Category: Volunteer Opportunities

The mission of the Guadalupe Centers is to improve the quality of life for individuals in the Latino communities of Greater Kansas City.  One way you can help them achieve their mission is by volunteering at their Thanksgiving Luncheon on:

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

12:30pm – 2pm

The Guadalupe Centers catering staff and many dedicated volunteers anticipate serving over 2,000 thanksgiving meals to client participants, including their students and their parents as well as senior adults and their social service clients.

This luncheon will also be FREE and open to the community.

If you would like to volunteer or make a donation, you can contact Alyx Bartrom at abartrom@guadalupecenters.org or call 816-421-1015.

Great Plains SPCA is one of the largest No-Kill animal shelters in Kansas City, offering comprehensive resources for animals that strengthen the relationship between pets and their human companions. Serving nearly 10,000 pets annually, Great Plains SPCA works to save, protect and improve the lives of animals, by providing humane sheltering, adoptions, unparalleled behavior and training.

Want to foster?

The Foster Care Program gives Great Plains SPCA the opportunity to save more pets in the community and is an integral part of what they do. Not all pets they serve are able to stay in the shelter for medical or behavioral reasons, so they turn to dedicated volunteer fosters to open their hearts and their homes while Great Plains SPCA finishes treatment for the pet or search for their “home.”

Some of the most common foster needs are:

• Pregnant or nursing moms
• Any pets under eight weeks of age (including bottle babies)
• Post-operative care or recovering from illness or injury
• Pets who are shelter stressed or dealing with other behavior issues
• Pets who need socialization to learn how to trust humans

Some pets just need short term (a few days to a few weeks) foster while others may require longer. Ultimately, it is up to you how long you want or can foster. The Foster Manager will work to match each foster parent with the best fit for their family.

By fostering a pet in your home you are opening another spot in the shelter to save a life. Having a pet in a home also gives the shelter more information to help match them successfully with a future adopter. Fostering is also very rewarding and allows you the chance to impact countless lives!

If you are interested in fostering one of Great Plains SPCA’s pets in need, you can fill out an online application here.

Happy Fostering!

Shawnee Community Services is dedicated to providing food, clothing and a body of knowledge to anyone in need. They are a local food pantry and free clothing resource that has been serving the KC metro since 1982. Here are some of their needs and opportunities to give back this holiday season:

• Food Donations! Food items are currently needed to fill 250 family holiday meal boxes. Suggested items include: Jiffy crust mix, cans of pasta sauce (no jars please), small boxes of white sugar, box mashed potatoes or scalloped potatoes, and canned carrots. Please have these food items at the pantry by November 11^th. (Items not needed: cranberry sauce, gravy, stuffing, and cream of mushroom soup, as these are already on hand).
• Adopt a family! Wanted: Families, church groups, individuals, and businesses are wanted to adopt families for Christmas. For more information, including family wishlists, contact Sylvia Terry at 913-268-7746.
• Save the date: Annual Children’s Christmas Party – Sunday, December 15^th at the Shawnee Civic Center. Volunteers (150), board games (350), coloring books (400), and small toys (400) are needed to make this free event happen. Call Sylvia at 913-268-7746 for further details.
• Come shop! Finally, don’t forget to support Shawnee Mission Services by shopping at their daily indoor garage sale! All proceeds allow them to continue offering free food, free clothes, and free household goods/furnishings for those in need. Check out their website for more info.

Happy Volunteering!

Phoenix Family empowers people living in low-income housing communities with the on-site support they need to gain stability and achieve self-sufficiency. The many family and senior communities they serve enjoy gathering for their annual Thanksgiving meals and they need lots of hands to make each meal possible.

Whether you have been a long time volunteer or this is your first Phoenix Family event, you are welcome to join! Families and groups are encouraged to volunteer too. These meals take place throughout the month of November so hopefully you can find a time to volunteer that fits your schedule. Each community truly enjoys taking time to celebrate the season and connect with volunteers and neighbors. Sign up here!

Email Ellen  (egude@Phoenixfamily.org) with any questions about signing up!

Happy Volunteering!

Roll up your sleeves, grab a rake, gather some of your favorite people and have a great time while making a difference in the lives of older adults in Kansas City. Shepherd’s Center’s goal this year is to help 50+ homeowners, and they need volunteer rake teams to make this happen!

Shepherd’s Center Central will partner with businesses, families, churches, schools, civic groups and individuals to rake yards for older adults who are no longer physically able to rake and can’t afford to hire help. Teams of 4-20 volunteers are assigned a yard (or yards).

Volunteer check in begins at 9 am at 5144 Oak St, Kansas City, MO 64112 on November 16th, 2019. Raking generally takes 2-3 hours per team.

You can view the event and signup here.

If you have any additional questions please feel free to contact Bobi at 816-444-1121 ext. 105 or bobi@sccentral.org

Happy Volunteering!

Goodwill is a partner with Disability Mentoring Day in KC. Disability Mentoring Day is a national effort coordinated by the American Association of Persons with Disabilities (AAPD) to promote career development for students and job-seekers with disabilities through hands-on career exploration and ongoing mentoring relationships.

During this day-long event, individual sessions are available for attendees to do mock interviews. Join them from 8:30am-10:30am to offer interview practice and constructive feedback for attendees.

Wednesday October 30th, 2019
8:30am-10:30am
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation Conference Center
4801 Rockhill Rd., Kansas City, MO

Click here for more info. Reach out to Brian Ellefson if you’re interested.

Happy Volunteering!

 

Kansas City WildLands is a coalition of resource professionals, private conservation organizations, and conservation-minded citizens established to restore and conserve the remnants of Kansas City’s original landscape by involving people in the stewardship of the land. And they have three volunteer opportunities coming up!

 

KC WildLands Restoration Workday
Saturday, November 2, 9AM to noon
Two sites to choose from

To Battle! Join in on the Annual Honeysuckle Battle to help restore Kansas City’s beautiful wild lands. On Saturday, November 2, Kansas City WildLands will host two public work days–one at Ogg Road Prairie in Shawnee Mission Park and one at the Hidden Valley natural area located north of the river. They will be cutting and stump treating exotic invasive shrub honeysuckle that threatens these remnant wild lands, opening the forest and woodlands up for native plants and wildlife to thrive again. What a beautiful way to spend a fall day!

Register for the Honeysuckle Battle at Ogg Road Prairie

Register for the Honeysuckle Battle at Hidden Valley natural area

Contact Linda, KCWL Program Manager, if you have any questions. linda@bridgingthegap.org

KC WildLands Restoration Workday
Saturday, November 9, 9AM to noon
Jerry Smith Prairie, south Kansas City

Come out and meet the prairie! This is a great day to get out on Jackson County’s only remnant prairie and work to restore its health and resiliency – what a wonderful, beautiful way to enjoy a fall day! Help hand-cut and stump-treat invading woody plants that threaten the beauty and health of this Kansas City remnant wild land, allowing the native grasses, flowers and wildlife to thrive. Training, tools, gloves and supplies will be provided. Plan to wear long pants and sturdy, closed-toe shoes.

Register here for the workday at Jerry Smith prairie

Contact Linda, KCWL Program Manager, if you have any questions. linda@bridgingthegap.org

KC WildLands Annual Cedar Tree Event
Saturday, December 7, several shifts available between 8:30 AM and 4 PM
Mildale Farm, Gardner, KS

They have limited but very important volunteer opportunities for the annual Cedar Tree Event! Volunteers jobs include set up, tree wrangling and helping visitors get oriented.

Click here to learn more about the Cedar Tree event.

Contact Linda, KCWL Program Manager, linda@bridgingthegap.org if you’d like to volunteer or have questions.

Happy Volunteering!

Reach Out and Read is a nonprofit organization that gives young children a foundation for success by incorporating books into pediatric care and encouraging families to read aloud together.

Volunteer readers can provide a positive reading experience for children in waiting rooms, as well as modeling reading aloud for parents. Volunteer readers show parents just how much fun reading with children can be, and provide helpful tips for getting children excited about books.

If you’re interested in helping out, they have two orientations for new volunteers coming up:

Tuesday, November 5th at 11:30am

Wednesday, December 11th at 3:30pm

Reach out to Jenny Horsley for questions and to sign up: jhorsley@kumc.edu.

Happy Volunteering!

The next Cherith Brook work day is coming up on October 12 from 9am-12pm. They will put you to work sorting food/clothing, cooking, cleaning, organizing, gardening, etc. and then feed you lunch.

When you go, you could also bring a donation! Their current needs are:

• smaller underwear (men and women)
• small men’s jeans
• sugar/creaner
• tennis shoes (men’s & women’s)
• one-ride bus passes
• OTC seasonal meds
• big bottles body wash
• TP
• reading glasses
• razors
• big bottles shampoo/conditioner
• Basmati rice
• quinoa

If you can’t come on the work day, you can also come on Monday, Tuesday or Thursday mornings.  They welcome new volunteers any of these days, starting at 8am. They could also use help making the breakfast the night before those mornings. If you and/or a small group want to work together to make a yummy meal, email  cherithbrookkcmo@gmail.com or leave a message at  816-241-8047.

Happy Volunteering!

Santa Marta is a continuing care retirement community serving Johnson County that is sponsored by the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. Santa Marta’s mission is to enable senior adults to live full and active lives within a secure, hospitable and faith-filled environment in accordance with Catholic traditions and values.

Santa Marta is looking for volunteers to participate in a new program called Music and Memory, which aims to improve the quality of life for their residents through music.

MUSIC & MEMORY® is a non-profit organization that brings personalized music into the lives of the elderly or infirm through digital music technology, vastly improving quality of life.

Volunteers would help create personalized playlists on iPods/MP3 Players based on an assessment with residents of the music that was popular during their formative years. There is training for volunteers that prepares them to create assessments, develop and manage appropriate playlists, and listen to music with residents to form constructive connections with the music.

This is a unique opportunity to help those struggling with Alzheimer’s, dementia and other cognitive physical challenges be empowered to re-engage with the world in a transformative way through their memories associated with music.

If you’re interested, reach out to Rachel Schuckman at rschuckman@santamartaretirement.com

Happy Volunteering!