Tis’ the season to volunteer and make a difference where you can. While people should always seek volunteer opportunities, the holiday season tends to imbue people with the giving spirit and an overwhelming desire to help others. However, not everyone knows where to even start to look to volunteer. Aside from just aimlessly browsing the internet, many people only find places to volunteer by word of mouth. Consequently, many of the small charities and volunteer organizations are not paid much attention. That being said, don’t think that the larger organizations (i.e. the Human Society, Care and Share, etc.) are suddenly bad or overrated; they are fantastic organizations that have large impacts on society. However, they have plenty of volunteers because they are all so well known. So here are four smaller local volunteer organizations, in no particular order, that may be unfamiliar and are worth a look into.

1.) Rocky Mountain Field Institute

Rocky Mountain Field Institute (RMFI for short) strives to conserve and protect the natural beauties of Colorado while also educating the populous on how to do their part in protecting the environment. As the snow starts to fall, there are fewer opportunities to volunteer outdoors, since the RMFI primarily operates in the summer, but they are still taking donations and any help they can receive. Seasonal organizations like RMFI tend to be forgotten in the off season, so it is important to remember that they are still a means by which people can help and volunteer. For more information, see their website: https://www.rmfi.org/

2.) Springs Rescue Mission

Even in the year of 2016, Colorado Springs’ poverty rate remains higher than it should be at an astounding 14.2% with a state average of 16.2%. The Springs Rescue Mission has made fighting this, among many other issues, their mission since 1996 by providing for the less fortunate and rehabilitating them back into society. Tackling the issues of poverty, homelessness, and drug addiction is a battle too large for just one organization to do on their own, and that is why they are always in need of volunteers to merely give some of their time to help. For more information on their mission, see their website: https://www.springsrescuemission.org/

3.) The Marian House

While most well known for their soup kitchen, the Marian House also provides in several other ways to those who have fallen on difficult times, including family and health services. Many similar parallels can be drawn between here and the Springs Rescue Mission, but regardless, both are worth looking into. Volunteering will enable the organization, like any of the others named, to expand and help more people. Almost all charities and nonprofits are limited exclusively by the amount of resources available, and volunteering helps to lift that burden while still successfully carrying out that organization’s mission. For more information, visit their website: http://www.ccharitiescc.org/

4.) Southern Colorado Animal Rescue DBA: Black Forest Animal Sanctuary

While the aforementioned organizations focused exclusively on helping people, the Southern Colorado Animal Rescue Sanctuary is dedicated to the rescue, education, disaster response, adoption, and rehabilitation of animals. The animals at the Southern Colorado Animal Rescue Sanctuary range from horses to dogs and even parrots. Volunteering includes helping at the sanctuary itself or on relief missions to aid downtrodden animals. Imagine everything the other volunteer organizations do, just for animals instead. For more information, visit their website: http://www.bfasfarm.org/

Each of these organizations, and dozens more that were not mentioned, strive to help those that are in need or simply to benefit society as a whole. Look further into each of these organizations, as this is only a mere glimpse. The holiday season is the time to be thankful and giving, so go give.