Several Cy-Fair organizations are in need of volunteers this holiday season, ranging from food banks to senior centers.

The Vaughn Gage Senior Center is on track to open in early 2013, but volunteers from the community and the Senior Citizens Bureau—the nonprofit building the center—are already gearing up for the holiday season.

Vaughn Gage is partnering with the Holiday Project, a national organization, to volunteer at nursing homes on Christmas Day and deliver handmade cards to the residents.

"We're getting as many people as we can to volunteer at nursing homes on Christmas Day so [the residents] aren't alone on Christmas," said Asheva Phillips, founder and president of the Senior Citizens Bureau.

The center will also give away 25 turkeys for Thanksgiving to low-income seniors in Cy-Fair, donated by the Kroger at Jones and Cypress N. Houston roads.

"We have a lot of support behind us," Phillips said.

Cypress Assistance Ministries is an organization dedicated to assisting those in financial crisis or on the verge of homelessness, the elderly and the disadvantaged through programs, donations and volunteer efforts.

Existing programs include adult education courses, ongoing food drives, employment assistance and vouchers for clothing, shoes and other necessities. For the holiday season, Cypress Assistance Ministries is holding a special food drive to collect canned goods and other non-perishable items. Each client of the ministry will be given a toiletry bag for Christmas, which will include items such as toilet paper, laundry detergent and soap.

Donations should be dropped off at 11202 Huffmeister Road by Dec. 17.

The Holiday Project is a program within Volunteer Houston that visits assisted living homes throughout the year to give gifts, themed cards and friendly conversation to those who may be alone during the holidays. For the past 10 years, the Grace Care Center of Cypress has participated in the event.

"The purpose of this [project] is to help brighten up [our client's] Christmas morning," said Donna Martin, community liaison with Grace Care Center of Cypress. "The Holiday Project volunteers bring energy and help brighten their day. We will bring about 15 volunteers to each home to pass out cards and visit with them."

More than 100 stops have been planned for the Thanksgiving holiday, with about 20 already scheduled for Christmas morning, Martin said.

"The more volunteers we get the more homes we will be able to schedule for a visit," she said. "There's a lot of people looking for volunteer opportunities during this time. This is a program for all ages. We are also looking for [business] partners for the Holiday Project. We want to make more people aware of it."

Events are typically held the Saturday before specific holidays, and opportunities will be offered at the Volunteer Houston office on Richmond Avenue, the Grace Care Center of Katy on West Fernhurst Drive and the Grace Care Center of Cypress at 9602 Huffmeister Road.

"Our volunteers always say that they come to bless the residents, but they leave blessed themselves," Martin said.