Complete following activities in any order

Complete the following activities in any order.

Donation Drive (3 Hours)

Goodwill thrives on donations from members of the community. For this activity, you will host your own donation drive. Whether you look in the garage and closets of your own home and/ or invite your neighbors to participate by allowing you to help them lighten their load, collect items and take them to your local Goodwill retail location’s donation door. As you drop off your donations, take a photo of yourself with your donations while at the store and upload it to the appropriate Canvas Module. Don’t forget to have your form signed. Please Note: If you do not have a Goodwill retail location in your county or near your home, please take items to the non-profit organization of your choosing. Make sure to indicate the location on your form.

Canned Food Drive (3 Hours)

As you learned in Orientation, J.A.G. Cares is a collaboration of activities that students participate in with Goodwill’s J.A.G. Program that gives back to our local community. One way this is accomplished is through partnership with Feeding Tampa Bay. Students that participate with the program donate canned foods to the food bank.

Ask your parents about your own pantry and/or invite your neighbors to contribute. Please collect canned goods only. Drop off your canned goods collection at the donation door of your local Goodwill retail location’s donation door. Goodwill will make sure the items reach the Feeding Tampa Bay food bank.

As you drop off your donations, take a photo of yourself with your donations while at the store and upload it to the appropriate Canvas Module. Don’t forget to have your form signed. Please Note: If you do not have a Goodwill retail location in your county or near your home, please take items to the non-profit organization of your choosing. Make sure to indicate the location on your form.

As outlined in the orientation, Goodwill-Suncoast collects and distributes children’s books to area Head Start and elementary students. You’ll support BookWorks by collecting books for the program. Books may be new or gently used. Take a photo of yourself with your book donation while at the store and upload it to the appropriate Canvas Module. Be sure to tell us how many books you donated on the signature form. Please Note: If you do not have a Goodwill retail location in your county or near your home, please take books to the non-profit organization of your choosing. Make sure to indicate the location on your form.

Goodwill Housing Cards of Encouragement (1-2 Hours)

Goodwill-Suncoast operates five apartment communities that provide affordable living options for seniors and people with disabilities. Each provides rent subsidies from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on a scale based on expenses and income.

Goodwill’s Freedom Village apartments in Pinellas Park, Tampa, and Clearwater are architecturally barrier-free facilities for people who have disabilities. Heritage Oaks apartments in Palm Harbor and Ocala are designed specifically for people who are 62 years old with low incomes. In total, Goodwill-Suncoast offers the community 335 rent-subsidized apartments. These beautifully maintained facilities have professionally landscaped grounds, attractive common areas and caring management.

Many residents have limited mobility and/or do not get many visitors. Our residents love to hear from our young volunteers. For this activity you’ll create greeting cards for residents at the community of your choosing. Create at least five (5) cards for one hour credit and at least (10) cards for two hours of credit. A list of ideas for encouragement cards is available on our website. Be as creative as you’d like, but remember your messages should be of a positive and upbeat nature.

Once you have completed your cards, mail them to Jim Hampton, Volunteer Specialist, at the address found on the Cards of Encouragement Packing Slip. Fill out the packing slip and include it in the package with your cards.

Remember to take a photo with the cards you created and and upload it to the appropriate Canvas Module. Volunteers are responsible for packaging and postage. Jim Hampton will distribute the cards to Goodwill apartment communities periodically throughout the year.

For this activity, you will choose a safe location to perform a trash clean-up: local community park, neighborhood, a section of beach or shoreline. If a friend signed up with you, feel free to combine your efforts for this activity but please remember to follow social distancing guidelines and be safe.

Be sure to pay attention to and follow all private property notices and other posted signage. Watch for traffic. Be mindful of wild animals. FOR YOUR SAFETY, DO NOT PICK UP ALONG ANY ROADWAY. Wear gloves. Wear proper footwear and sun protection. Utilize a grabber if available. Do not pick up sharp objects like broken glass or other potentially dangerous items like hypodermic needles. Collect trash in standard plastic trash bags.

Submit a photo of yourself with the bags you collected and the number of bags you have collected. Have a parent sign the form stating you completed the activity. Dispose of collected trash in accordance with your local trash collection practices.

Recycling Project (2 Hours)

In addition to our shared efforts with Keep Pinellas Beautiful, Goodwill-Suncoast is committed to community conservation through recycling. Last year we collected over 64 million pounds of donation. While much of what we collect is sold in our retail stores, some is not and will be sold as salvage or sent for recycling.

You probably already participate in a recycling program at home and/or school. If not, please consider discussing with your family the possibility of beginning one. Collect recyclables at home for one week per local recycling program guidelines. If you do not recycle already, please take recyclables to local recycling center. Ask a parent or guardian to sign your form. Take a photo of your collection and submit it.

Goodwill Ambassador Virtual (Zoom) Meet and Greet (1 Hour)

Goodwill Ambassadors are business leaders and professionals who volunteer together to find ways to give back to the community, develop advocacy skills, practice public speaking, and meet like-minded business, government, and social service leaders in our community. Our Ambassadors are involved in meaningful community outreach, fundraising, and fun networking. These community professionals participate in planning and execution of fundraising and “friend”-raising events to benefit Goodwill’s programs and services. Additionally, Ambassadors host lunch ‘n’ learns or evening networking events with local companies, social groups or friends, and family. They also direct volunteer opportunities within the Goodwill network of programs and services. J.A.G. Virtual Volunteers will meet via Zoom with one of these Goodwill Ambassadors to learn more about how these professionals work to support the Goodwill mission and about opportunities for continued involvement with Goodwill in the future as adult professionals.

Student Online Survey (1 Hour)

Now that you have completed the projects and submitted all the photos and signature form, please help us to make J.A.G. Virtual the best volunteer experience it can be by filling out the Online Student Survey. A link to the survey will be emailed at the end of the quarter. We appreciate your honest and constructive opinion.