Volunteer Spotlight: Compassion Week, a Collective Los Altos Effort

Since its inception at the Los Altos United Methodist Church (LAUMC) in 2013, more than 14,800 volunteers have participated in Compassion Week activities, supporting over 50 nonprofits. Sacred Heart is one of these partners and has worked with LAUMC for over a decade to bring volunteers and services to our community.

Compassion Week brings people of all ages and abilities together for a week in October to build a strong, compassionate, and empathetic community. Through volunteer opportunities, participants expand their understanding of local and global needs. Operated in partnership with multiple local faith communities (Catholic, Episcopalian, Latter Day Saints, Lutheran, Methodist, and Muslim communities), the Los Altos Mountain View Community Foundation, and Fremont Bank, Compassion Week encourages individuals, groups and families to engage in acts of service.

“People of all ages are strongly encouraged to participate and we find that we have a good number of families finding opportunities to serve together. We also have a large number of teens signing up from the local schools, including St. Francis in Mountain View, Pinewood in Los Altos, Mountain View and Los Altos High Schools. Even the local middle schools bring on considerable student participation. We are always looking for ways to provide student leadership opportunities as we prepare and carry out our projects. We have had over 3200 volunteers in 2021; we are so grateful for the gifts they bring to our local neighborhoods as well as to a number of global agencies.”

Through their collective faith and community efforts, LAUMC and Compassion Week provided Sacred Heart with 250 Survival Kits for our unhoused neighbors and a financial contribution that will support our efforts to combat food insecurity. To be a community united this holiday season, we need allies like LAUMC and Compassion Week partners to continue supporting our efforts.