People in Utah also love to help others and even get the whole family involved. It may be easier to find opportunities to help others during other times of the year, such as the holiday season. But there are some ways to provide service during these delightful summer months.

Donations of dressers, mattresses, couches, kitchen tables and chairs that are in good condition are currently needed at The Refuge Utah’s emergency shelter. The Refuge Utah provides a safe, caring and therapeutic environment to help in the recovery of domestic violence, rape, sexual assault and stalking survivors.

There are also opportunities to volunteer at the shelter, on the sexual assault services team and in other ways. For more information about volunteering at The Refuge Utah, go to therefugeutah.org.

“HELP!!! We are very low on volunteers for the next two weeks. If you can volunteer for a few hours, please do. If you can’t volunteer, please repost and help us find those who can!” states a July 1 post on the Tabitha’s Way Local Food Pantry South County Facebook page.

Tabitha’s Way food pantries, located in American Fork, Spanish Fork and Saratoga Springs, provide food assistance to thousands of individuals each month, many of them children.

At Tabitha’s Way in American Fork, donations are being taken for its yearly backpack drive. The backpacks full of supplies will go to children in Utah County. Needed donations include colored pencils, crayons, markers, pens, notebooks, glue, folders, rulers and erasers. For more information, check out the pantry’s Facebook page.

All three Tabitha’s Way locations rely on volunteers to keep the pantries running. Some people are regulars and serve at the pantries weekly. Others just come once in a while. Whatever you are able to do helps those neighbors of ours who may go hungry without these great services.

Looking for other ways to serve? Go to justserve.org. After simply typing my zip code into the search, many varied opportunities to serve popped up. Some are one-time events and some are opportunities for repeat volunteering. This is a great way to choose what is best for you and your family. Some of these involve cleaning, creating art, serving food, gathering donations, helping immigrants to converse in English, and even reading to children.