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50 Things you can do to eliminate hunger and homelessness in Longmont

Homeless Assistance Information:

Boulder County Help Network - links you to you to community resources, services, and programs.

50 Things you can do to eliminate hunger and homelessness in Longmont

1. Skip a lunch and donate the cost of that meal to the OUR Center.
2. Donate household goods or items such as non-perishable canned or boxed foods, personal care items, blankets, diapers, etc. to the OUR Center Food and Clothing Banks.
3. Volunteer to work at any of the non-profit agencies listed below
4. Help build houses by volunteering and/or joining Habitat for Humanity
5. Vote. Let your representatives know that you care about the poor. Work on a political campaign that supports your views and concerns.
6. Convince your classmates, co-workers, church members or neighbors to join or support your efforts.
7. For businesses: contribute in-kind services and materials such as copying, printing, food, transportation, marketing assistance, computer equipment and training, electrical work, building materials, etc.
8. Sponsor a homeless person or family as they move out of a shelter or transitional housing program (Inn Between). Assist by contributing household goods, babysitting, or just moral support.
9. Raise funds for a program by organizing a bike or walk-a-thon, a yard sale, etc. and donate the proceeds.
10. Give directly to the homeless and hungry by "Community Cares Packets" which include food gift cards, bus tokens and pre-paid long-distance phone cards.

(Whether you choose to give or not, please don't look away from homeless people as if they do not exist. Making eye contact, saying a few words, or smiling can reaffirm the humanity of a person.)

11. If you own rental property, rent it at a reasonable price or join the Section 8 program by contacting the Longmont Housing Authority.
12. Raise money or donate funds for security deposits to help families meet the first month's rent or pay the security deposit. Contact the Longmont Housing Authority, the OUR Center or the Center for People with Disabilities.
13. Volunteer to help complete surveys during the Point-In-Time Survey each January. Contact LHOT.
14. Attend neighborhood and public meetings and speak up in favor of low-income housing, group homes, shelters and homelessness prevention programs.
15. Call or write the media to inform them of your concern for homeless and hungry people in Longmont.
16. Put your loose change in the local donation jars at the grocery store.
17. Once a year donate a dress or suit to the career closet at Project Self Sufficiency.
18. Become a mentor for a homeless or struggling family or a single mom. Contact the OUR Center, the Inn Between or Project Self-Sufficiency for more information.
19. Volunteer with HOPE to search out and offer assistance to the homeless at night and on weekends.
20. Shop for groceries for a family at the Inn Between.
21. Donate your gently used clothing to the OUR Center Clothing Bank. The lack of clean, well-fitting clothes and shoes causes great hardship beyond exposure to the elements. It hurts one's self-image and one's chance to get ahead. On job interviews, a poorly dressed person has little chance for success. Please clean the clothes before you donate them.
22. Lobby your local representative to fight against hunger and homelessness.
23. Join the Longmont Housing Opportunities Team and make a difference!
24. Volunteer as a driver for Meals on Wheels.
25. Donate money to and/or volunteer with organizations that work for social change, and/or donate through monthly payroll deductions to United Way.
26. Feed your family for a month on a “food stamp income” to learn more about low income families and donate the money you saved to Community Food Share.
27. Help serve Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner or any dinner at the OUR Center.
28. Organize a workplace volunteer or donation day. Contact the Volunteer Connection.
29. Invest in socially responsible stocks.
30. Have your child donate last year's (still working, clean and gently used) toys to the St. Vrain Valley Family Center ( 803 Third Avenue ).
31. Donate school supplies to the SVVSD's Homeless Education Program.
32. Become a board member for any of the local non-profit organizations in town.
33. Pay for a teen parent to get a haircut. Contact the Inn Between or the Youth Center.
34. Donate a working bicycle to the OUR Center or the Inn Between.
35. Volunteer to give citizenship classes through Boulder County Community Action Programs.
36. Donate a working computer to the computer lab at Casa de la Esperanza.
37. Volunteer at the library to teach literacy classes or volunteer as a tutor at Spangler, Loma Linda or any elementary or middle school.
38. Give a bag of dog food to a homeless person with a dog or donate it to the Longmont Humane Society which often takes in these animals on a temporary basis.
39. Volunteer to help staff the Day Shelter operating out of the OUR Center.
40. Plant a row in your garden and donate the food to Community Food Share.
41. Donate gently used furniture to Casa de la Esperanza.
42. Be a little league coach (or football, hockey, soccer, etc.) for low income kids. Contact the YMCA or the Longmont Recreation Center.
43. Have your kids do a car wash and donate the proceeds to Head Start.
44. Do a gift-free Christmas and donate the money instead.
45. Encourage your child to donate a week's allowance to a charity of their choice.
46. Give diapers to the GENESIS Teen Parent Program through the Youth Center.
47. Leave a can of food for the next Postal Service food drive.
48. Put your favorite charity in your will.
49. Donate bus passes to the St. Vrain Valley School District to give to their homeless students.
50. Donate infant and/or toddler car seats (gently used or new) to the OUR Center, the Inn Between, Head Start, the Safe Shelter of the St. Vrain Valley or the GENESIS project.

CARE ENOUGH AND YOU WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

For more information regarding the Longmont Housing Opportunities Team efforts, contact:

Kathy Fedler, CDBG and Affordable Housing Programs Coordinator
City of Longmont
350 Kimbark Street , Longmont CO 80501
303-651-8736
kathy.fedler@ci.longmont.co.us

Para informacíon en Español, llame Elizabeth a 303-651-8444.