Volunteer Connection Service Bulletin: November 12, 2004
A bi-weekly newsletter of local service opportunities (also see the bulletin
archives)
November 12, 2004 ~ Fall 2004 #5
This
bulletin lists information about one-time and on-going service opportunities,
special events, and nonprofit agencies that we hope will help you get involved
in the community! If you’re a SCSU student, staff, or faculty member interested in volunteering,
but aren’t sure what agency would be a good fit, it might be helpful
to meet with the
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Tri-County Humane Society
The Tri-County Humane Society needs volunteers to staff their gift-wrapping booth at Crossroads Center. All proceeds from this fundraiser will support the animals at Tri-County Humane Society. A variety of shifts are available on December 5, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24.
If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact Lisa Ehrlichman or Jo Ann Huebsch at 252-0896.
St. Cloud Area Crisis Nursery
The St. Cloud Area Crisis Nursery needs one or two volunteers to help the Youth Intervention Program set up meetings with legislators at the capitol. Volunteers would work 5 hours a week for 4 weeks from the middle of January until February 14. Volunteers must have a phone. A script is available for volunteers to use to talk with legislators. If you are interested or would like more information, please contact Carol at (320) 282-2143 or scloudcn@lssmn.org.
Catholic Charities
Catholic Charities needs your help THIS Saturday, November 13. 98 Country's morning stars, Mike Reagen and Kelli Gorr, will be collecting food donations at Cashwise, packing it onto a bus, and then driving the bus to the food shelf to unload it. We need 5 or 6 students to help us unload the groceries, bring them into the food shelf, and then weigh them. This project should take less than one hour! Volunteers will meet Rosanne Healey at the food shelf on 157 Roosevelt Road, St. Cloud (in back of Tenvorde Ford), at 5:45 PM this Saturday, Nov. 13. Help ensure that no one goes hungry over the upcoming holidays!
If you can help, please contact Diane Swenson, Volunteer Coordinator, as soon as possible at 650-1559 or (320) 267-2590.
Also, Catholic Charities' Annual Mardi Gras Benefit will take place February 5, 2005. The event will raise funds for transitional house and food shelf, emergency clothing, and financial assistance programs. The theme for the celebration is "All That Glitters." They need volunteers with carpentry experience to create city backdrops and sets to be displayed the night of the event. They ask that volunteers give 10 hours between now and February. Catholic Charities also needs volunteers to spend 2-3 hours per week designing and creating decorations. If you love to draw, paint, and create, this is the perfect opportunity! For further information on the Annual Mardi Gras Benefit, call Diane Swenson at (320) 650-1559.
YMCA Metro
The YMCA Metro Internship: A Community in Action program is still looking to fill internship opportunities. For this internship, you may choose one of two tracks: 1) Nonprofit interns are paired with a nonprofit company in the Twin Cities area and work 10 hours per week from November 15 through May. 2) Corporate interns are paired with a corporation or large company in the Twin Cities area and work 20 hours per week from January through May.
Both areas participate in Monday night seminars during spring semester, which are 4-6 PM, and talk about business ethics, social responsibility, leadership, and professional development. Upon completion of the program, interns will receive 6 credits and a $1000 scholarship. Note: work-study students must participate in the nonprofit track and will receive $10/hour instead of the $1000 scholarship.
Please contact metrointern@hotmail.com for more information or stop in at the U-YMCA on University Avenue for more information!
Birthline
Birthline, Inc. is a non-profit agency that promotes respect for life at all stages of development and educates young people on the values and behaviors that prevent crisis pregnancies. They need phone volunteers to answer the helpline in their own homes and assist callers with concerns regarding an unplanned pregnancy and others issues relating to pregnancy. They also need mentoring volunteers to meet with clients to discuss concerns regarding pregnancy. They ask that volunteers be caring, non-judgmental, and able to keep information confidential. Volunteers must participate in a two-day training course on November 19-20 in order to begin working with clients.
For more information, please contact Kim or Rebecca at (320) 252-4150.
Place of Hope
Place of Hope promotes healing to individuals and families and provides opportunities for spiritual growth by enabling people to become independent and self-sufficient. They need volunteers or groups of volunteers to sort, label, and organize clothing. This opportunity takes place at the drop-in Outreach Center that serves people who are homeless or need help meeting their basic needs.
For more information, contact Pastor Jean Smith at pastorcj@placeofhopeministeries.org.
St. Joseph Community Food Shelf
St. Joseph Community Food Shelf serves 35-45 families a month and distributes educational materials. They need food donations by November 17 in order to make Thanksgiving food baskets for local community members. They also request donations of food and clothing by December 14 to provide Christmas gifts.
For more information about donating, please call Ann Scherer at (320) 363-4179.
Sauk Rapids/Rice School District
The Sauk Rapids-Rice School Volunteer Program provides opportunities for parents and community members to become involved in the education of students in a positive and constructive manner. They need volunteers at the elementary level to help students academically and help teachers with sorting, filing, or classroom supervision. Volunteers should enjoy working with elementary age students, have transportation, and enjoy doing a variety of tasks.
As well, The Sauk Rapids-Rice School District needs volunteers to help in an elementary special education class any day of the week between 9-11 AM. They are also looking for classroom volunteers. Times and days vary.
For further information, please contact Bobbi Murphy at (320) 258-1733.
St. Cloud Hospital
The St. Cloud Hospital needs volunteers to greet and assist guests and support other staff in various departments when needed. They need volunteers who are friendly and personable. Come with a smile and welcome others to the hospital. They also need volunteers at the Divine Café, a coffee shop that provides services for people who have limited time to eat. Volunteers will assist with tray and menu selections and help keep this fast paced environment running. If you enjoy working with people, then these are perfect opportunities for you!
For more information, please contact Alison Bossen at (320) 251-2700, ext. 54577.
Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Central Minnesota
Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Central Minnesota is searching for mentors to work with 2nd and 4th grade students, offering homework help and friendship. Times for mentoring are flexible between 3:00 and 6:00 PM, Monday through Friday. A commitment of at least one hour per week is required. Spanish speaking skills are a huge plus!
For more information, please contact Jennifer Walker at (320) 253-1616.
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army has many opportunities to get involved this holiday season. They need volunteers to complete the following projects:
- wrap presents for the children of prison inmates in mid-November
- distribute food, clothing and toys on December 20-23 from 8 AM - 4 PM.
- serve as drivers and provide trucks to pick up food, clothing and toys and bring these items to the St. Cloud Armory on December 20 - 21
- serve as bell ringers from November 19 - December 14
- work at the "Giving Tree" at Crossroads Mall November 29-December 19 from 10 AM - 9 PM
For more information on these opportunities, please call Jan Henning at (320) 252-4552.
Holiday Dinner
Christmas is just around the corner and volunteers are needed at the "19th Annual Dinner with Santa." They are looking for individuals to play Santa and Mrs. Santa and provide their own costumes and accessories. This event takes place at the Holiday Inn on December 20 from 4:45 - 8:00 p.m. Residents from area nursing homes and senior centers will be the guests at this event. Volunteers will receive a free dinner after the event is over.
For more information, please contact Kim Poganski at (320) 656-3490.
Foley Nursing Center
Foley Nursing Center needs the following items: 25-50 piece puzzles, Lincoln logs, colored pencils, tag board, paint by numbers, felt and marker pictures, CDs, portable CD players with a headset, radios with cassette players, and seasonal decorations. Help bring joy to the lives of others!
For more information on donating these items, please contact Diane at (320) 968-6201.
Caritas Emergency Services
Caritas Emergency Services, a program of Catholic Charities, is collecting toys for children in the St. Cloud, Sauk Rapids-Rice, and Sartell-St. Stephen school districts. They are again partnering with the St. Cloud Area Marine Corps League by sponsoring Toys for Tots. They need local businesses and offices to host a box where toys can be dropped off. The Marine Corps League will deliver the boxes to the sites throughout the St Cloud area starting the weekend of November 20th. They will empty the boxes regularly during the holiday season.
If you would like a Toys for Tots box in your business or office, please call Rosanne from Catholic Charities at (320) 229-4560 or Steve Titus from the Marine Corps League at (320) 253-7180.
St. Cloud Area EITC/Tax Assistance Coalition
The St. Cloud Area EITC/Tax Assistance Coalition provides education and outreach to low income, working community members. They are currently organizing tax preparation sites for families. They need volunteers at various tax preparation sites throughout the St. Cloud area. The various opportunities include tax site preparers and reviewers, tax site assistants, technology and computer assistants, and translators. The sites will begin the last week of January and run until April 15, 2005. The St. Cloud Area EITC/Tax Assistance Coalition will provide training sometime in late November or early December.
For more information, please call JeriAnne Collins at (320) 251-1612.
City of St. Cloud
The City of St. Cloud is looking for an individual to serve on the St. Cloud Library Board. The Board oversees building related issues, and approves and monitors budget proposals for building operations and maintenance of the St. Cloud Public Library. Board members can serve three-year terms commencing January 1 and can serve two full terms. The Board meets the third Tuesday of even numbered months at 7:30 PM. Members are appointed by the Mayor and approved by the City Council.
For more information, contact Jennifer Burrows at (320) 650-3105.
Raising More Money
Raising More Money, an organization that trains and coaches nonprofit organizations to implement a mission-based system for raising sustainable funding, is offering a free training opportunity for nonprofits on November 23 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM at the St. Cloud Area Family YMCA, 1530 Northway Dr., St. Cloud, MN 56303. This session will provide an overview of the Raising More Money ModelÒ and offer instruction in how to leave a legacy of mission-centered individual giving, how to identify and introduce ideal donors to your organization, and how to personally cultivate people to become lifelong donors. The session is free and advance registration is required.
To register, go to http://form.raisingmoremoney.com/calendar/midwest.asp, scroll down to this session, and click RSVP. If you have any questions, please contact Elizabeth Case at 206-709-9400 ext. 136 or elizabeth.case@raisingmoremoney.com.
The Volunteer Connection Service Bulletin is brought to you by the staff of the St. Cloud State University Volunteer Connection program:
Laura Merrill, Volunteer Connection Coordinator, 308-5693
lcmerrill@stcloudstate.edu,
Atwood 139
Maren Greathouse, Graduate Assistant, 308-3058
greatm01@stcloudstate.edu,
Atwood 139
Eveily Freeman, AmeriCorps member, Service-Learning Coordinator, 308-3898
elfreeman@stcloudstate.edu,
Atwood 139
Additional volunteer information is available from:
- Volunteer Central MN is a service of the United Way of Central Minnesota that instantly links you to volunteer opportunities that match your interest, skills, and schedule, visit www.unitedwayhelps.org.
- Z-Club, a SCSU student organization that promotes service opportunities, has weekly meetings Wednesday’s at 4:00pm in the Lady’s Slipper Room in Atwood. For more information look at their web site www.geocities.com/zclubscsu/home.html or email zclubscsu@hotmail.com.
- Volunteer Connection website has info about special events, non-profit agencies, and archives of all past Service Bulletins: www.stcloudstate.edu/volunteer.
*NEW* Bulletin Information
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