Places You Can Volunteer in L. A.

There are many ways you can help others during the holiday season. Here are our picks of volunteer opportunities.

Big Sunday

Big Sunday is holding its ninth BIG Stuffing Event on June 22, with the goal of volunteers' creating at least 2,000 bags of food to deliver to needy people. The bags will be turned in at Big Sunday's office on June 23, where volunteers will add fruits and then distribute (分发)them the next day.

Address: 6111 Melrose Ave

Phone: (323)549-9944

Hollywood Food Coalition

Hollywood Food Coalition is partnering with Gobble Gobble Give to give away food boxes, health care kits and other necessities. Volunteers are needed to hand them out. You can also give away things such as pies, dinner rolls and milk for the meals.

Address: 5939 Hollywood Blvd

Phone: (323) 462-2032

Los Angeles Mission

Los Angeles Mission has special events, including packing food boxes for homeless people on June 20 and distributing those boxes on June 25. It serves three meals every day at its downtown location, and needs five volunteers per shift(轮班)--4 ： 30 a. m. to 8 ： 30 a. m. ，8 ： 30 a. m. to noon and 12-30 p. m. to 4 : 30 p. m.

Address ： 303 E 5th St

Phone： (213)629-1227

Union Rescue Mission

Union Rescue Mission needs volunteers to help prepare food for its June 21 celebration and helpers to clean up after the June 21 event. Register to volunteer online and reserve days and locations where you want to help.

Address: 545 S San Pedro St

Phone: (213)347-6300

Get ready for the journey of a lifetime — this driving route will introduce you to the very best of the South Island of New Zealand.

Keen golfers may like to get up early for a round of golf before continuing their journey to Geraldine，a pretty town known for its clothing stores and delicious foods. Stop for lunch and explore Caroline Bay. Afterwards，drive west to admire the lakeside Church of the Good Shepherd，and then spend the afternoon at Lake Tekapo enjoying the great outdoors — perhaps fishing or hiking.

Start your day with a sightseeing tour by helicopter — the best way to enjoy the scenery including Mt Cook. Next，drive south along SH 8 to Omarama，a popular place for gliding. Turn off SH 8 and head east along SH 83 through the beautiful Waitaki Valley to Oamaru. At dusk，visit the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony to watch the world’s smallest penguins come ashore.

Drive south along SH 1 to Dunedin and spend the rest of the day enjoying many experiences Dunedin has to offer. History lovers will enjoy fantastic museums and historic houses such as Larnach Castle. Get back to nature — drive out along Otago Peninsula to visit the NZ Marine Studies Centre and Aquarium.

Make sure your camera is charged because Day 4 is the most wonderful sightseeing. Visit the Department of Conservation for an insight into the region’s natural treasures before setting out for Milford Sound. A guided tour is an excellent choice that allows you to focus on the scenery.

Whatever the age of your children, you'll find plenty to interest them in Amsterdam. Here are some of the best activities to do with them while visiting the Dutch capital.

Visit the Van Gogh Museum

Vincent van Gogh's paintings are colourful and a good introduction to art for little ones.The Van Gogh Museum consists of two buildings with special family tours available in English as well as an interactive audio guide for kids aged 6 to 12. You can request “Vincent's Travelling Case” free of charge which is packed with activities to help your little ones explore the artist's work.

Go to the Vondelpark

Amsterdam's most famous park has plenty to offer kids-at the Kinderkookkafékids aged eight and up can make their own little dishes such as pizzas and simple cakes.There're also many children's playgrounds,as well as rope bridges for older kids. In the summer, the open-air theatre runs children’s programmes some afternoons.

Hire bikes

Cycling is the way to get around Amsterdam-around 60 per cent of trips are made by bike in the inner city. Even if your children are too small to cycle by themselves, many cycle shops will be able to come up with a solution to allow you to travel as a family on two wheels. Green Budget Bikes offers bikes where you can carry small children in a kind of basket on the front of the bike, as well as child tandems where your little one gets to cycle but you remain in control.

Visit the Anne Frank House

Some children may have learned about Anne Frank.You can still visit the secret place where she wrote her famous diary. There’s a film which shows images of concentration camps which may be upsetting for some children and can be skipped if necessary. The museum's website can help you decide what is and isn't appropriate for your kids to see and help you answer any questions.