11-29-23 PTL - Flipbook - Page 10
10 A Special Advertising Section of Baltimore Sun Media Group | Wednesday, November 29, 2023
VOLUNTEERING
The value of
volunteering
Make a difference this
holiday season and
beyond
By Margit B. Weisgal, Contributing Writer
M
aryland is home to more than 37,000 non-profit organizations. They
range from very small, very focused groups with highly targeted missions, to behemoths who provide necessary assistance to a vast array
of demographic segments of our population. All of them, no matter the size or
mission, need help from volunteers, without whom they couldn’t succeed to the
extent they do.
Giving of your time – volunteering – is
a valuable and valued commodity. Doing
so for a nonprofit with a mission you
believe in and support is an excellent use
of your time.
It also has documented health benefits. According to the Mayo Clinic:
• It improves your mental and
physical health.
• It gives you a sense of purpose and,
often, you learn new valuable skills.
• You also meet new people and
develop new relationships, so you
don’t feel isolated and alone.
There’s also the pleasure of having a
sense of purpose, of being part of a community, of doing good.
Here are two organizations that would
greatly appreciate anything you can do
for them.
Project PLASE: People Lacking Ample
Shelter and Employment
3549-3601 Old Frederick Rd.
Baltimore, MD 21229
410-837-1400 ext. 221
info@projectPLASE.org/
Project PLASE was founded in 1974
by Frank Dearden, Miriam Wallace, Eric
Bergerson, Gregory M. Hunter and Mary
C. Slicher to remedy the lack of housing
and resources available to Baltimore’s
homeless citizens. Next year it will celebrate its 50th anniversary.
While many organizations provide
aid to homeless citizens, Project PLASE
does a deep dive to provide more and to
get to the root of the problem. “When we
help someone,” explains Jenny Graham,
Project PLASE’s Director of Development
& Community Engagement, “it may start
with temporary housing, but we stay with
them until they are moved into a residence of their own. While they are with
us, they receive wrap-around services
to help get them back on their feet. We
access grants and other programs to find
solutions for these individuals. We also
have permanent housing programs that
ensure those who are housed, remain so.
Other organizations can’t offer the depth
we provide. For instance, some have
been out on the street for so long they
no longer have identification documents.
Graham was quick to point out, “Any
vet can come to us and ask for assistance: transportation, rent, job placement, childcare, whatever they need.
We work with those at risk for becoming
homeless, so they don’t become homeless.”
From the age of eight, Graham has
been volunteering. She describes the
individuals Project PLASE helps as “society’s invisible people” because, when
you’re unhoused, no one notices you; no
one wants to notice you. It’s her personal
mission to get to know them.
“When you meet someone in a typical environment,” Graham describes,
“you’re tuned in, listening, learning about
them, and you find them interesting.
But on the street, people walk by the
homeless and assume they are unclean,
unsafe and want to be on the streets –
they become ‘invisible’ to them because
they don’t want to see them. The truth
is, some of our clients work multiple jobs
and still cannot afford rent. Then there
are the medical issues many of them
face, such as diabetes, blood disorders
or fibromyalgia, and they have to work
but they also need insurance and to pay
for all the other necessities. It can be
overwhelming.
“That’s why we start with housing first.
When you are housed, you have time and
a place to pause, to catch your breath,
to recharge your batteries, to know you
have back-up, maybe for the first time in
a long while. Out on the street, all your
energy is directed at survival.”
Another problem with being on the
street: there is no guarantee of a bed.
Yes, there are many places that offer
space for a single night, but you have
to leave in the morning. You’re in line
Volunteering,
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