Here are five compassion opportunities near you:

1) To those who feel called to offer practical assistance to our neighbors:

Foster the Bay is a coalition of churches in the Bay Area focused on bringing some of our community’s most vulnerable—foster children—into church families’ homes, where they will ultimately be cared for and loved on with intention and a deep support system. It is this system of Support Friends that enables Foster the Bay to function so successfully throughout our cities and foster families. If you feel called to foster or become a support friend, both commitments are only an email and info meeting away! For more information, sign up for an interest meeting.

Healing Grove Health Center is a medical center focused on providing comprehensive care that goes beyond addressing medical needs. Their mission is to provide health care, soul care, and culture care to the people of San Jose. For volunteers, this can look like being ready to help deliver school supplies and help to low-income kids, or working to distribute rental assistance to families adversely affected by Covid-19.  If you are looking for ways to directly connect with our neighbors, consider reaching out to brett@healinggrove.org or calling (408) 583-6338 to find out how you can commit to joining their volunteer base. Through this commitment, you can ultimately join with Healing Grove in their efforts to build a relationship with our community and aggressively combat Covid-19. They are especially looking for volunteers who may be able to speak both English and Spanish.

2) To those who feel called towards protecting and befriending our unhoused neighbors:

Grace is starting a new partnership with PATH, an organization focused on ending homelessness throughout California through direct alleviation as well as efforts to empower their unhoused members. If you are interested in volunteering with PATH and want a chance to get out of your house, consider emailing PATH to find out how you can join their volunteers and interim-housed population in cleaning the San Jose’s Guadalupe River each month, cooking in their kitchen, and more! Email at EmilyG@epath.org.

3) To those who feel called towards our neighbors struggling with hunger and poverty: 

Second Harvest of Silicon Valley food bank always needs volunteers, even more so during this time. Pandemic rates are climbing, the need for food assistance is only skyrocketing, while their volunteer pool is dwindling, especially as their regular volunteers are usually older adults. Anyone ages 14 and up can participate in this automatic way to love our hungry city. Community groups: this could be a good opportunity to volunteer together!

Click here for their calendar of options showing times/locations/spots available; read here for how they prioritize health and safety always.

Additionally, Grace is partnering with CityTeam to sponsor a mobile pantry for senior citizens of Miranda Villa Senior Apartments, only 2 miles from church! We are always looking for more volunteers to help distribute grocery boxes every 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month. Want to check it out? Click here to signup via our compassion calendar.

4) To those who feel called to support those with urgent medical needs: 

Every Sunday we take communion, a beautiful reminder of the sacrifice Jesus performed for us. Jesus shed his blood to save us; in response, we have a chance to give our blood to our fellow neighbors through the Red Cross. This is a simple yet powerful way to change another’s life—often only a 30 minute appointment. A few months ago, The Red Cross was reporting a severe shortage of donated blood; today, they urge us to help them prevent another, especially as covid cases skyrocket. They’re encouraging eligible and healthy donors to make an appointment to provide lifesaving blood to patients.

Search for a blood drive nearest you with this link:

https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/find-drive

5) For those who feel called to support the emotional health of the elderly: 

As we get closer into winter, it becomes more and more of a challenge to gather outside due to inclement weather and Covid-19. For our elderly neighbors, a combination of cold weather, isolated housing situations, and lack of community is crushing. If you would like to make a new friend, consider becoming a phone friend for a senior! Mon-Ami offers an easy program that enables you to signup and join their network of community-building volunteers and seniors, all with health-considerations taken into account.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Debby at debby@gracesouthbay.com or Mei if you have more ideas! Thank you for partnering with us in this season as we strive to show our love for Christ through our love for our neighbors.