Category: Volunteer Opportunities

Sharon Butler Payne from Bra Couture KC spoke at JCCC today and was so inspiring. She founded Bra Couture KC in 2011 and it has made such a huge difference in the Kansas City area since then. Her passion for helping cancer survivors is so evident and contagious. If you haven’t heard of this great organization, keep reading, here’s a little background info and how you can help!

The mission of Bra Couture KC is to provide life-empowering services to uninsured and underinsured individuals in the greater Kansas City area who have been touched by all cancers.

Their signature annual event is a unique and fun auction and runway show featuring cancer survivors modeling eclectic couture designed bras to celebrate their triumph over cancer. A tribute to survivors’ fighting spirit, Bra Couture KC donates funds to Kansas City service providers, such as the University Of Kansas Cancer Center, who support uninsured/underinsured men, women, and children touched by all cancers and has raised close to $2m in the past eight years.

This event is totally volunteer driven! If you want to help, click here to see their volunteer opportunities.

You can also help by creating and donating a bra! The deadline is coming up on March 1st, but we all might be stuck indoors this weekend due to weather, what better way to pass the time then to lend your artistic abilities to a great cause! Check out the design guidelines here.

Happy volunteering!

Tara

Green Works in Kansas City is committed to providing high-quality educational and workforce opportunities to motivated young people living in the urban neighborhoods served by the Kansas City Public Schools. Through an environmental education platform, they teach students about the environment and involve them in meaningful service projects. In their Excelerate program, Green Works provides career exploration, teaches job and life skills, and offers digital and financial literacy trainings to prepare students for summer internships and life after high school.

They welcome interested individuals to become Green Works volunteers for their Excelerate or environmental programs. And they value partnerships with local businesses and organizations, as these connections open doors for their students and positively impact their futures.

Learn more about how to get involved here!

Happy volunteering!

Bridging The Gap works to make the Kansas City region sustainable by “connecting environment, economy and community,” and is the premier organization in the area providing environmental education and volunteer action through more than 1,500 volunteers annually. They are looking for volunteers for next Saturday, 2/23 from 1-4pm, to do some ecological restoration! You’ll need to layer up for this annual Long Johns and Loppers work day!

There are two different sites:

Ernie Miller Prairie, Olathe KS. Sign Up.
Hidden Valley Natural Area, northland KCMO. Sign Up.

They need 25 more volunteers at each site – so sign up today! Let them know if you have a group. Your work will help native plants and wildlife thrive!

Happy Volunteering!

Happy Friday volunteers!

If you are looking for a volunteer experience where you get put to work and can get your hands dirty, then a Cherith Brook Workday might be the place for you! This month their work day is on February 9 from 9am-12pm. They will put you to work cooking lunch, sorting food and clothing donations, cleaning, and working outside (weather permitting). Afterwards, you can enjoy lunch and table fellowship with Cherith Brook and the other volunteers.

If you’re interested, please RSVP by February 4th by calling 816-241-8047 or emailing cherithbrookkcmo@gmail.com.

They are located at 3308 E. 12th St, KCMO 64127.

I’m back! Hope everyone is staying warm out there! Because this is my first post of the semester, I want to take a second to restate the mission and purpose of this blog. Then, I have some opportunities to share as well.

As the Community-Based Learning Coordinator of JCCC, part of my mission in this role is reciprocity. I spend a lot of time making sure that students at JCCC get to volunteer, have a good experience while they volunteer, and I do everything I can to ensure they are learning from their volunteering. It is important to me that JCCC students are benefiting from service and from service learning. That being said, it also important to me that JCCC is helping to meet community needs. It’s not just about the students’ needs, I’m also responsible for doing what I can to help the nonprofits I have partnerships with as well. Not all nonprofits have opportunities that correlate well with service learning. That does not make these needs any less important! That is the main purpose of this blog. Not only is it a great place for students, staff, and faculty to learn about nonprofits in the community and find out about volunteer opportunities, but also it is a place where nonprofits’ needs can be advertised.

Now, back to business! Recent volunteer opportunities that have come across my desk:

Reach Out and Read,  an organization that advocates for childhood literacy, is having a big book sorting event on Saturday March 23rd from 9am-12pm. If you’re interested let Marianne know by March 18th.

Communities in Schools of Mid-America is an agency that surrounds students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life. They needs tutors for Math, English, and Science on Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:40-4pm and Thursdays from 7:30-8:30am. If you are interested, let Ramsha know!

Freedom Hoops uses basketball to mentor and transform urban youth. They need help with tutoring on Tuesdays from 6:00-7:45pm. Here is the link to their Volunteer Interest Form.

There are so many agencies doing amazing things for Kansas City. Keep checking back for more opportunities to help them carry out their missions!

And tell your friends!

Happy Volunteering!

I received this email today, how can you say no to those adorable kittens!?

“Hi,

I’m a graduate of JCCC (and Avila University), and I’ve got a great community based learning opportunity for animal lovers.  Heart of America Humane Society needs your help!  It’s a wonderful organization that works with the Lee’s Summit Animal Shelter and PetSmart to help homeless animals find their forever homes.  Currently, HAHS is in great need of additional foster families for cats, and I would love it if you would put the word out and add our organization to your roster of worthy causes.  Our family volunteers with and fosters for HAHS, and it is a wonderful group of people.  Fostering provides the bridge between the shelter or the streets and an animal’s forever home.  And, of course, it’s a great way for students to help the community, both human and feline (or canine, if they prefer).

Any JCCC students or staff who are interested can contact Erin Ronan, Jenna Schipull or me.  We’d be happy to answer any questions.  Students or their parents can email, call or text me, or visit us in person at adoption events at the PetSmart at 115^th and Metcalf in Overland Park on Saturdays from Noon to 3 p.m.  I can’t say enough positive things about the value of fostering and the great people I’ve met at HAHS.

Thank you for your consideration.

Heather MacKenzie
913/897-6636 (Home Office)
913/220-5526 (iPhone)”

If you’re looking for somewhere to volunteer over the holidays with your family, make sure to check out Phoenix Family. You can help low-income seniors by serving a meal, leading some party games, and all the while getting to know some amazing seniors.

This is a perfect chance to volunteer as a family, with a group of friends, or with a team of co-workers. Individual volunteers are always welcome as well! Dates fill up fast, so don’t miss the chance to participate in this beloved tradition.

Click here to sign up, email April at adenatale@phoenixfamily.org for questions.

Happy Volunteering!

Check out Community LINC’s volunteer opportunities here to see how you can help people like Irma.

Happy volunteering!

Part of the joy of the holidays is the food. I know for me, I love it when my Grandma makes my favorite banana cookies and I could eat green bean casserole for every meal. So many memories are made around the dining room table. Traditions are carried out in and around the kitchen. For many though, the holiday meal is not a certainty. So while you’re preparing for your family’s thanksgiving this year, don’t forget about all the families that could use your help.

Harvesters is a great agency to give to during the holidays, as their mission is to feed hungry people today and work to end hunger tomorrow. They have three holiday programs that can help your neighbors have a better holiday season:

1. The first one is my favorite, Harvey’s Holiday Box Hunt gets the whole family involved in giving back. Click here to learn more about a game that gets children excited about helping families in need and gives parents an opportunity to talk to kids about hunger.
2. Donate to your Holiday Boxes Virtual Food Drive – Every donation to Harvester’s Virtual Food Drive helps them provide the food, transportation, and resources to get Holiday Boxes out efficiently in time for the holidays. Donate now at holidayboxes.harvestersvfd.org. 
3. Host a Holiday Boxes Food Drive – Contact the Harvesters team at getinvolved@harvesters.org before starting your drive. We can provide you with resources like boxes, personalized “This box was packed by” cards, tips and tricks to make your drive run smoothly and more.

Each Holiday box should include the following items:
– 1 Package Stuffing Mix
– 1 16 oz Can Sweet Potatoes
– 1 16 oz Can Cranberry Sauce
– 1 16 oz Can Corn
– 2 16 oz Cans Green Beans
– 1 Package Gravy Mix
– 1 Package Corn Bread Mix
– 1 Package Instant Mashed Potatoes
– 1 16 oz Can Cream of Mushroom Soup

Start off this holiday season right by giving back!