DECIDING WHERE TO DONATE your time can be a challenge. According to one report, there are nearly 15,000 registered nonprofit organizations in the St, Louis area. Consider these 20, mostly smaller, organizations where your efforts are bound to go a long way. There’s something here for everyone: chefs, animal lovers, landscapers, bikers, bakers, drivers, dancers, or those who just want to help where it’s most needed. If these options don’t appeal to you, the United Way volunteer center (stlvolunteer.org) or Idealist’s search tool (idealist.org) can help narrow down the options when you want to give back.
1. OFFER NEW. It started in 2016 when Jessica Bueler held a toiletry drive on Next Door to help refugees arriving in St. Louis. Over the past six years, Welcome Neighbor has grown into avibrant nonprofit powered largely by volunteers who help get immigrants settled upon arrival and tutor them in English. Volunteers also serve as hosts for the successful “Supper Club” program, during which refugee women prepare meals, share their culture’s food, and make money for their families. Since the program began, Welcome Neighbor has held hundreds of dinners and made $310,574. Ninety percent of that money goes directly to the families. .
