Greetings to all 5th Bridge Pledgers,

As you go about your volunteer service, I hope you realize that you are not only making a difference in the lives of others, you are enhancing your life as well. With each volunteer experience you have the opportunity to:

• Make a new friend;
• Pay back a kindness that was extended to you;
• Have fun and feel good;
• Learn or develop new skills;
• Feel needed and valued; and
• Make important networking contacts.

The holiday season is right around the corner. Here are some ways to make the season more meaningful:

5th Bridge is bringing the Feed My Starving Children mobile packing unit to Northfield December 7–9. Feed My Starving Children is an organization providing humanitarian relief to starving children around the world. Participants will learn about world hunger issues and work in groups of 15 to package nutritionally complete meals that will then be sent to feed starving children in Third World countries. Volunteers will be asked to make a free will donation to cover the costs of the food (15 cents per meal, each meal serves 4 people) they are assembling so the food can be provided free of charge to the children who need the food. You will find clever and easy fund raising ideas on our website. This is a great team building opportunity for businesses, Circles of Service, church groups, service clubs, sports teams, school groups, families and friends, incorporating both volunteerism and philanthropy. To reserve a work session for your group, please e-mail our volunteer scheduler, Cheryl Mathison, at Cheryl.Mathison@nfld.k12.mn.us or for further information about this volunteer opportunity visit www.5thbridge.org.

Have fun, burn off some of those holiday calories and help raise money for the Service Learning Program at the high school by participating in the Jingle Bell Run on December 15. For more details, visit www.jinglebellrunwalk.org or call 645-8887.

Help save a Northfield holiday tradition and volunteer to help with the Pajama Project for the CAC Christmas Sharing. The long-serving leader of this wonderful program is retiring and new people are needed to fill a number of roles. You need not know how to sew to be involved. To learn more about what you can do to help needy area children receive homemade pajamas at Christmas, see the posting on the 5th Bridge website or contact Emily Schmitz at 645-8582 or Judy Bickel at the CAC at 664-3558.

Volunteer to ring the bell for the Salvation Army. The red kettles will be out in the community beginning November 20. For more information, check our website, www.5thbridge.org, and look for the posting, or contact Richard Cook at 507-332-6012.

Make plans to donate a new, unwrapped toy to Christmas Sharing. Watch for collection boxes at the banks, grocery stores and other local businesses around Northfield. If you have any questions, contact the CAC reception desk at 664-3550.

Offer to help an elderly neighbor get their home ready for winter.

Volunteer your childcare services to someone you know with small children to allow the parent(s) to run holiday errands.

Thank you for all that you do to make a difference! We hope you have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving!

Candy Taylor and your friends at 5th Bridge