Community Supported Friendship Project

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Please Note: We are based in Cleveland County, North Carolina, and are only accepting volunteers living in the area.

Each month volunteers deliver a Community Supported Friendship gift bag to the doorstep of our Compeer participants. We are now accepting applications for 2024!

The Community Supported Friendship (CSF) project has multiple different volunteer opportunities that range from one-time volunteer opportunities and longer-term opportunities.

Group sponsors are organizations or agencies in the county with an interest in providing a gift to participants in our Compeer program. After connecting with us, your group simply commits to providing a featured gift for a particular month’s "friendship bag." Most often these gifts are handmade contributions that reflect a group’s particular interests, creativity, or self- care practices. A story of connection will be developed by MHA staff to be included with your contribution. We currently have 15 active Compeer participants, so the sponsoring organization would need to make at least 15 gifts (one for each CSF bag). To become a group sponsor, email our special programs coordinator at SCOSTNER@ClevelandCountyMHA.org or visit https://www.clevelandcountymha.org/csf-sponsor

For individuals, the types of contributions we are looking for are creative gifts that are as diverse and unique as the Compeer participants who will receive them! We truly encourage you to allow self-care and creativity to be your guides. Identify the thing you love to do - that activity that brings you joy and presence - and do it! You can then contribute the end product, along with a story of connection to the CSF project. We’ll deliver your gift to one of our participants who has shared interests or experiences. Please complete the linked CSF Contribution Form (https://clevelandcountymha.org/csf-contribution-form) to help tell the story of your gift.

Please complete a contribution form to initiate the process. The Compeer Coordinator will contact you to arrange delivery. Individuals who would like to assist with a gift bag, but are uncertain what to give or where to start, can also join us on the first Tuesday of most months to help create a handmade gift to be featured in an upcoming Friendship Bag. These activities are hosted at the Eugenia H. Young Memorial Library and you can stay up to date on our activity schedule by visiting clevelandcountymha.org/calendar

Other CSF volunteer opportunities:

Become a CSF Delivery Driver. If you would like to deliver friendship boxes throughout the county, a full application/screening/training process is required. Learn more here: https://www.clevelandcountymha.org/csf-delivery-driver

Assist with packing. Groups and individuals are always welcome to assist Compeer staff in packing monthly friendship bags. The application and training process are not required for this role. To get started, simply complete this interest form: https://www.clevelandcountymha.org/csf-packing-volunteer-interest-form

For additional information, please visit our CSF Project website (clevelandcountymha.org/community-supported-friendship).