There are many ways you can help people and animals in need with your colleagues and loved ones this month.

To celebrate the cooler temperatures, HandsOn Greater Phoenix has launched a new volunteer event, Fall into Service, which continues through Dec. 15. The goal is to inspire as many volunteers as possible to give back in the community while enjoying the great weather and getting ready for the holiday season.

Many different types of volunteer opportunities are available through HandsOn Greater Phoenix, including reading to children in a Salvation Army emergency shelter and sorting and packing food at St. Mary’s Food Bank. Another volunteer service involves playing with potbelly pigs and cleaning areas at Better Piggies Rescue. HandsOn Greater Phoenix already has coordinated corporate teams with Plexus that provided basic needs kits to homeless veterans. It also has been engaging with teams virtually and expanded projects by adding a literacy-based Reading Rocks kit and holiday-themed project, “Santa’s Stockings.” The organization is grateful to Desert Financial Credit Union, American Express and Prudential for giving back to the community via the Zoom video chat program.

If you would like to volunteer for one of the events, visit www.handsonphoenix.org/calendar.