Greetings, Bro Council readers, and welcome to Bro Council's new monthly feature called The Monthly Give that aims to help you get in touch with your altruistic side. I'm Cami, your newest Bro Council writer, and I've been given the task of opening the readers' eyes to the wonderful world of giving back to the grand old USA. If I were on The Daily Show, I'd definitely be the Senior Do-gooder Correspondent.
Let's dive right in, shall we? February's nonprofit is East End Cooperative Ministries (EECM) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Some people might be turned off because it's religiously affiliated, but there are many excellent volunteer opportunities that don't require a Sunday School education. An excellent example is volunteering in the food pantry at the East Liberty Presbyterian Church (ELPC; the food pantry needs people to sort food donations, greet clients, and help distribute the food). Also at ELPC is a men's shelter that needs volunteers to serve dinner seven days a week from seven p.m. to nine p.m.
If you love basketball, golf, or fifth-grade social studies, look no further than the youth programs at EECM. The organization's basketball clinic and tournament, Hoop-It-Up, needs referees and general volunteers for basketball clinics, which take place four Saturdays in April and May. At the end of the clinics, aspiring hoopsters play a tournament. If you're more into little balls than big ones (ha), consider becoming a Golf Mentor for a middle school student – the time commitment is only twice a month! Finally, no youth program would be complete without mentoring and homework help, which EECM provides every weekday.
EECM is a huge nonprofit with many different programs, so feel free to check them out at eecm.org. There are plenty of volunteer opportunities if you live near Pittsburgh, and if you're from outside of the Steel City you should probably click here to donate some money to this great cause. However you choose to give - whether it's time or money - be sure to give something this month. Helping others is definitely Bro Council, Approved.
