Try something new. Do something different. Change someone’s life. The Twin Cities are home to thousands of nonprofit organizations seeking volunteers to help them make a positive effect on the community. No matter the cause, there is an organization that exists for each person, all he or she needs is the desire to get involved.

The following nonprofits are some of the more unique organizations in the Metro area, but there are plenty of other causes to dedicate time to.

Comunidades Latinas Unidas en Servicio (CLUES):
Minneapolis Contact: Angela Severson, 612-465-8081, aseverson@clues.org
St. Paul Contact: Teresa Ortiz, 612-379-4222, tortiz@clues.org

CLUES works to enhance the quality of life in the Latino community. While CLUES provides a range of social services, the educational department courses are central to this organization. CLUES supplies instruction for classes on citizenship, literacy in both Spanish and English, English language learning, and computer literacy. In 2009, CLUES aided a total of 620 adult learners, with 154 volunteers and 20,900 recorded student-learning instruction hours. The organization is “helping both students and teachers improve their lives,” according to Angela Severson, the program coordinator of CLUES. Overall, individuals are given an opportunity to overcome barriers in an environment that is safe, supportive and successful.

CLUES is currently looking for ESL Classroom assistants, administrative volunteers, One-to-One Tutors, Children’s Program Teachers, and Computer Teaching Assistants. The organization is in the middle of their classroom semester, but at the end of March will be looking for volunteers to teach ESL classes. The time commitment and availability is relatively flexible, but to become an ESL teacher, CLUES asks for a 10-week commitment. Spanish language skills are not required.

The Lab: Youth, Truth, Empowerment
Contact: Mallory Haar, (651) 744-1002
www.thelabspps.com

The Lab is a unique special education program of St. Paul Public Schools that serves students who have emotional behavioral disorders. Using four modalities, including poetry, visual arts, technology and experiential wellness, the Lab empowers youth to express themselves in creative ways. Students develop skills for success within compelling arts and wellness activities. The Lab uses different strategies of expression, including podcasts, photos, videos, and blogs in order to help kids explore the arts and better the community.

The Lab is currently looking for volunteers who would like to share their creativity either in a one-on one setting as a mentor, or as a facilitator/co-facilitator of a small group. Projects can be anything from teaching guitar to yoga instruction to photography. Time commitment and availability varies.

Northside Arts Collective
612.767.2141
info@nacarts.org

The mission of the Northside Arts Collective is to unite, enrich, and advance the Northside community through the arts. By creating a network of artists and local organizations in the area, the Northside Arts Collective is able to support and encourage artists as well as the local community. In order to generate neighborhood involvement, the Northside Arts Collective actively coordinates local events, exhibits, and collective art projects.

There are numerous ways to get involved in this organization because of its size. Whether as an artist wanting to engage in the community or someone who believes in art as a means of social change, the Northside Arts Collective always has opportunities available in which no time commitment is needed.

Food Not Bombs

http://www.myspace.com/minneapolisfnb

http://www.foodnotbombs.net/

Too often the relationship between caregiver and receiver in the world of social justice work is obscured by the bureaucratic red tape that it often takes to keep a major charitable cause afloat. It’s quite refreshing then to find a locally run grassroots cause with a concept so wonderfully humanistic, even though it is an activist cause. Food Not Bombs is an organization that takes on the most basic human need, hunger, and combats it at the level of the community.

The Minneapolis chapter, like all Food Not Bombs chapters, is not an official nonprofit, but more of a highly focused community effort. The organization secures donations of food from local restaurants and farms for their meals that are currently scheduled three times weekly. The group currently meets on Tuesdays and Sundays at 6 p.m. at their “No Pines” house on the NW corner of 33rd Street and Pleasant Avenue in South Minneapolis. They hold their largest meal on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. in the basement of the Walker Church at 3104 16th Ave. S. At these meetings volunteers will cook hot meals with a variety of options and serve them to anyone who chooses to show. Volunteers wishing to get involved simply show up early to the meals and ask to help out.

A word of warning may be in order to any prospective volunteers: FNB often comes under suspicion by police because of the national organization’s affiliation with more militant leftist causes, so this may be a volunteer opportunity more suited to the student not afraid of a little civil disobedience from time to time. The cause can be incredibly rewarding however, as Minneapolis student and FNB volunteer Katie Thornton cites the organization’s commitment to breaking down the walls between charity giver and receiver as an inspiring experience. “We all eat together, it’s a real community process and wonderful to see,” Thorton says. She also cites the program’s teachings for a newfound cooking ability as well as more efficient use of her food resources at home.

Land Stewardship Project
(612) 722-6377
www.landstewardshipproject.org

Volunteers interested in activist movements such as Slow Food, rather than food distribution programs, need look no further than the Land Stewardship Project. The project was formed in 1982 as a means to help connect farmers and the urban and suburban consumers that they provide for, as well as promote ethical agricultural practices and develop sustainable communities. The organization focuses on supporting small, family-sized farms and gardens that practice sustainable agricultural methods to preserve the area’s food, water, and wildlife.

Through the distribution of a newsletter, an online information database, and regular classes and workshops, the LSP seeks to educate its members on the practice of sustainable agriculture. Much of the information deals with the basics of starting up a farming operation in both a profitable and environmentally responsible manner. The LSP also organizes meetings between farmers, as well as events such as farmers markets, where urban students get the chance to shake the hand that feeds them as well as purchase ethically grown produce at the peak of its freshness.

The organization requires a one-time membership fee of $35, which can be donated through their website or at their Twin Cities location at 821 E. 35th Street in South Minneapolis. Volunteers can help set up local classes, farmers markets, and participate in local community organizing toward the LSP’s goals.

Amicus
612.348.8570
www.amicususa.org

Having an open mind and really wanting to connect with people is what Amicus is looking for. A unique nonprofit, Amicus is an organization that creates alliances between communities and inmates, ex-offenders, and juvenile offenders, in hopes of building stronger and safer neighborhoods and making successful transitions for those leaving prison and going back into the community.

The most popular way to get involved with Amicus is to participate in the “One to One” program. Once matched with an incarcerated individual that has similar interests, the volunteer visits the inmate and talks about anything, from books and movies to life inside and outside of prison. As a volunteer, it is a year-long commitment; a friendship is being formed, after all.

Steve Nelson, director of communications for Amicus in Minneapolis, says “I think the one thing people should know about Amicus and those we serve is that it’s just common sense to give ex-offenders a second chance. Giving a second chance isn’t soft on crime. It’s smart on crime.” Besides, doesn’t everyone deserve a friend?

Sojourner Project
952-351-46062

http://www.sojournerproject.org/

The Sojourner Project is a support line and shelter for women and children that are victims of domestic violence. Sojourner works to empower battered women, promote healthy communities and eliminate domestic violence. Not only does the Sojourner Project provide a safe haven, they also have community advocacy programs, outreach and education programs. Sojourner has been helping the Twin Cities area since 1977, and assists over 1,000 mistreated women and children every year.
Volunteers can help the Sojourner Project by working as crisis phone support, working in the shelter, or becoming involved in the community outreach programs. The outreach programs raise awareness of domestic violence in the area as well as provide information on what to do if you or someone you know has been abused. Sojourner provides the proper training and education to volunteers to spread awareness and help those that have experienced violence in the home. By helping the Sojourner Project, volunteers can help women and children take steps to leaving a life of violence and feeling safe once again.

American Swedish Institute
612.871.4907

http://www.americanswedishinst.org/ASI/Volunteer.html

As a nonprofit with a great history, the American Swedish Institute is a great place to volunteer. For about 50 years, the ASI has been working to preserve the Swedish culture that is overwhelmingly present in the Twin Cities. This “hidden gem” helps connect generations and better understand traditions that would otherwise be lost in the Swedish community. Experiencing these interactions and helping others network can inspire a greater understanding of one’s heritage and encourage one to become a more involved global citizen.

Volunteers can work in the museum office, assist the curator, be a greeter and tour guide, or even work in the museum shop. The ASI likes to hire a variety of volunteers, with diverse backgrounds and friendly dispositions. Being Swedish is not a requirement either—anyone can get involved.
Jenn Stromberg, the communications/marketing coordinator at the ASI, says, “one of the greatest things about working at the American Swedish Institute is experiencing the way this organization reaches out to and collaborates with various organizations, schools and people in the community.”