The holidays are a time when people think about helping those less fortunate, but many aren't sure how they can best help.

The Volunteer Resource Center of the Santa Clarita Valley, an organization that specializes in linking local residents with volunteer opportunities, has assembled a list of ways families and individuals can share their holiday spirit this month.

Adopt- A-Family- Provide gifts to those in need during the holidays! Whether you can support one other person or you want to adopt a large group.

Emergency Winter Shelter- Open from approximately Dec. 1 until mid-March, EWS provides shelter, food, clothing, medical and mental services as well as other assistance and referrals to its clients. The San Fernando Valley location in Sylmar needs volunteers for morning and evening shifts.

Gentle Barn's Winter Wonderland - The Gentle Barn, a violence prevention program for animals, needs volunteers to help with crafts, a bake sale, sledding hill, animal tours, ticket collecting, and parking attendants. The Winter Wonderland is a fundraiser, scheduled for Dec. 16, to help the organization recover from the California wildfires and to say thanks to the firefighters.

Kettle volunteer - Participate in the Salvation Army's annual fundraiser. There are various positions available.

Holiday helper - Penny Lane Centers need decorators and food servers for their holiday luncheon for transitional housing participants on December 20.

Senior meal delivery - Put smiles on the faces and warm the hearts of homebound seniors when you deliver meals at lunch time.

Feed the hungry - All area food banks are in need of food to meet increasing demand, including Church of Hope Food Pantry, Hunger Defense Fund and the SCV Food Pantry.

Anyone interested in finding out more about these opportunities or other ways to make a difference in the local community can call the Volunteer Resource Center at (661) 250-3720 or visit www.volunteerinscv.org.

"Make this a holiday to remember for the whole family," said Sharalyn Hamilton, executive director for the Volunteer Resource Center. "Most of these opportunities give families a chance to be involved together in making the holidays brighter for others."

About the Volunteer Resource Center of SCV

For more than a decade the Volunteer Resource Center of SCV has been assisting nonprofit, community, volunteer and youth organizations throughout the Santa Clarita Valley and nearby communities.

It is dedicated to bringing together local community-service organizations with business and residents to make the community a better place to live, work and thrive. In addition to providing volunteers, the resource center offers training and other tools to help local nonprofit and community-service organizations better serve their constituents.

For more information, visit www.volunteerinscv.org.