Volunteer Opportunities Of The Week: Mental Illness; Food Pantry

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Each week Patch will be highlighting a volunteer opportunity — or two — in the Hudson Valley. This will be a chance to help your community and be an opportunity to give back — perhaps in a way you didn't consider before.

And if you are in an organization that has some need for volunteers, be sure to let us know by emailing michael.woyton@patch.com.

This week we are putting the spotlight on a couple of opportunities in the Hudson Valley.

NAMI Rockland — Nation Alliance on Mental Illness Rockland — is a nonprofit that supports people living with a mental illness concern and their families through support groups, classes, education and advocacy. The organization's End the Silence is a mental health presentation designed for teens that shares the warning signs of a mental health concern, reduces the stigma associated with mental illness and emphasizes the importance of reaching out for help, including suicide prevention. They are seeking young adult presenters (18 to 35 years old) to share their personal journey with mental health or who have a loved one who lives with a mental illness.

All presenters will be able to attend an online training to write their story for presentation.

NAMI Rockland is also seeking facilitators for Ending the Silence who will help deliver information to students. Facilitators can be any age, but should be a parent, teacher or in the mental health field.

If interested, they contact NAMI Rockland at 845-359-8787 or email info@namirocklan.org.

The Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry, which is entirely run by volunteers, serves an average of 300 families each week, giving out healthy supplemental groceries, including fresh fruits and vegetables. Last year, enough food for more than 600,000 meals was distributed.

The pantry is seeking volunteers for its weekly Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning distributions, as well as participation in a number of working committees.

For more information, check out the pantry website's volunteers page, where one can also fill out a volunteer application. For questions, send an email and a volunteer coordinator will be in touch.

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