Individual Service Projects

Check out the latest Volunteer Opportunity announcements here.

If you are interested in doing a service project for school, scouting, 4-H, on your own or as part of a group, please check out our project ideas below, which can be organized and completed for The Crisis Center at any time of the year.

Hold a Food Drive

Our Food Bank program is distributing 60,000 pounds of food a month . . . we never have too much food! Drives hosted by individuals and groups make all the difference to our clients who appreciate the variety of donated foods and availability of items, such as hygiene and cleaning products, that The Crisis Center does not purchase with its food budget.

We’ve put together important information and tips to help you in the How to Hold a Food Drive guide.  Our current Top 10 List of needed items is on the Home page and you can download an 8.5” x 11” flier of the list to print and display.

For more information about holding a food drive, contact Sarah Benson Witry via email at sarah.witry@jccrisiscenter.org or by phone at (319) 351-2726 ext. 118.

Create Birthday Bags

Another great idea for a service project is creating Birthday Bags. The Crisis Center distributes bags filled with party-making needs for children aged 3 – 15. Create one or more bags or collect a particular item, such as cake mix or birthday candles. The Birthday Bag Guide lists everything needed to make a special day for a child.

For more information about creating Birthday Bags, contact Beth Ritter Ruback via email at beth.ruback@jccrisiscenter.org or by phone at (319) 351-2726 ext. 108.

Gather or Sew Reusable Shopping Bags

Food Bank clients are so grateful when reusable shopping bags are available. Reusable bags are great for the environment and help The Crisis Center reduce our spending on plastic and paper products.

Got extras? Drop off reusable bags at The Crisis Center. Or have a shopping bag "drive" at school, work, church or in your neighborhood. If you are crafty, free patterns for sewing reusable shopping bags can be viewed by clicking here. Each bag should be able to hold 15 - 20 pounds of food items.

Though we'd love to provide reusable bags for everyone, used paper and plastic bags will always be a need in the Food Bank! Donations and drives for these items are welcome as well.

Add to Our Recipe Collection

Simple but tasty recipes are needed for distribution with our food bags. The ideal recipes:

  • Have 10 ingredients or less
  • Incorporate affordable, easy to find ingredients
  • Require few cooking utensils
  • Involve cooking techniques that are easy to describe in simple terms, so that cooks of all skill levels can successfully create these meals

The Recipe Collection guide provides more details. For more information, contact Sarah Benson Witry via email at sarah.witry@jccrisiscenter.org or by phone at (319) 351-0128.

Service Projects at The Crisis Center

Due to the level of screening and training required to become a volunteer with The Crisis Center, opportunities to complete a service project here at our location are limited and typically seasonal. You are welcome to submit an email describing your interests to admin@jccrisiscenter.org but please understand that we may not be able to accommodate your request.

You can also sign-up to receive our monthly E-newsletter to learn more about future service project opportunities or visit our News & Events section.