Love your community, Volunteer!

Southwest Florida is growing and you’re a part of it! Amazing events happening every weekend, new restaurants popping up, and fun new attractions, all for you and your family. To continue this growth, help strengthen your community by giving back and donate some time to volunteer this summer!

For all you animal lovers out there, take a minute to visit your local animal shelter and see what you can do for our pets! The Animal Refuge Center is non-profit organization that helps and cares for local homeless animals. This non-euthanasia center gets animals back on their feet, healthy, and ready for adoption. Donate your time by becoming a volunteer and pet and groom the cats, walk and throw a tennis ball around with the dogs, and provide overall companionship for all the animals that just want a friend to play with. The ARC is just one of many local shelters in Southwest Florida. Others include The Gulf Coast Humane Society and the Helping Paws Animal Sanctuary. Helping animals doesn’t have to stop at puppies and kittens. The Octagon Wildlife Society is a local association that deals with the more unusual animals of SWFL. Here you can care for the white tigers, lions, Florida panthers, and other exotic wild animals that have been rescued in South Florida. Volunteers can help prepare the food and feed the animals and also clean and maintain their enclosures.

A little busy to volunteer? Try donating some things to give back to the community like school supplies and canned goods or non-perishables. Donations to the Cape Coral Caring Center focuses on helping those in need and maintain a suitable standard of living in the Cape Coral area. As a non-profit organization, they need your help from a $5 check to a care package of shampoos, toilet paper, and toothpaste. You can even have your own neighborhood food drive on behalf of the Cape Coral Caring Center! This gives you a chance to pull your community together and create a wonderful home for your family and neighbors.

Like every Independence Day in SWFL, the Cape Coral Chamber of Commerce will be holding its annual Freedom 5K & Kid’s Fun Run. Proceeds will be going to invest in America’s Veterans Foundation and the Special Operations Communicators Association. Whether you’re helping set up the banners and tents or signing people up before the run, it’s a sure way to connect with your neighbors and other proud residents of Cape Coral/ Fort Myers. Bring the community together by tending the water station and help keep our runners hydrated! Want more action? Sign up for the run and cross the Cape Coral Bridge overlooking the Caloosahatchee River for a great cause. After crossing the finish line, join your fellow athletes for a celebratory beer and maybe win a raffle prize!

From puppies to panthers, fun runs and soup kitchens, your community is a thriving environment designed to help grow our sense of togetherness. Contact your local organizations today and give back to the city you love, the city you call your home!