Johnson County Community College
Champions Special Ministries is a non-profit, faith-based organization that provides services and programs for kids and adults with intellectual, physical, and developmental disabilities. Once a month Champions has events at Hillcrest Covenant Church (87th and Nall) that they could use some help with! They ask that volunteers are 15 years or older. Here is a flyer with more info:
Happy volunteering!
At animal shelters across the metro area, June is typically the busiest month for taking in new pets. This year, KC Pet Project unfortunately broke their May record by accepting 1,022 animals.
The goal for shelters is to keep the amount of time that each animal is in the shelter at a minimum. Shelters are stressful for pets and the sooner they leave the sooner a spot opens up for another animal to be helped.
So if you are looking for a new pet, now would be a great time. There are hundreds of animals looking for new homes. Great Plains SPCA is offering $25 for all adoptions until July 14 and all kittens are adopt one get one. KC Pet Project is offering $30 for dogs and $10 for cats for this weekend.
Another way to help is through donations and volunteering. KC Pet Project is asking for monetary donations or canned pet food. Great Plains SPCA is always accepting food and toys as well. This time of year they could use extra help from volunteers too! Here are the links to their volunteer web pages:
Great Plains SPCA | KC Pet Project
Have a good weekend and happy volunteering!
Goodwill is in the process of remodeling its Overland Park store and they need new merchandise for the sales floor. They have a lot of donations to process and are looking for volunteers to sort donations in this social and team friendly opportunity.
Three stores have product available to sort:
Overland Park – 7241 W. 135th Street Overland Park, KS 66223
Olathe – 16630 W. 135th Street Olathe, KS 66062
KC Northland – 4824 N. Oak Trafficway Kansas City, MO 64118
The shifts are typically from 10am-2pm or 2pm-6pm.
If you have a team of people who want to help out, but the shifts offered aren’t ideal, just let them know – they are able to work with your schedule too. Contact us at 816-842-7425 or volunteer@mokangoodwill.org.
Don’t forget that sales in Goodwill stores support their mission to empower job seekers with disadvantages and different abilities to earn and keep employment.
Happy Volunteering!
Severe weather has been impacting folks across the Midwest and the country these past few weeks. What can we do to help in our own backyard? Here’s what I’ve found:
Here are three ways you can donate to the Red Cross to help people in need:
Financial gifts enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small. If you want to help further, you can also sign up to become a volunteer at www.redcross.org
If you were in the area of severe storms and need to pass along that you’re okay, or want to check on someone, click this link for the Red Cross’ “Safe and Well” feature.
2. In Kansas City, Heart to Heart International stationed its mobile medical unit at Linwood Elementary School in Leavenworth County for those who needed help.
They will continue to provide relief in these areas over the next couple of weeks. Click here to learn more and donate.
3. Those living in Kansas who want to volunteer to help with cleanup and rebuilding efforts can call 211.
The number will connect you to 211 of the Great Plains and the United Way who will then connect you with people across the state in need of help. Those outside of Kansas can call 785-832-5313.
A spokesperson with Douglas County Emergency Management said callers should be ready to explain exactly how they would like to volunteer and list any special skills or equipment they have.
4. The Salvation Army is also seeking volunteers from across the U.S. to fundraise for flood relief. You can register online or by calling 402-898-6050.
Happy Volunteering!
Embracing their Latino legacy, and the opportunity to serve all cultures, the Guadalupe Centers is dedicated to improving the community and the quality of life for people of all ethnic backgrounds, and to the celebration of cultural heritage.
One way they help improve the quality of life of their community is through the promotion of education. The Guadalupe Centers Bob Soltero Scholarship Golf Tournament was established in 2004 to involve the community in the development of future generations of leaders by support of the scholarship fund.
The tournament supports two scholarships:
TONY AGUIRRE SCHOLARSHIP:
Supports students pursuing a private high school education that are actively engaged with the Guadalupe Center as a program participant or volunteer.
GILBERT GUERRERO SCHOLARSHIP:
Supports graduates of the Guadalupe Centers High School pursuing a post secondary education, this could be a trade school or college degree.
You can help by playing, sponsoring, or volunteering! To find out more about being a player or sponsor click here. If you’re interested in volunteering, reach out to Alyx Bartrom.
Happy volunteering and have a good long weekend!
For those of us who work or study at Johnson County Community College, we do not have to look far for amazing art and amazing volunteer opportunities. In our own backyard (or really our front yard); the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art has one of the top internationally acclaimed collections of emerging and established artists today. Public Art Review magazine named JCCC as one of the top 10 university/college campuses for public art in America, citing the sculptures, paintings, ceramics, photography and works on paper installed throughout the campus. The museum presents many of the region’s most important exhibitions of leading-edge contemporary art, as well as dynamic and diverse educational programming.
And with that educational programming comes opportunities for volunteering. The Nerman is always looking for help at the front desk, with tours, and with their children’s art classes.
If you are interested in interacting with the community via art, the Nerman is a great place to go. Click here to read more about their volunteer positions. I would recommend reaching out to Katherine Morse first before filling out the application. She can answer any questions you may have and inform you about their current needs.
Happy Volunteering!
ScrapsKC’s mission is to care for Kansas City’s environment, education and homeless through creative reuse. With the mantra ‘reuse, repurpose, renew,’ ScrapsKC takes your old stuff and creates new possibilities for creation. Their store not only diverts tons of trash from the landfill, but it also provides resources for artists, teachers, makers, churches, scouts, and more. So make sure to check them out if you need supplies for your next craft or if you have some stuff you think they could sell!
They also have an urgent need of volunteers to help divert tons of creative materials from a large event at the Kansas City Conventions Center on May 24! This is a huge and exciting undertaking for them and they need your help. Check out this link for more information and to sign-up to volunteer.
Happy volunteering!
Founder Bill Milliken began Communities In Schools (CIS) in New York City in the 1970’s. He came up with the idea of bringing community resources inside public schools-where they are accessible, coordinated and accountable. “It’s relationships, not programs, that change children,” Bill once said. “A great program simply creates the environment for healthy relationships to form between adults and children. Young people thrive when adults care about them on a one-to-one level, and when they also have a sense of belonging to a caring community.”
CIS of Mid-America continues to carry out Bill’s vision and has a proven track record of improving student outcomes in academic achievement and behavior patterns. Students participating in CIS of Mid-America projects have increased promotion and graduation rates, improved attendance, improved academic performance and have fewer discipline referrals.
If you’re interested in getting involved with CIS, one great way to meet the coordinator at the Crossroads Preparatory Academy is by attending Motivational Monday. I went to the last one and it was so much fun to high five all of the kids before they got to school! Here’s more info:
Happy Volunteering!
This story was emailed to me recently and it’s a great example of some of the services Cultivate KC provides:
Hoop house dreamsBryon Postlethwait thought he was all set to start farming on his small lot on the corner of 15th St. and Sterling Ave. in Independence. He received an NRCS grant to build a high tunnel, but then he got notice from the city that he didn’t have the permits or clearance to farm. He didn’t know what to do; so he reached out to Cultivate KC. “I knew Cultivate supports local farms, so I said this is my situation, can you help?” he said. “I was very thankful because I had no idea where to go or who to talk to.” Cultivate KC’s Metro Farms & Food Systems develops urban farms and community-based food projects through technical assistance, growers network development, collaborative projects, and policy/systems change. Over three months, Metro Farms program manager Mark Gawron reviewed and edited applications with Bryon, appeared before city officials and found engineer inspectors to please all parties and get the farming structure approved. “Making it through this process in our conversations with the engineer and the permit department will only help the process for the next farmer.” Mark said. |
Aside from helping local, urban farmers and increasing food access for the metro area, Cultivate KC also uses urban farming to help refugees. In partnership with Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas, Cultivate KC manages the New Roots for Refugees program, which trains refugees with agricultural experience to become independent farmers. The goal for farmers in the program is to learn how to successfully grow in the Kansas City region and to acquire the marketing skills and confidence to become independent small business owners.
If this organization speaks to you, then check out their volunteer opportunities!
Attention all JCCC students, staff and faculty! JCCC is building a Tiny House on campus and could use your help! Dan Eberle is in charge of the project and he is on site 10am-5pm Monday through Thursday. If you’re able to help for a bit, shoot him an email to let him know. They can use all they help they can get! The Honors and Community-Based Learning Office went out there yesterday and had a lot of fun!
It’s not every day that we get to be out in the sun and use our muscles :).
Happy volunteering!