Impact Makers program, Samantha expressed a desire to continue her service with our organization. Now, she generously contributes her time once a week, lending support to various projects throughout our office. Samantha shared how “Volunteering at the volunteer center makes me feel more connected to the community while also grateful for the opportunity to be helping others.”

National Volunteer Week - Volunteer Appreciation

Julia has been an integral part of our Volunteer Center since March 2023, serving as a volunteer administrative assistant. Her dedication, enthusiasm, and proactive approach have significantly enhanced our programs and projects. Julia's impact extends beyond her own efforts—she has actively engaged her family in our volunteer activities. Her husband Chris, along with daughters Ashley and Alyssa, have joined in, embodying their collective empathy through action.

Julia's contributions and her family's involvement exemplify the spirit of volunteerism that lies at the heart of our organization. We deeply appreciate Julia and her family for their outstanding commitment and generosity.

National Volunteer Week - Volunteer Appreciation

FOOD4KIDS Packers and Sisters Sue & Judy Golden have been volunteering for 7 & 4 years! Sue shared, “I love the hands-on involvement. With so many charities you write a check and that’s it. With Food4Kids I get immediate satisfaction of seeing my efforts every week and a real personal joy. And I am part of a group of wonderful people making the world a little better!” Judy, “You can thank Sue for getting me involved. She always spoke so favorably about Food4Kids, that I ‘tagged’ along to help and was hooked. There is always a feeling of satisfaction seeing all the racks filled with bags of food for the kids when we’ve finished.

Each and every week, FFK Bags are packed to perfection, and when we are running low on food items Sue & Judy along with their friend JoAnn Frisch help stock our shelves as well! Thank you so much for your many years of volunteering, and many more to come!

This week is National Volunteer Week, and as you know, the Volunteer Center runs on the efforts of our amazing volunteers. This week we are going to highlight some very important individuals and groups that help move the mission of the VC forward!

Today we want to highlight our amazing volunteers from Easterseals Torrance. Each day, dedicated volunteers grace our office with their invaluable support at the Volunteer Center. Their exceptional efforts in sorting food donations for our Food For Kids pantry and maintaining stocked shelves for our packers have been truly remarkable. Additionally, they play a vital role in supporting programs like Operation Teddy Bear, and assembling Rekenrek math tools that are distributed to first graders. Thank you Easterseals!

The South Bay Food Initiative has been an incredible supporter of our Food For Kids pantry. This student-led organization collects canned and non-perishable foods for the pantry. Please support them if you are near their drop-off locations!

Operation Teddy Bear 2023-2024 is a wrap! Thank you to all of our amazing volunteers and sponsors. Without the community support, none of this would have been possible. Thanks to all of you, 4000+ students received literacy bags!

The Volunteer Center is happy to announce that we are launching our Impact Makers application for our Fall 2023 cohort - Impact Makers is a highly engaging service learning and social-emotional wellness program that is free of charge to all high school students. Apply now at https://forms.gle/4jEPQD48yMYzKj2F9