Today, I had the wonderful fortune of volunteering at Bridging, a Bloomington-based nonprofit that provides furniture and home goods to families in need.

I was joined by a handful of other Patch employees, and together we spent the afternoon in a 58,000-square-foot warehouse, unloading new donations and moving other pieces into trucks—trucks that will be delivering much needed furniture to Twin Cities families on Friday morning.

In 2011, Bridging expects to serve roughly 5,000 households—or more than 13,000 individuals—by providing items as large as new sofas and dressers, to things as small as lamps and forks.

If you have unused home goods in good condition that you could donate, Bridging invites you to stop by during all hours of operation—no appointment necessary. The nonprofit also can arrange to come and pick up larger items for you.

In addition to donating home goods, you can donate your time, like I did today. Bridging is a great place for larger groups to schedule volunteer outings. Individuals can also sign up for at least 20 hours of volunteering over a six month period. For more on volunteer opportunities at Bridging, see here.