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VNOC -Test- Home2025-03-02T16:25:42-08:00

We Help You Help Others!

Non-profit organizations throughout Orange County are desperately seeking people just like you to help make a meaningful impact to the lives of those that are less fortunate. Volunteer Network OC helps you help others by identifying fulfilling and rewarding volunteer events.

Our process is simple and easy, use the search bar and type in keywords of interest to you, view scheduled events on our calendar, or find a volunteer event nearby using our map search. Start today!

Homelessness and Poverty
in Orange County

Homelessness and poverty are widespread issues that, combined, affect millions of people nationwide, and on a single night in 2014, here in Orange County, more than 570,000 were homeless. . .READ MORE

7 Reasons Why You
Should Volunteer!

Studies have found that helping others kindles happines, and we have 7 great reasons to encourage you to learn about the amazing non-profit organizations in our community and then volunteer. . .READ MORE

Wanda Witter: A Determined
and Courageous Woman

Ms. Witter’s story illustrates how easy it is to become homeless, and how it could really happen to anyone.  Her determination and courage inspire us to do better to help take care of the homeless. . .READ MORE

Meet James Brooks:
An Angel Among Us

James Brooks is a living inspiration. Once homeless himself, James now serves as Mercy House’s O.C. Programs Director, Emergency Services for individuals experiencing homelessness, a true “Angel Among Us”. . .READ MORE

Get Involved!

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”

∼St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta

What are your reasons to volunteer?  Whatever your reasons, we encourage you to learn about the amazing non-profit organizations in our community and then to volunteer your time to help them help others.  Take the first step by registering as a volunteer on this site.

This is why we started Volunteer Network OC: we believe that those who are more fortunate should help those who are less fortunate.  You may have been blessed with a good family, a nice home, mental and physical health, the opportunity to receive a good education, etc.  Others have not been so lucky. Can you imagine your life without those blessings and how you may have turned out under different circumstances?  We believe that each of us should feel a sense of duty to help people who have been dealt a worse hand in life than we have.

Under a different set of circumstances in your life, you could have been the person needing help.  For example, if you had been born with a mental condition, such as schizophrenia, you may have found yourself living on the streets.  If that were the case, you would appreciate help from caring volunteers.  Helping others is like helping a version of your potential self.

When an individual is living on the street or a child is born into poverty, it is natural to feel worthless or invisible.  When another person reaches out to make a difference in that person’s life, talks to that person, looks them in the eyes, smiles at them, shows that they care, that person feels less invisible.  A small gesture by a volunteer can have a significant impact on another person.  It lets them know that they are every bit as valuable and relevant as every other person in our community.

We all want to live in a strong, healthy community.  Volunteering allows you to connect to your community and make it a better place.  The problem of homelessness and poverty exists.  As a community, we all need to lend a hand to individuals and families who are less fortunate than us.  Hopefully, with a little help, many of them can get to a better place and also give back.  It is a cycle of giving that will make our community a better place to live.

People who volunteer care about others.  They are the type of people who are worth knowing. Volunteering is a great way to meet people and make friendships.  It also broadens your support network, exposing you to people with common interests, neighborhood resources, and fun and fulfilling activities.

Volunteering increases your self-awareness and self-confidence.  It can provide a healthy boost to your self-esteem.  You feel better about yourself and come away with a sense of pride and accomplishment.

Studies have found that helping others kindles happiness.   In 2013, researchers at the London School of Economics examined the relationship between volunteering and measures of happiness in a large group of American adults.  They learned that there is a positive correlation between volunteering and happiness, and that the more often people volunteered, the happier they were.  Compared with people who never volunteer, the odds of being “very happy” rose 7% among those who volunteer monthly and 12% for people who volunteer every two to four weeks. Among weekly volunteers, 16% felt very happy—a hike in happiness comparable to having an income of $75,000–$100,000 versus $20,000, said the researchers.

Homelessness and Poverty in Orange County

The Problem: Homelessness and Poverty

Homelessness and poverty are widespread issues that, combined, affect millions of people nationwide, and hundreds of thousands of people in Orange County alone.

On a single night in 2014, more than 575,000 people were experiencing homelessness in the United States—meaning they were sleeping outside or in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program.  Of that number, about 220,000 were individuals in families and 50,000 were veterans.

It is impossible to ignore the impact of homelessness in Orange County.  More than 400 people live on the grounds of the Santa Ana Civic Center alone, and about 62% report having lived there for more than a year.  There are also a number of homeless camps along the Santa Ana riverbed, in parks, and elsewhere. . .READ MORE

Volunteer Today!

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“You can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.”

∼John Wooden (the legendary UCLA basketball coach)