Holiday stress is real. Whether it’s financial pressures, an overwhelming schedule, strained family dynamics, loneliness, or setting unrealistic expectations for the holidays to be “perfect,” forces out of our control can exact a mighty toll on our mental health during the season.
The good news is, myriad studies show that volunteering our time and talents and/or donating to charities can have positive effects on our mental health. If you’re hoping to add a little philanthropy into your holiday season, consider this your handy guide to volunteerism.
Sign up!
Organizations looking for extra help this time of year are abundant in SLO County. Pick your personal favorite and lend a helping hand. Or choose from this long but not all-inclusive list of local nonprofits doing things around the holiday season: CAPSLO, ECHO, Meals that Connect, The People’s Kitchen of San Luis Obispo, Restorative Partners, Volunteer SLO, Willing Workers On Organic Farms at The Lavra in Arroyo Grande, Salvation Army San Luis Obispo, South San Luis Obispo Womenade, and Lumina Alliance.
While there are several organizations soliciting volunteers and donations, here are a couple suggestions tied to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.
Feed thy neighbors!
Heather Todd, chair of the nonprofit SLO Grassroots, believes food insecurity is at an all-time high, and so the all-volunteer, secular organization is looking for volunteers to help put on its annual Thanksgiving Dinner in the SLO Elks Lodge (222 Elks Lane) on Wednesday, Nov. 26.
SLO Grassroots wants volunteers for light cooking and prep on Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 24 and 25, from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. You can sign up on the website at slograssroots.org or call Todd directly at (805) 540-1455. They’ll also need people to cook, serve, and clean up on Wednesday, Nov. 26, “from 7 a.m. to forever,” Todd joked. “Cleanup takes a long time.”
It’s a massive endeavor. In previous years, they’ve served 2,000 meals.
“We serve about 1,400 meals to-go, then the rest of it on-site for people who come through, either in the dining hall or just drive through and pick up for themselves,” she explained.
It certainly requires a lot of volunteers, “hundreds of people and thousands of hours,” Todd noted. “It takes a lot of time.”
And it’s never too late to volunteer.
“In fact, we don’t even require people to sign up,” she said. “Just show up anytime Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.”
According to the SLO Grassroots’ website, this annual event requires most of the organization’s financial and volunteer resources.
“It is a meal for our community. Absolutely everybody is welcome,” Todd stressed. “We do have a lot of unhoused people who will come through and sit in our dining hall who have really not had the opportunity to just sit and enjoy and relax, and we always encourage all of our volunteers to sit down and have a meal with somebody that they wouldn’t otherwise be with. A lot of our to-go meals, the ones that are being delivered, are either to seniors who are unable to cook at this point for themselves, or people living in homes for disabled people.”
So, what’s on the menu? Exactly what you’d expect.
“It’s a traditional Thanksgiving meal. We’ve got turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes and yams, vegetables, rolls, pie, cranberry sauce. I think that’s about it.”
If you’re unable to volunteer in person, Todd encourages people to visit the website and donate monetarily.
SLO Grassroots can trace its forebears to Grassroots II Inc., a nonprofit started by Maxine Lewis in 1971. After she died in 1988, Peggy Fowler took over as executive director.
“The mission is to help people falling through the social safety net,” Todd explained. “Peggy ran it for 30 years, and this past year, she chose to step down, and with that, the board chose to dissolve the organization. And taking that over, we started SLO Grassroots. I’ve been a part of Grassroots II for the last almost 20 years, and I’ve been on the ground running it for the last five.”
This is essentially a brand new 501(c)(3) nonprofit that’s risen like a phoenix from a long-running, venerated volunteer organization doing good work for the community.
“And we are so happy to be able to carry forward this in our community,” Todd said. “I believe that Maxine didn’t intend this to end with herself either. This is a community project, and that is my goal long term, for this to be a community organization, not based on myself or a board, but based on the community’s desire to help each other.”
Her eventual goal is to add a food and clothing pantry to SLO Grassroots’ outreach.
“Right now, in our political climate, people are food insecure more than anything I’ve ever seen in my lifetime, and I would really like to get us up and running again with the food and clothing pantry and an office where people can come in. That is my intention.”
Jog (or stroll) for a cause!
If you’re looking to burn a few calories before your own Thanksgiving meal and give back to the community, the SLO Food Bank’s annual Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning, Thursday, Nov. 27, is a great way to do both. Register to participate at slofoodbank.org/en/turkey-trot/ ($30 adult includes registration and an event shirt or bandana or $20 for children under 18). You can also simply show up in Pismo Beach on the morning of the event and register in person.
The 2-mile course begins at the Pismo Pier and the big letters spelling PISMO BEACH and follows a loop up and down the beach. Dogs are allowed but must stay on a leash. Strollers are also allowed though they need to navigate sand and must be carried downstairs to reach the beach. The event is rain or shine, and they don’t offer refunds for any reason. Your registration fee will be considered a tax-deductible donation.
According to Savannah Colevans, the SLO Food Bank’s senior manager for communications who’s running the event, “It has the most lovely, lively community atmosphere because it’s a tradition that people have been doing for such a long time. People are excited to participate every year. They bring costumes, and everyone knows that it goes toward a great cause. And so, I think because of that, it really brings together everyone with their families and, yeah, great vibes all around.”
Even though it’s a tradition for many people, organizers are always hoping for newcomers who want to join the fun. Last year, the event attracted 2,000 participants. At between $20 and $30 a head, that’s a significant amount of money, and the SLO Food Bank makes good use of it.
“The Turkey Trot provides hundreds of thousands of meals for people in need every year,” Colevans explained. “We’re serving more people than we’ve ever served before, 14 percent more than last year, 45,000 neighbors a month. So really any way that people can give back makes a big difference at this time. There’s just a really high level of need of hunger in the community now. And because of the generosity of the community—from our volunteers, our donors, our business partners—we have been able to meet this increased need, but obviously, it’s hard to sustain on a long-term level.”
If you want to volunteer to work the event, “We have a few open shifts or open positions, and people can go online to slofoodbank.org/en/volunteer-opportunities/ to sign up online,” Colevans added.
So, how’s your holiday stress level? ∆
Contact Arts Editor Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Nov 20-30, 2025.