Looking for ways to give back to our community? Here’s a list of Webster-based opportunities to get you started, organized alphabetically. If you have any others to add, drop me an email at missyblog@gmail.com.
Bellas Bumbas
1170 Ridge Rd. #208
Bella’s Bumbas, run by Webster residents Marty Parzynski and Rebecca Orr, is dedicated to building miniature wheelchairs for children with a wide variety of mobility issues. To date, they’ve shipped 2,650 chairs to children in 66 countries, often adapting the chairs for each child’s individual needs, and charging the parents only for shipping.
How you can help: Volunteers help pack chairs; write “kids cards” (every child gets a handwritten card); help clean, vacuum, and dust the workshop once a week; transport chairs within the U.S. and internationally and stateside; and other tasks.
C.O.M.E. (Churches Offering Meals for Everyone)
A n alliance of churches who have come together to offer free weekly dinners to anyone who needs one.
How you can help: Volunteers can help out in many capacities, and you do not have to be a member of a church to do so. Call one of the numbers below if you’re interested in finding out about what opportunities are available and when that church’s next dinner will be held:
- Webster Baptist Church, 59 South Ave., (585) 265-9480
- Gathering Place Webster at the United Church of Christ, 570 Klem Rd., (585) 671-3757
- Webster Methodist, 169 East Main St., (585) 309, 6510
- Webster Assembly of God, 708 Hard Rd., (585) 671-2423
- St. Rita Church, 1008 Maple Dr., (585) 671-1100
The goals of FoodWEBster are to promote food security, minimize food waste, support small scale food production, increase self-reliance, and help protect the local environment by nourishing a healthy ecosystem.
How you can help: share educational resources, facilitate peer-to-peer food gifting and mutual aid, and promoting and organizing pro-environmental conversations and events.
Friends of Webster Trails (FWT)
1350 Chiyoda Dr.
FWT focuses on building and maintaining recreational trails and protecting the natural character of the Town’s open-space lands through sensible management, education, and low-impact access. Assists in planning, maintaining, and promoting recreational trails in the Town of Webster.
How you can help: FWT is always looking for trail workers, especially for their monthly trail clearing and building work parties. New board members are also welcome.
Offers a wide range of community programs with “that serve the community with “a unique twist.” It exists in part to serve as an on-ramp to volunteering for those who aren’t sure where to start.
How you can help: Some recent Gathering Place Webster projects have included a pet food pantry, outdoor pantries, community garden outreach programs, filling grocery bags, packing Easter baskets, stuffing back to school backpacks, bag lunch outreach for the chronically homeless, free community Sunday suppers and sorting toy donations. Check the website for more.
Greater Rochester Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Baytowne Plaza
1900 Empire Blvd.
The ReStore builds homes, communities and hope by selling donated furniture, kitchenware, and more to the surrounding community. All ReStore proceeds fund the construction of GRHFH homes for deserving families in the area. Help support our families by donating and shopping in our ReStore!
How you can help: We are always looking for volunteers to process and price new donations. Join a team of positive and enthusiastic ReStore volunteers to impact your community. To volunteer, visit ROCReStore.org or e-mail volunteering@grhabitat.org for more information.
Heritage Christian Stables
1103 Salt Rd.
Offers equine-assisted horseback riding and non-riding horsemanship lessons, inclusive to people of all abilities, designed to enrich a person’s physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental well-being, while also building confidence and self-esteem.
How you can help: The continued success of the therapeutic horsemanship program relies heavily on volunteers, which help to run lessons year-round. Riders may require as many as three people to assist them – one “side walker” on each side of the horse and one “horse leader” responsible for guiding the equine. Experience is not required. All necessary training is provided.
Home Start Hope provides brand new, essential household items to women and their children transitioning to independent living from emergency shelters in Rochester, NY.
How you can help: Stock their shelves by shopping their Target registry or by donating gift cards; get involved as a volunteer or board member; organize a donation drive; attend, sponsor or donate items for their fundraisers.
Cut and sew lap robes, which are then distributed at Honor Flights, area hospice homes, hospitals, and veterans outreach centers as a small gesture of warmth and comfort for the men and women who have served our country. Coordinated by two Webster women, the group meets once a week in Irondequoit to cut fabric and sew it around the edges. Then a “thank you for your service” label is hand-sewn in the corner.
How you can help: Anyone who loves to sew is invited to join the group. Click the link above to contact the organizers for more information.
Lasagna Love (local link)
https://lasagnalove.org/ (national link)
Neighbors helping neighbors by preparing and delivering home-cooked lasagnas for families who are struggling due to lost income, lost childcare or other life difficulties. There’s no cost to the families.
How you can help: Join the cooking team and make some lasagna!
A referral-based adopt-a-family organization providing gifts every holiday season for families in need. The organization works with area school counselors and social workers to identify families that need assistance, get wish lists from each of the family members and begin collecting items.
How you can help: “Adopt” an individual, or adopt a whole family, and fill a wish list. Volunteer wrappers are also needed once all of the gifts are collected. Bookmark the website and stay tuned to my blog next Christmas season for your next opportunities.
Maplewood Nursing Home
100 Daniel Dr.
Long-term care nursing facility in the Village of Webster.
How you can help: Volunteers are needed to transport residents to meals and activities, spend time visiting, assist with games and events, help on outings, bring in fun crafts, run our book club, offer cooking demonstrations (with tastings, of course), share their musical talents and more!
Meals on Wheels
2180 Empire Blvd.
Meal delivery service to support our senior neighbors to extend their independence and health.
How you can help: Become a driver! Your visits provide more then just meals; they provide socialization and safety checks. Become a regular delivery person, adopt a route with your club or business, or become a seasonal sub. Kitchen help is also needed.
Never Say Never Stables
906 Maple Dr.
The Never Say Never Foundation is a not-for-profit equine-assisted program that provides life-enriching, horse related experiences to children and teens living with long term illness, special needs and/or other serious life challenges.
How you can help: Volunteers are trained to act as support staff, helping children be safe in and around the barn and animal enclosures. Volunteers monitor activity and offer encouragement to the participants. They may care for the horses and animals and take on many chores around the barn.
Rochester Challenger Miracle Field
Ridge Park, 1000 Ridge Rd. (P.O. Box 826)
Provides people with developmental, physical or intellectual disabilities a barrier-free, safe, accessible place to experience the health benefits and joy of play through baseball, other team sports, and adaptive recreational equipment.
How you can help: Volunteer positions are available for all of Miracle Field’s sport leagues for anyone who can commit to coming every week as coaches, or even on a fill-in basis. No experience is necessary in any sport, just the desire to help players take turns and have fun.
Miracle Field also hosts special events for the special needs community such as a Halloween Party, Holiday Kickball with Santa, and a Valentine’s Dance. Volunteers for those events can help with planning, decorating, and generally facilitating the event for players and families. Volunteers with experience in fundraising, grant writing, creating programming, managing social media, and other areas are also needed.
St. Ann’s Community at Cherry Ridge
900 Cherry Ridge Boulevard
Senior living community offering retirement homes, transitional care, assisted living/memory care and skilled nursing.
How you can help: Volunteer opportunities include Pastoral Care, helping elders from their rooms to Mass in the chapel; Life Enrichment, engaging in events and activities with elders; Pages with Pals, pairing up with an elder or small group to choose a book to read; Friendly Visits, pairing up with an elder for regular visits; Friendly Pet Visits with your family pet; and more. Fore more information contact Volunteer Services Manager Colleen Holcomb at cholcomb@mystanns.com or at 585-697-6523.
Webster Health Education Network (WHEN)
119 South Ave.
WHEN Works with the Webster School District, Town of Webster and community resources to promote healthy, substance-free behaviors and lifestyles in the Webster community by supporting drug education and awareness initiatives.
How you can help: WHEN could use some project-specific volunteers to help Webster kids grow up strong and substance free. You don’t have to be a member to lend a hand; help design a youth coalition, join the information table team, or join the welcome wagon. Community members are always encouraged to join the coalition. Meetings are held monthly.
Webster Arboretum
1700 Schlegel Rd.
The goal of the Webster Arboretum Association, Inc. is to create and maintain a park-like setting dedicated to quiet reflection and passive recreation through the beauty found within the sights, smells and sounds of nature through educational, conservational and recreational opportunities for all ages.
How you can help: Weeding, mulching, landscaping, general maintenance and park improvement projects.
Webster Assoc. of Senior Program Services (WSPS)
1350 Chiyoda Dr.
A group of volunteers who provide transportation for retirees and disabled residents who live within the Webster School District.
How you can help: Drive residents to and from medical and dental appointments, other health-related trips such as pharmacies, as well as banks, barbers, hairdressers and tax preparation services.
Webster Business Improvement District (BID)
Organization of mostly Village of Webster businesses responsible for creating a vibrant, clean and safe business district. Its mission is to “help create a positive and welcoming business atmosphere within our community to enhance the community’s overall perception of the Village and to help foster economic stability and growth.”
How you can help: Community members are welcome at the monthly meetings. Express your opinions, ideas for future events, put in your two cents about how things are being run. You can also sign up to help out with community events like Family Games Night, Trick or Treat Trail, and the Webster Jazz Fest.
Webster Comfort Care Home
700 Holt Rd.
Provides end-of-life comfort care, symptom control and pain management for residents while being a source of respite care for the families.
How you can help: Opportunities include resident care volunteer, house cleaner (2 times a month), social media liaison, maintenance person, party planner (especially if you love fundraising), newsletter designer (Canava expert). Hands-on training is provided for all volunteers.
Webster Community Chest
1000 Ridge Rd.
Provides information and referrals, emergency financial assistance, food assistance, summer camp scholarships, high school senior awards for community service, and financial aid to organizations whose programs benefit Webster residents.
How you can help: Lots of ways! Coordinate a food collection, help stuff envelopes for the annual campaign, join a committee (like marketing/PR or fundraising), help with meal center distribution, become a board member, help plan the next Greater Rochester Marshmallow Peep Show in March, and more.
Need more ideas? Visit the Community Chest’s Volunteer Appreciation night on Tuesday Jan. 23 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Webster Public Library.
Webster Food Pantries
Webster has four free food pantries, located at Immanuel Lutheran Church (West Main), St. Martin Lutheran Church (Bay Rd.), Webster Baptist Church (South Ave.) and the United Church of Christ (Klem Rd.). The concept is to take what you need, leave what you can.
How you can help: You can drop off non-perishable food items any time at any of the pantries. Look for them in the church parking lots.
Webster Girl Scouts
Girl Scouting aims to empower girls through the development of five essential skills: goal setting, money management, people skills, decision making, and business ethics.
How you can help: Become a troop leader/chaperone, cookie volunteer, service unit volunteer, camp/seasonal volunteer or more.
Webster Public Library
980 Ridge Rd.
Enhances our community’s intellectual and creative pursuits by providing expertise and an eclectic collection of books, periodicals, digital media, and so. much. more.
How you can help: The Friends of the Public Library offers many volunteer opportunities for adults. The all-volunteer organization promotes and supports library, services, facilities and needs through community events, programs, the lobby bookstore and a semi-annual book sale. Additional opportunities for teens include assisting with children’s/teen Programs, dressing as a character for a children’s program, dusting and cleaning tables, cleaning books, clerical support (cutting scrap paper, sharpening pencils etc.), folding brochures, and more.
Webster Museum and Historical Society
18 Lapham Park
Dedicated to educating and introducing Webster’s heritage to our community through research, collection preservation, educational programs and exhibits.
How you can help: Volunteers are needed in many areas, including as greeters and docents, helping with publicity and other writing tasks, setting up exhibits, managing computer files, and others.
Webster NY Hope
1450 Ridge Rd.
Serves the needs of residents in the 14580 zip code, helping to provide food, clothing, household goods, furniture and financial assistance to those in need.
How you can help: Volunteers help restock the food pantry, sort clothes, and meet with clients.
Webster Volunteer Fire Dept./Northeast Joint Fire District
35 South Ave.
Provides fire, rescue and EMS services to the Village of Webster, East Webster and Northeast Penfield.
How you can help: The invitation to become a member and join the volunteer firefighting team is always open. Other opportunities are also available; send along a Facebook message or find an application on the website for more information.
West Webster Fire Department
1051 Gravel Road
Provides fire, rescue and EMS services to the residents of West Webster and northwest Penfield.
How you can help: From Cpt. Tom Woodward: We are always looking to add people who are passionate about serving their community. Send us a message on Facebook or find an application on our website to find more information.
The mission of Wreaths Across America is to place a wreath on the grave of every veteran in the country. The simple act of placing a wreath helps assure that these veterans are never forgotten.
How you can help: The next wreaths Across America Day is Dec. 14, 2024. Community members are encouraged to attend the ceremony that day at Webster Union Cemetery and help lay wreaths in one of three (or more) Webster cemeteries. In the meantime, wreath sponsors are needed to make sure we have enough wreaths for every veteran in those ceremonies. Click on the link to find out how you can sponsor a wreath.
An energetic, involved and fun-loving group of women of all ages and from many different backgrounds, dedicated to supporting charitable, cultural and educational causes through volunteer services. The group holds monthly meetings, card parties, a holiday cookie sale, annual fashion show, and other service projects and social events.
How you can help: Consider joining the group and taking part in the fundraising events they hold regularly.
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