It’s the season to give back.

After volunteering dropped last year due to COVID-19, there is a big push this year to find volunteers for countless nonprofits in North Texas in need of help.

If you want to find a way to make a difference, a good place to start is the Salvation Army Angels Tree, which NBC 5 is sponsoring.

You only have a week and a half left to adopt an angel. The deadline is Friday December 3. The last day to drop off Angel Tree gifts is December 4th.

There are still thousands of angels left with families who need help making Christmas brighter. Click here for more information.

VolunteerNow is another great way to find your volunteer rhythm this season.

The local nonprofit has a website, www.voly.org, which uses volunteer matching software to help organizations in North Texas find the volunteers they need to be successful. People can scroll through dozens of listings for vacation volunteering opportunities as well as countless opportunities throughout the year.

Last year, many nonprofits had so much work to do and just not enough volunteers because of the pandemic.

However, with the success of vaccines and the return from the holidays more and more this year, there is some hope that more volunteers will be active this holiday season.

“I think everyone wants to move on, I think they want to go back to something more normal and more normal includes volunteering,” said Tammy Richards, CEO of VolunteerNow. “I really think it’s going to also set a great standard for next year and reignite that engine for volunteering. We really see that volunteering has about doubled from last year in terms of people getting involved. We help nonprofit organizations rebuild volunteer programs.

It’s the 50th anniversary of VolunteerNow. In a typical year, they help mobilize over 300,000 volunteers to help hundreds of organizations in North Texas.

Voly.org has posted opportunities year round, but there is a special section with volunteer needs during the Christmas holidays.

Here are some nonprofits with critical needs this week:

25 november

Peer 2 Peer Whole Wellness, a nonprofit serving veterans, needs dozens of volunteers to work at its concession stand during the Dallas Cowboys game. Profits from the stand will be donated to the organization.
Time: 7h – all day
Meeting place: AT&T Stadium
register here

25 november

Best Buddies Texas is in partnership with the Plano Turkey Trot 5K. They need around 30 volunteers to help with registration, water points and runner management.
Time: 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Meeting place : Oak Point Park, 2801 E Spring Creek Pkwy, Plano
register here

November 26

Christian Community Action is looking for Giving Tree “elves” to help out at Stonebriar Mall throughout the holiday season, especially during Black Friday shopping. Volunteers will take donations, provide receipts and keep records.
Time: All day
Site: Stonebriar Shopping Center, 2601 Preston Road. Frisco, Texas
register here

If you don’t want to volunteer in person, there are also several opportunities you can do remotely from home.

For more information and a complete list of upcoming volunteer opportunities, visit voly.org. You can also download the Voly.org mobile app from the Apple and Android app stores.