Big Bend Cares: needs volunteers for a variety of events they have coming up.  If you are interested and available to help please contact Melissa Walton or Diana Slater or call (850) 656-2437.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH
* Cover an information table- discuss HIV/AIDS - upcoming events
* World AIDS Day - November 30th - 6pm & December 1st 4-7pm and 7-11pm
* Alternative Holiday Markets - Dec. 6th 9-1 & 1-4 - Dec. 7th 1-4 - Dec. 12th 6-9pm and Dec. 13th 8am - Noon

HOLIDAY ANGELS
* Looking for volunteers to help with sponsoring children for the Holidays purchasing clothes and gifts
   we also need volunteers on Saturday, December 20th to help with organizing and wrapping gifts.
   Food and misc donations of tape, gift boxes, bags and bows are also needed.
   Thank you for helping to make a child's holiday special.

FRONT DESK HOLIDAY HELP
* Looking for volunteers to man the front desk, answering calls and welcoming guests from December
   and the first part of January

Children's Home Society: If you are looking for experience with abuse prevention & investigations, developmental disability services, foster care, adoptions, Spanish-English interpretation, marketing, event planning, fundraising, or volunteer management then we have a volunteer opportunity for you! We served almost 5,000 children and families last year and you can help us make a difference in 2008. For more info on our rewarding and FUN opportunities please contact Louise Bradshaw at (850) 921-0772 ext 211 or louise.bradshaw@chsfl.org.

Children's Home Society of Florida is looking for volunteers to be a mentor, to accompany children to appointments in town, to help staff manage case records, to plan activities for children, and more! Contact Louise Bradshaw (850) 921-0772 ext 211 for more information.

Become a Mentor, Change a Life. The MODEL Mentoring Program of Children's Home Society is a community based mentoring program for children ages 4-17, with an incarcerated parent. If you are 21 or older and willing to commit to one hour a week to a child for a year, please email Fundra Hart, Rebecca Amnott or call (850) 921-0772 for more information.

EARLY LEARNING COALITION: 

ECHO:  "GOT A PICKUP TRUCK?" Volunteer moving assistance is needed at the ECHO Furniture Bank of Tallahassee, which gives free furniture to people in need.  Contact Jon Hinkle at 224-3246, ext. 205 or email at donations@echotally.org.  You may also access this opportunity directly by CLICKING HERE!

Child care volunteers are needed for child care while the parents are attending life skills classes and for game/movie nights. We could use volunteers on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings (Thurs. and Fri. varies); time is from 6:00-7:00pm.  Email Kisca Smith, Program Director, ECHO Family Services Program or  (850) 878-1722 Office - (850) 878-6022 Fax, for more information.

Elder Care Services:  We are looking for volunteers to help us out in the Meals on Wheels Program. If you have four or five days a week between 10 and 12 (must have a car) or four or five people one day a week from 10 to 12, this is a great opportunity for married couples or a couple of friends to do something together to help the elderly, and then they can go out to lunch afterward!  Email Michael Henderson or call (850) 921-5554 for more information.

FSU - Center For Leadership & Civic Education:

FACE THE WORLD: Face The World is a non profit international exchange program that places international high school students with American host families for the academic year or semester. Face The World's mission is to provide all Foundation participants with a quality experience that will enhance their growth and encourage friendships for a lifetime. Students are between the ages of 15 and 18. They are fully insured and they come with their own spending money. They have been screened for academic achievement and English skill levels. All that is needed is room and board and a loving family environment! Hosting a student is rewarding and there are several that need good homes for the Fall semester. All individuals 25 years of age or older are welcome to apply! If you are interested please E-mail Ellyn Aidman or call w: (850) 645-5653 or c: (850) 322-1170. For more information on Face the World visit: http://www.facetheworld.org/.

GADSDEN COMMUNITY HEALTHY START COALITION: is seeking responsible and reliable volunteers at its Quincy center. Volunteers will be responsible for planning and implementing events such as health fairs and grassroots campaigns in the Gadsden area. Volunteers will be ask to perform a small amount of clerical duties and will need reliable transportation to facilities. It is the mission of the Coalition to build community partnerships that promote and support healthy pregnancies, babies and families in Gadsden County. For more information contact Ashley Phillips or Kelly Parker at 850-627-2856 or gadsdenhealthystart@netquincy.com.

GUARDIAN AD LITEM: 

KIDS INCORPORATED:  Kids Incorporated of the Big Bend is seeking Volunteers and/or Interns to help plan and organize our annual branding event “Kidsfest” which will be held in May of 2009. Tasks include developing marketing strategies, recruitment of community partners, developing brochures, creating concepts, developing artwork for signage, writing press releases, booking exhibitors and entertainers etc...

This is a great opportunity for anyone who may be interested in gaining experience working with a non-profit agency and desire to work in areas of event coordinating, marketing, communications, media, entertainment, journalism, and publications etc...  For more information email Beatrice Samson or call 850-414-9800 ext.112

Legal Services of North Florida: is looking for volunteer youth leaders to help devise a program to support teenagers Legal Services represents who are in the foster care system or have aged out of the foster care system. These children/young adults have no real support systems to help guide them as they pursue higher education or become self supporting. Many particularly need help with developing life skills–surviving the registration process at college, building credit and maintaining bank accounts, etc. We envision inviting a couple of the youth who have received services from our program in addition to 6-8 other youth that are high school and college-aged. We want to attract a diverse group of people who have a passion for helping disadvantaged youth with legal and life management issues. We are hopeful the group will come up with some suggestions to develop a meaningful program, that the program will involve youth on a continuing basis, that a leader of this effort will emerge, and that other youth may be recruited to assist presently or in the future. Please refer young leaders who may be interested in assisting in the development of such a program to Stephanie Johnson, staff attorney, at steph@lsnf.org.

LEMOYNE CENTER FOR THE VISUAL ARTS - ART EDUCATION PROGRAM Two Volunteers are needed for our Pre-K Classes that meet on Saturday once a month. Two Volunteers are needed for the first Saturday of the month to work with children in the down town park area @ a LeMoyne Art Table to help children create "Make & Take Art."

Volunteers are also needed to help with Exhibition Openings and Special Events at our Main Gallery. For more information, please email our Volunteer Coordinator, Betty Lessinger or call (850) 222-8800 or (850) 222-2234.

LEON COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY: To all of our friends who have volunteered in the past, or any members who have ever thought about serving as a volunteer, the animals need you now! As you may know, our summer volunteer crew and staff are now going back to school, moving, or resuming activities that are changing their schedules-- and that means they don't have time to be with us every day. There is so much to do every morning between 9:00 and 10:30! Feeding and watering the visiting cats, laundry, cleaning, medicating and the list goes on. Help is also needed in the afternoons after 3:30. If you have ever helped before, or if you've been thinking that maybe someday you'd like to help the animals, now is definitely the time. Please call the office at (850) 224-9193 or email us at info@lchs.info.

LIGHTHOUSE OF THE BIG BEND:  (Formerly F.I.R.E. - Florida Institute of Rehabilitation Education)

Administrative Services
Assist the Lighthouse on special projects with newsletter mail-outs, packet assembly, filing, reception, etc. Clerical volunteers must be able to follow and remember directions, work independently if necessary and be reliable. Hours: 8AM – 7PM as scheduled.

Computer Lab Volunteer
Assist students in the Employment Computer/Information Access lab. Depending on your level of expertise, you may teach a class on beginning MS Word, surfing the internet, using email or other topics. Volunteers are also needed to assist students in the lab as they work independently. Classes range from 2-5 hours per week. PC experience and reliability a must. Also must know modern assistive technology.

Fundraising
Assist in creating the Lighthouse’s annual fundraising event “Dining in the Dark.” Join the committee which meets monthly (March – October) and complete tasks related to marketing, obtaining sponsorships, etc.

Speaker's Bureau
The Lighthouse has occasional requests to speak to groups about Lighthouse's services and the experiences of people who are visually impaired or blind. Often it is helpful for groups to hear from the perspective of a family member, as well. If you are interested in talking about your own experiences with a visual impairment, or sharing your experiences of being a family member of someone who has a visual impairment, there may be opportunities for you to tell your "story" and educate others. Most people who do not personally know someone who is blind have huge misconceptions. We hope to dispel myths and let others know that just because someone has a visual impairment does not mean they are limited in any way (except perhaps the ability to drive!).

Location
Most volunteer opportunities take place at 1286 Cedar Center Dr. Tallahassee, FL 32301. Check out the map to the Lighthouse if you need directions. To find out more about volunteering opportunities at FIRE, please e-mail info@lighthousebigbend.org or call (850) 942-3658 extension 204.

Applications
If you are interested in applying to be a volunteer at FIRE, please complete a Volunteer Application.
If you are interested in applying to be a member of the FIRE Board of Directors, please complete a Board Member Application.

Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science: has several ongoing volunteer opportunities available for students throughout the year.  Students have the opportunity to volunteer in any of the departments within the museum, including Art, Science, and Development Departments.  Volunteers are also needed at the many special events that occur at the museum throughout the year.  Interested students can contact Janine Flores, Volunteer Coordinator at jflores@thebrogan.org  or 850-513-0700 ext 223.

Refuge House, Inc.: is a non-profit agency here in town whose mission is to provide direct services to battered women and their children and survivors of sexual assault. We are also working to change the conditions in society that allow for these types of violence to occur. We are currently looking for volunteers who may be interested in working with the women and children we serve through our many outreach programs. A few of the programs a volunteer may participate in are the children's program, courthouse program, crisis hotline, emergency shelter, etc. We have a range of hours available for each program, so we are able to accommodate many different schedules. In addition to these programs, Refuge House has recently opened its 360 Shelter, which provides services and resources to formerly prostituted women and survivors of human trafficking.  In order to begin volunteering with the Refuge House, there is an application and interview process. The direct service application can be printed from our web site. There is also a training for all volunteers prior to providing direct service. If you are interested and need more information, please contact the volunteer coordinator Erin Carr at (850) 922-6062 x1041.

ADULT BASIC EDUCATION PROGRAM @ FSU: Are you interested in tutoring adults anywhere from 1–4 hrs per week?  If so, the Adult Basic Education (ABE) Program has just the thing for you!  Tutor adult FSU employees who are preparing to take the GED.  Work in conjunction with a Leon County Schools instructor in assisting them with basic math, reading, and/or writing.  Great location with plenty of parking!  Earn ServScript hours; gain work/teaching experience; add to your resume; and experience the rewarding satisfaction of helping others earn their GED!  Requires availability on Tuesday and/or Thursday mornings.  For more information, contact Martha Scott, 644-6162, or mscott@admin.fsu.edu

For these and other volunteer opportunities, please visit our website!
www.VolunteerLEON.org/VolunteerConnection

VolunteerLEON serves as a referral source only. Inquiries regarding the listed volunteer opportunities should be directed to the name and number given for each opportunity. Requests to add volunteer needs and event announcements should be submitted to VolunteerLEON's websteward (edwardsm@leoncountyfl.gov) or through the Volunteer Connection online.

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