Category: Volunteer Opportunities

The Down Syndrome Guild of Greater Kansas City’s mission is to provide support and resources for individuals with Down syndrome, their families and the professionals who serve them. DSG seeks to provide the entire community with information and education to broaden awareness and foster positive attitudes regarding people with Down syndrome.

DSG offers programming for outreach, community awareness, and education! For example they hold the Step Up for Down Syndrome Walk, do a Meal Voucher Program, offer conference scholarships, peer presentations,  seminars, workshops and more.

If this cause is of interest to you, make sure to check out their volunteer web page today!

Shepherd’s Center Central is a local leader in the regional effort to ensure that all people can age successfully. Their mission is to empower midlife and older adults to live healthy, engaged, and independent lives. Some of their programming includes:

Adventures in Learning
An interfaith, multi-cultural, and community-based program, Adventures in Learning meets 40 Fridays a year with an array of classes and luncheon speakers. The program is geared toward older adults who want to continue learning, become engaged in the community, and make new friends.

Meals on Wheels
The Meals on Wheels program at Shepherd’s Center Central mobilizes volunteers to deliver hot, nutritious meals to individuals, age 60+, who are homebound and live in the area of 31st Street to 85th Street and Stateline to east of Highway 71 in Kansas City, MO.

KC Rakes!
KC Rakes provides free yard raking service in the Kansas City service area for adults, over the age of 65, who own their home, cannot afford to pay for yard services, don’t have family who can assist them, and who can no longer do yard work on their own.

Medicare Counseling
Medicare Counseling provides information, assistance and encouragement to individuals and families in matters related to Medicare and related retirement living.

Senior Companion Program
This project trains and supervises adults 55+ to serve as helping companions to provide assistance and friendship to older adults that are at-risk or adults with disabilities so that they can maintain their independence in their own home. The Senior Companion Program is a project with the Corporation for National and Community Service since 1981.

 

Volunteers can interact with a variety of different programs! If you’re interested visit their website for more information.

The Shawnee Indian Mission is hosting their Annual Spring Clean and Volunteer Service Project on April 7th. There will be many projects for volunteers to complete indoors and out. If you’re interested, contact Jennifer Laughlin at jlaughlin@fairwaykansas.org. Make sure to wear comfortable clothes and shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty. Lunch will be provided! Feel free to bring friends, family, and children to help out! Here’s the details:

Saturday, April 7 from 9am to 12pm

Shawnee Indian Mission, East building (parking lot is available on the far east side of the property or two smaller lots off of 53^rd St)

3403 W. 53^rd Street

Fairway, KS 66205

913-262-0687 (Jennifer’s office line), or Jennifer’s Cell as needed 816-898-1407

 

Happy volunteering!

Although you wouldn’t know it today, spring is coming! Which means planting season is just around the corner. Cultivate KC is looking for an individual to help put together seed packets on Tuesday and/or Thursday mornings at the Juniper Gardens Office in Kansas City, KS. Cultivate KC is a locally-grown non-profit working to grow food, farms and communities for a healthy local food system. If you’re interested, email Taylor at volunteer@cultivatekc.org.

Don’t forget JCCC is going to Cultivate KC on March 30th to help out on the farm! If you’re interested or would like to know more, you can sign up here.

Bring on the spring!

Job Olympics is a competition designed to promote employability skills for high school students in special education. Each year, Job Olympics brings together over 500 students from 40 schools to JCCC. They compete in a variety of events. A competition of this magnitude requires plenty of volunteers and Job Olympics is seeking your help! They are looking for student volunteers, judges, and captains for events.

Students:
They need 1-2 students in each event. These students will help the judges enter the judging information and assist in the room. Ideally these students will be confident with electronics & confident in talking to adults. Accounting, Excel, and Google docs knowledge is a bonus. These students must be willing to assist in with any event, any judge & any captain. Friends will not be paired together. Sign up here. 

If you’re interested in judging events, you can sign up here. And if you’re interested in being a captain, you can sign up here.

Please visit www.ksjobolympics.com for more information. You may also seek additional information from the CLEAR program on campus by visiting COM 312, calling ext. 3247, or sending an email to clear@jccc.edu.

Happy Monday! What better way to start off the week then to add some volunteering to your calendar and have something good for the soul to look forward to. The community needs you!

Cherith Brook Catholic Worker’s Second Saturday Work day is coming up on March 10th from 9am-12pm. They will put you to work cooking lunch, sorting food donations, gardening, etc. Afterward, everyone enjoys table fellowship together.

Please RSVP as soon as possible so they can plan projects. You can call (816) 241-8047 or email at cherithbrookkcmo@gmail.com. They are located at 3308 E. 12th St. in KCMO.

As always, if you want to help even more, Cherith Brook always needs volunteers on shower mornings on Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday from 8am to 11:30am. You can join in serving breakfast, doing dishes or cleaning showers.

Art With a Heart provides a hands-on visual arts experience to educate and inspire at-risk children. Their vision is that all children, regardless of background, have the opportunity to improve their quality of life through artistic expression.

Here’s how you can help!

Current Volunteer Opportunities:

Creative Classroom Connections:

• Volunteer this school year! Opportunities are available NOW for their Creative Classroom Connections program. Join Art With a Heart in providing high quality art experiences in multiple sites around Indy. Programming begins the week of September 11. No art experience necessary; bring your heart for kids and your smiling face and they will train you on everything else!  Email Mica atvolunteer@artwithaheart.us with any questions. Sites and times are listed here.

After School Programs

• Help Art With a Heart provide programming at various sites after school this fall! They need volunteers to assist teachers in setup, project work, and clean up. No art experience is necessary, just a happy attitude and a love for kids! Email Mica at volunteer@artwithaheart.us with any questions. Sites and times are listed below.
• Westminster Center: Wednesdays from 4:45-6:15 (2 volunteers needed)
• Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center: Wednesdays from 3:45-5:15 (3 volunteers needed)

Special Events:

• They need volunteers for the Feast of Lanterns Festival on August 26^th from 3pm – 9:30 pm at Spades Park. They need shifts filled from 3-5 pm ; 5-7 pm; 8-9:30 pm. It will be a really fun event! Here is the website with more information: https://indyfol.org/ Email Leah at community@artwithaheart.us to volunteer for this opportunity.

Host a Hearts on Display exhibit of student art:

• At home, at work or in their studio.  This is an exhibit of original and reproduction student art that raises awareness of Art With a Heart and illustrates the remarkable work that students produce in their programs.  It’s a fun event where people are invited to come and learn more about the work and understand the particular niche that Art With a Heart occupies in the art education landscape. Contact Andrew Lee at alee@artwithaheart.us or (317) 966-6920 for more information.

 

Click here to learn more!

Hope everyone had a good snow day! For those of you interested in service, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society is sponsoring a couple service events  this spring! Both events are on Fridays from 1-3pm. We will take JCCC vans to and from the locations so plan to be gone from about 12:30-3:30pm. Below is a poster with more information. Come sign the travel packets in COM 201 if you’re interested!

Stay warm out there!

I don’t know about you, but some of my best memories growing up were going to the library with my parents. When I was broke in college, it was a great way for me to always have something new to read and to rent DVD’s. In grad school, I was there almost every day doing research for my thesis. Now that I have nieces and nephews, I love taking them to the library for story time. The library is not only a center for learning, but also a center of the community. The Kansas City Public Library in particular has amazing programs that help the community and, of course, they need volunteers! Here are a few volunteer opportunities that came across my desk today:

Refugee & Immigrant Services & Empowerment (RISE)

Help KC immigrants and refugees learn English or become citizens. Commit 2-4 hours per week to help patrons increase English proficiency and more.

1. English for Citizenship Tutor: Assist instructor in weekly classes (Wednesday 6-8 pm) designed to help patrons develop the English language skills necessary to successfully become U.S. citizens.
2. Citizenship Interview Practice Mentor: Work one-on-one with patrons who are applying for U.S. Citizenship, focusing primarily on the eligibility interview itself.
3. English in Action – Conversation Mentor (NEW!): Work one-on-one with patrons who want to improve their English. Volunteers will meet for two hours per week with the same patrons in order to develop a relationship and practice cultural exchange. Only at library branches.
4. English Language Learner Instructor: Lead small life skills-based English classes for beginning to intermediate English speakers.

To find full position descriptions: http://www.kclibrary.org/community-services/immigrant-services/rise-volunteer

 

Digital Literacy Facilitators: Tech Coach

Help KC adults reach across the digital divide. Commit 4 hours per month to help patrons develop basic computer and internet skills, create and use email and social media accounts, build resumes and more. Morning, afternoon, or evening times are available Mon-Sat.

1. Drop-in Sessions: Be available to answer questions in a welcoming, open computer lab environment. Stationed at a designated area within the library, assist patrons on a first-come, first-served basis.
2. One-on-One Appointments: Ogren our learners have very specific questions or goals and learn most efficiently through direct personal assistance. Based on YOUR schedule and availability, you can accept digital learning appointment requests from patrons. The library provides computers and a safe space for you to help patrons reach their personal digital literacy goals.
3. Learning Circles (NEW!): Facilitate a small study group as they meet in-person weekly to take a free online course together. No need to be an expert, the course is the teacher. Meet for 1.5 hours weekly for 3-6 weeks.

To find full position descriptions: http://www.kclibrary.org/techcoach

 

Outreach Street Team

(NEW! Launching in April)

The library is seeking volunteers who are passionate and enthusiastic about the Library and its importance to our patrons and local community. Commit 4 hours per month for 3 months. Volunteers need to be willing to learn about library resources, programs, and services. They should also be personable and comfortable working with diverse and vulnerable populations.

Full position description available upon request.

 

Geeks Wanted to mentor teens at the Southeast Branch 

(NEW! Launching soon)

Recently, the Southeast Branch built a STEM lab that is intended supplement the tech science lessons students receive during the school day. The grand opening happens soon and volunteer mentors are being recruited by Andrea Ellis at 816-701-3733 or AndreaEllis@kclibrary.org

 

Happy Volunteering!

There are times when caring for a loved one at home is simply not possible. When symptoms cannot be managed at home, or when families are having difficulty coping, hospice care can provide a warm, homelike setting for that special loved one. Harbor Hospice is dedicated to providing care and comfort to terminally ill patients and their families. In addition, they are committed to educating the community and increasing awareness of the hospice concept of care among medical professionals, lay persons, clergy and those in need of a compassionate approach of care.

Volunteers make a huge difference at Harbor Hospice. It takes a very special, caring person to give of themselves as unselfishly as a patient care volunteer. If you’d like to be a part of the Harbor Hospice team, here are some examples of the activities you can assist with:

• reading to a patient, or holding a hand
• staying with a patient while family members take a needed break or keep an appointment
• shopping or doing errands for a patient
• helping patients write or tell their life stories
• light household chores
• providing help with makeup and hair
• Veterans needed to honor Veteran patients at bedside/share stories together
• working on crafts or other projects
• clerical and other office duties

Visit their website for more information. If you’re interested, contact Kelsey Davis: 913-291-1883.