One perk of working at Patch is the opportunity to give back to the community through the Give 5 program. On Thursday, Oct. 7, I volunteered at A Wider Circle in Silver Spring with Tamika Smith, Local Editor of Silver Spring Patch.

A Wider Circle 's mission is to help people lift themselves out of poverty, and the nonprofit organization does this by furnishing the homes of families who are moving out of battered women's and homeless shelters.

Since 2002, A Wider Circle has served 50,000 families in this region, according to Assistant Director Anne Thompson. The organization gets donations from families who have more then they need and gives it to families who have nothing--and the most important part is that no one gets turned away.

Currently there are 1,200 families on the waiting list, but Thompson is confident that everyone will be served and that it is better to have people wait than to turn them away completely. However, A Wider Circle does ask basic questions about income and the number of family members, but that is mainly for the purpose of keeping track of how many people the organization has helped.

"If someone says 'I need help,' I never say no," Thompson said.

A typical volunteer day at A Wider Circle can be helping organize the storage facility to make it tidy and feel more like a store, going out in trucks to collect donations or helping families select and load furniture for their homes.

I did a little bit of everything on my volunteer day. For about two hours, I assisted wherever I was needed. From moving mattresses and dressers, to sorting through children's clothing and toys to loading trucks, I did it all.

No matter what a volunteer does, they are changing at least one family's life. Whether there is actual interaction with a family choosing their furniture or cleaning the furniture, someone is going to benefit from the volunteer's actions.

Someone might think that it is sad that the people who come to A Wider Circle for help have nothing, but I found it inspiring. The people who work and volunteer at the organization want nothing more than to make a family happy and to make living a little easier for them. The families who come in look hopeful and excited about this new direction their life is taking.

Before a family comes to A Wider Circle, they might be overwhelmed and not know where to begin, Thompson said, but they get set up with furniture, they can finally start focusing on the next step.

"They can breathe," Thompson said.

While I only volunteered for a few short hours, Thompson works seven days and nights a week to dedicate her life to service.

"If we want to end poverty, we have to be extreme," Thompson said.

A normal work day for Thompson starts at 8 a.m. and ends at midnight. But Thompson doesn't expect everyone to be as extreme as she is. People can volunteer once or keep coming back, either way they are helping A Wider Circle achieve its goal of helping families start anew with dignity and hope, she said.

Perhaps you don't have time to volunteer, but there are other way to give back to your community. A Wider Circle couldn't be successful without generous donations. The only requirement the organization has is that you donate items that you would be proud to give your friends and family--no ripped or broken items.

A Wider Circle is in most need of beds, mattresses, box springs, frames and bedding linens. Cribs, strollers, dressers, kitchen tables and chairs, end tables, coffee tables, televisions, fans and air conditioning units, kitchen items including dishes, pots and pans, toasters, microwaves and flatware are all needed.

If you don't have any furniture to donate, consider giving healthy, non-perishable food, personal care items and cleaning supplies to be used as part of the healthy basics package that families receive once they choose their furniture.

If interested in volunteering at A Wider Circle, e-mail volunteer@awidercircle.org or call 301-608-3504. For more information on donations, visit the organization's website.

More about Give 5:

In addition to our day-to-day coverage of Patch communities, Give 5 frees up the opportunity for employees to volunteer five days throughout the year. Patch also gives 5 percent of advertising space to local charities free of charge as part of the Give 5 program.

To see if you qualify for free ad space, contact us, and feel free to add volunteer opportunities to Patch. If there is a great cause that you think I should dedicate a day to, let me know by messaging me at jesseka@patch.com.