From traveling to disasters to working from home, there's many ways to volunteer in 2024.

With a presence in almost every country the world over and 140-plus years of history, the American Red Cross is one of the most widely recognizable nonprofit agencies of its kind. Since 1881, Red Cross volunteers have been coming to the aid of military members and families, and to areas of disaster, most often with supplies that were either donated or bought with donated money.

Following in that tradition is New Bedford, resident Anthony Lessa Jr., who's interest in the organization, and in volunteerism, stems from childhood, when he witnessed his across-the-street neighbors' house on fire.

"I was probably about 10-12 years old," said Lessa, now 36. "It was like two in the morning; I started hearing all the commotion so I went outside to see."

Amidst the chaos, Lessa says he found himself fixated on Red Cross members who'd arrived on scene to aid and comfort the victims. The experience would inspire Lessa to join both the Red Cross and New Bedford Emergency Management when, at 18, he became of age.

Disaster relief becomes yearly pilgrimage

After years partaking in local efforts with both groups, in 2017, a two-week Red Cross deployment to Houston, Texas, for Hurricane Harvey started a new annual routine for Lessa; one he's faithfully continued right up to the recent Hurricane Idalia, which hit Florida on Aug. 30. It was Lessa's second consecutive Florida deployment, after helping with Hurricane Ian last year.

To make these deployments possible every year, Lessa sacrifices two weeks of vacation time earned at his job with the New Bedford Department of Infrastructure, which he says he's always happy to do.

"It's worth it," he said.

How can YOU help the Red Cross?

For those who don't have the means to volunteer in the same capacities as himself, Lessa says there's a breadth of opportunities to help the Red Cross that are as diverse as the people who volunteer for them.

"There's office work, blood drives — there's literally hundreds of things you can do," he said, noting some volunteer roles are even doable from home. "I do dispach sometimes if it's real busy."

To learn more about Red Cross volunteer opportunities, how to donate, trainings in things such as first-aid and CPR, or for information on events such as upcoming blood drives in your area, visit www.redcross.org.

To learn more about New Bedford Emergency Management, visit www.newbedford-ma.gov/emergency-management.

Who else could use your help?

For all the volunteer opportunities offered by the Red Cross, they still don't come close to covering all the possible ways you can lend a helping hand. Here's some more ideas:

Help prevent suicides

In the years following the pandemic, there's been a noted spike in mental health issues. One manifestation of this has been the steady climb in call volume at the Call2Talk call center in Framingham, a state suicide prevention hotline.

"We did 110,498 [calls] in 2022," Call2Talk Vice President Eileen Davis said, noting the call center is on pace to reach about 120,000 calls for 2023. Back in 2019, volume was well below half that, at 51,812.

"This is a place where we're never going to go down when it comes to need."

Davis said the ratio of paid staff to volunteers manning phones at Call2Talk is about 50/50, with volunteers ranging from retirees to high school students.

Those looking to volunteer will sit through an information session, which Davis says are held at least once a month. From there, applicants are interviewed virtually by staff and then, if determined to be a good fit, are signed up for a training.

If interested in learning more about Call2Talk or other suicide hotline call center locations around the state, visit www.mass.gov/info-details/988-job-and-volunteer-opportunities.

Clean up your community

It's hard to tell how much litter is around until you see it bagged up. In Lakeville and in neighboring Middleboro resident-led community groups, the Lakeville Litter Lifters and Middleborough Mess Movers, plan dates to meet up and clean up a section of their respective towns. Through the years, the two groups have even had fun making it into a competition with one another.

According to Lakeville Litter Lifters Chairwoman Alicia Bredberg, a typical collection might amount to 12-16 bags of debris. Bredberg also noted how it's a "great way for young adults and teens to get community service hours for scholarships, church expectations and college resumes."

To see more about what these groups do, visit their pages at www.facebook.com/lakevillelitterlifters and www.facebook.com/MBMessMovers. Or, follow their lead and start talking to others in your community about assembling a cleanup group where you live.

Volunteer at an animal shelter

For animal lovers looking for a way to help in their own communities, this is an easy choice, with many shelters offering an array of volunteer opportunities.

At the Taunton Animal Care Facility in Taunton, Shelter Manager Rob Danielczyk says volunteers take on tasks such as cleaning kennels for new arrivals, washing dishes, and walking dogs.

"The volunteers are a big part of the shelter," Danielczyk said. "Some people want to experience hands-on what it's like to work at a shelter. Some people just have a passion for animals."

For those living in the Taunton area, volunteer applications for the Taunton Animal Care Facility are available in-person at 821 W. Water St., Taunton.

Those living elsewhere might check with local shelters near them for how to help.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: In an age of high need, volunteer opportunities are diverse