I can't say enough things about the Ronald McDonald House Charity…read more I've been volunteering since I was a little girl...it was something that was always important to my parents and it's stayed with me all my life....but I can honestly say that I have found my "Forever Home", if you will. They have very few people on staff and are heavily reliant on volunteers, and so incredibly appreciative of their volunteers. I've never felt like I made such a difference to a single organization as I do now. There are two houses in Orlando. One is near Florida Hospital and one by Arnold Palmer on Orange Avenue, where I volunteer. The Charity is set up to have families and parents of hospitalized children stay near their sick kiddos. They ask for a donation of $15 a night. That's all. $15!!! And if a family cannot afford it, they don't have to pay. It's amazing. The Arnold Palmer house has about 35 rooms, a computer room, gorgeous living rooms, a monster kitchen and more. Local restaurants and organizations come in nightly to cook dinner for everyone and once in a while they will have to cancel at the last minute...and then volunteers like me can fill in. :) So far, I've helped at Bed Day. Tempurpedic donated all the beds to the Houses in the US and I made breakfast for lots of firefighters and police officers while they changed the beds out. I also helped at the Ice Cream Social and Golf Tourney...and I work the desk a couple of times a month at the Arnold Palmer House. I am currently trying to organize an edible garden planting at the houses. If you have any ideas, send them my way. You don't have a lot of interaction with the kids...it's their parents and families you help. Many times it's a quick hello...but sometimes they just want to be taken away from hospital speak for awhile...talk about Gossip Girl or gas prices...they just need a smile and a hug and cup of coffee. Like I said, they are heavily reliant on volunteers so if you have an interest, please visit their site at www.rmhccf.org You can volunteer at special events or if you have a consistent time that you are able to give weekly or monthly you can volunteer at the houses. It's a wonderful thing!

What a lovely facility! 37 families can stay here, the rooms are spacious and well appointed. The…read morecommon areas are lovely. The kitchen was just renovated and is spectacular. I recently volunteered under the "Share a meal" program, where people from the community can come in and cook (or bring in from a commercial kitchen) lunch or dinner. On my stop I baked cookies for the holidays and brought in cupcakes donated from Gigi's Cupcakes of Orlando. I was welcomed by the staff and the families who I met, everyone was very nice. The kitchen has every type of pot, pan and utensil you need to make a meal. I'll be signing up for a shift again in January. Here is more info on the program and how to volunteer: http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2013-12-04/features/os-ronald-mcdonald-heather-mcpherson-20131204_1_volunteers-ronald-mcdonald-house-charities-ill-children

Wonderful experience volunteering to sort food with co workers. The staff are courteous and very…read morehelpful. The office is organized and has a awesome mission helping feed the community. We sorted over 7k in food handling frozen, fully cooked, poultry and snacks. It was good to see the community and businesses remain committed to supporting this mission.

Community service, anyone? What a wonderful opportunity to serve our community by contributing your…read moretime for a worthy cause! Thanks to Davie and Sara for their leadership and dedication and for guiding us through the sorting process on Saturday, August 15th. If you have never been, it's worth taking a tour!

I have had the opportunity to volunteer for this great organizations three times now. It is well…read morerun and full of wonderful people who are dedicated to helping those with Down Syndrome and their families. The activities are fun ways for the kids to learn skills they need to live. What a great place!

I work Mon-Fri until late & Mustard Seed is far from my home but I needed to donate some blankets…read moreand comforters. So grateful for the drop off containers. There are two right outside the gates. This makes it easier for all who can to help out with donations. Times are hard & everyone needs a little help.

Very friendly, helpful staff. I did not know that they took furniture, clothes, food items,…read more toiletries any thing a family could use. They made me feel so good about donating I wanted to bring more.

My kids have a heart to help the community and unfortunately, we missed the cutoff to fill shoe…read moreboxes for Operation Christmas Child, I just had to find something else we could participate in! I visited Feeding Children Everywhere's site, and saw an event at their headquarters in Longwood. I easily signed up my family of four for a one hour slot this past Saturday morning. We arrived a few minutes before our designated time. We were greeted at the door and immediately provided a hairnet. We killed a few minutes by looking at the merchandise available at the front. After a short briefing, we were divided up and sent to a table. We were given simple tasks and trained quickly. The meal we were assigned to put together was Hamburger Hero. It consisted of pasta noodles, vegetables and a special seasoning. I love that this is a volunteer opportunity the whole family can participate in. Kids get to scoop, pour, fill bags through a funnel... my boys both were in charge of weighing the bags after they were filled. They either had to add food, or remove it depending on what the scale said. They had a blast! The fun part was that their was Christmas music blasting and a friendly competition of who could fill up the most boxes. Each time a box was filled, we would ring a bell and the whole room would cheer. So much fun! We felt good that we did at least a SMALL part of helping fight hunger. Please do the same and sign up when you can.

I had the opportunity to volunteer with a wonderful non-profit organization that works to create a…read morehunger free world. We started with placing hair nets on, taking our jewelry off then cleaning our hands and those handling food placed on gloves. We assembled meals which included chicken flavored seasoning, carrots, lentils and pasta. This day we prepared over 2,000 meals. We worked in groups following the instructions of measuring the food portions and placing the food in separate serving bags. The staff was friendly and helpful. They can around often to see if we needed anything or had any questions. This organization also has an international focus working to help areas with extreme poverty towards self sustainability. Locally tbeir efforts work to support children, veterans and seniors with meals. Donations can be made or by purchasing t shirts, cups or other items. There was a lot of energy and positive reinforcement during our volunteer hour. Other opportunities are available like internships or participating with other programs. We are looking forward to participating again.

I am an avid volunteer and am always looking for places to lend my time. Recently I discovered…read moreUnited Against Poverty aka UP and I must say that I really enjoyed myself! Their mission is to serve those in poverty through various ways. One of the services that they offer is the Member Grocery program where guests can shop with dignity for household items, food, medicine, pet goods, and many other products for a fraction of the price. As a volunteer, you help out in the grocery store. You job can range from stocking shelves to helping with keeping the store tidy. I have been there twice already and have enjoyed both times! The employees are all so friendly and readily available to answer any questions and interacting with people in the community is always rewarding. If you and your work group, family, or friends are looking for a place to spend a few hours giving back, UP is a wonderful option!

I saw that Northland's Serve Day this spring had a project to help NHFK and signed up right away -…read moreI've heard of them but never had any details. So about 18 of us went over a Saturday morning in March. Gloria took us on a little tour and explained more about what she and her organization does. The big part of their work is with grieving kids who have lost a loved one in the family. The big house they have in Maitland would host these kids and their family, with professionals helping with counselling, grief-/anger-management, and recreation that will give their souls a measure of respite. The other, smaller, part of their work is along the lines of "Make-A-Wish", where kids with serious/terminal illness and their family go to NHFK to have a wish come true. Very touching, meaningful, work. I would encourage you to seek out their website at NewHopeForKids.org. Perhaps you'll have a heart to support them with your time/energy/resources. I hope I still have my photos...

They are very professional, helpful and resourceful. I would recommend to anyone who ask for a…read moreprimary doctor

I had my latest 3 month check up in January 2022 to continue my prep (Descovy). Prep is HIV…read morepreventative medicine that you can take daily so you don't contract the HIV virus. The second I walked into Hope and Help center in winter park florida, it was a great experience from start to finish! The place was immaculately cleaned and smelt clean. The receptionist was very organized and had all my paperwork ready and acknowledged me right away before my appointment time. The nurses that saw me were above my expectations. Knowledge, friendly, and professional. They have a great blood drawer. The main female nurse practitioner is so educated and knowledgeable and really knows her field! I love the hope and help center! Clean, organized, and a knowledgeable and friendly staff! Loves!