Making Holiday Connections with the Helpline Center

If there ever is a time when connecting with people has higher importance over others, surely the holiday season is it. Many people, already dealing with seasonal depression, feelings of isolation, and loneliness, have the added stress of a season which is constantly portrayed as an uplifting, magical, spiritual time of year.

Recent research indicates, that volunteering not only changes the lives of people being helped for the better, but also, the life of the volunteer. Human connection is what the Helpline Center in Sioux Falls does best and there is no shortage of ways to raise your holiday spirits while serving others and the community.

• Parade of Lights - It's a Sioux Falls tradition that thousands of people enjoy the Friday after Thanksgiving and people are needed after the parade to help spruce up after the parade.
• Feeding South Dakota Thanksgiving Dinner distribution - Every year over 3,000 boxed turkey dinners are given to families in need across South Dakota. Volunteers are needed to help with the distribution event. You'll be directing traffic, unloading trucks and handing out the dinners from 6 to 11 AM on Saturday, November, 23.
• Washinton Pavilion's Visual Arts Center - If you would love interacting with adults and children in a fun, educational and artistic environment, you're encouraged to become a museum guide. You don't need to be an art expert at all, because you'll receive plenty of training.

These and many other opportunities to make that human connection are waiting for you at the Helpline Center, online, on Facebook or by simply calling 211.