If you’re looking to spend some of your time volunteering or by otherwise supporting people who are making a difference in our community, you’re in luck. There’s a wide variety of organizations in Pierce County where you can get involved. From donating your time, to making monetary contributions, participating with these nonprofits will help further their impact on our community.
Safe Streets Campaign
Safe Streets Campaign is a nonprofit that focuses on grassroots community engagement and the organization has been making an impact in Pierce County for 30 years and counting. Through Safe Streets’ work, they empower neighbors to take charge and make change in their community.
The organization has a few areas where people can take part in making change. Adults can get involved through participating in community cleanups, by joining or organizing a neighborhood group, attending or donating to their fundraising events and by attending the annual Safe Streets Community Conference.
There are also opportunities for youth to become involved with Safe Streets. The organization’s Youth Leading Change program helps middle school and high school aged youth in Pierce County develop leadership skills, explore future careers and make a difference in their community, all while having fun and building relationships with their peers.
For more information on the ways you can get involved, join a local Safe Streets group or how to form a new one, visit the non-profit’s website or contact them at 253-272-6824.
Hilltop Artists
Hilltop Artists believe that glass is a medium to transform lives. Since its founding in 1994, they’ve been helping youth learn to become self-reliant individuals who are collaborative leaders through creating glass art. Their range of programs allows any youth between the ages of 12 and 20 in Pierce County to participate. Students in the programs explore glass art through glassblowing, flameworking, mosaics and glass fusion.
Their tuition-free program provides instruction, facilities, supplies and materials. The program is made possible by grant partnerships, individual and in-kind donations and glass sales. A major way people can support this organization is by buying the glass art pieces the youth create, as well as through donations, and also by volunteering.
Because no student is turned away if they are unable to pay, the organization’s Murrini Club is a great way to fund the youth involved in Hilltop Artists’ programs. By supporting this club through a monthly donation, the contribution provides art supplies for program participants.
There are many ways to become involved with Hilltop Artists, and volunteer opportunities are available all the time. More details can be found on their website or by calling them at 253-571-7670.
Write 253
Write 253 is a literacy arts organization that seeks to encourage young people in Tacoma and Pierce County to express themselves through writing, performance and publication. They accomplish this through events, writing workshops, educational partnerships and letterpress printing. The organization’s Louder Than a Bomb-Tacoma event is a teen poetry slam festival that happens every spring.
There’s always a need for volunteers to help out with the Louder Than a Bomb-Tacoma festival, but people can also get involved through donations to specific programs or by donating to the organization as a whole. To learn more, visit their website or call 253-460-4474.
Tacoma Community House
For over 100 years, Tacoma Community House has helped countless individuals gain the skills they need to transition out of poverty, navigate a new culture and find personal and professional success. The organization helps immigrants, refugees and individuals from other marginalized communities become self-sufficient and build important skills.
Through their four core programs of immigration, education, employment and advocacy, this organization is not only impacting our community, but also making a difference in the lives of the people they serve.
There are numerous volunteer opportunities with the organization, including mentoring grade-school children with reading, chatting with English language learners and helping job seekers improve their job readiness skills. Learn more about how to get involved by visiting their website, or call the organization at 253-383-3951.
NW Furniture Bank
NW Furniture Bank recycles donated furniture to people in our community who are in need. The organization utilizes relationships with furniture store partners along with local donations to provide a steady source of furniture to those who need it. The nonprofit serves victims of domestic abuse, people who have lost their furniture in a house fire or other natural disasters, as well as families coming from transitional housing who are trying to rebuild their lives.
Donating your used furniture to the NW Furniture Bank keeps it from ending up in a landfill, while helping out others at the same time. Find out ways to get involved or donate by visiting their website or calling 253-302-3868.
