|
|
7 Days: Volunteering In Athens
04/29/2008 Would you like to volunteer your time in the Athens community but aren’t sure how? Are you in need of volunteer time for school? There are many charities and organizations that can always use volunteers in and around the Athens community. Here is a week’s worth of volunteering to get you started. Monday One of these services is Catholic Charities. They are of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Inc., but have an Athens organization as well. Catholic Charities needs volunteers for events, office assistants (data entry), housing counselor assistants, employment counselor assistants, tutors for children, pro bono attorneys, research assistants, and many more. More immediately, however, Catholic Charities needs volunteers to help teach English as a second language to adults in the Athens community. For more information on volunteering in Athens with Catholic Charities, please contact the Volunteer Coordinator, Margaret Prickett, at 404-885-7271. Tuesday Habitat for Humanity is another organization that runs on volunteer work. Director Spencer Frye said that the Athens Area Habitat for Humanity can utilize anywhere from 3,000-5,000 volunteers a year. “It’s what keeps us running,” says Frye. Habitat for Humanity builds houses and sells them to qualifying families at no-profit and no-interest. “It is not a give-away service by any means,” says Tiffany Stone, Director of Public Outreach at Habitat. Habitat homeowners work side by side with volunteers, cutting the cost of building the house. Homeowners must repay the cost of building their home with no interest charge and 100% of the mortgage payments going towards the funding of future Habitat homes. Possible volunteer opportunities with Athens Area Habitat as outlined by Stone are helping out on the job sites Tuesday through Friday, working in the thrift store, and helping out in the office if needed. Stone says that plumbing and electrical are usually outsourced, but the majority of the work on the houses is done by volunteers. “People who have never put up siding before are shown how to do it that morning and are doing it by themselves by the end of the day,” Stone says. Athens area Habitat currently has 67 homeowners. For more information on volunteering with the Athens Area Habitat for Humanity, please contact Tiffany Stone at 706-208-1001. Wednesday The Food Bank of Northeast Georgia is also looking for volunteers. From their website, the Food Bank’s goal is “to minimize and eliminate hunger in Northeast Georgia by developing an effective system to acquire and distribute food which would otherwise be wasted.” If you are interested in helping with this goal, they are looking for a responsible, passionate, community oriented individual with a valid driver’s license who is able to lift up to 50 pounds to fill their Monday Grocery Route Driver position. If you are interested in this, please visit their website. Volunteers are also needed to load and unload vehicles, stack and sort, and place food on shelves. For more information, please contact David Williams at 706-354-8191. Thursday Another organization in need of your time is Project Safe. Project Safe, originally founded in Athens, Ga., is a non-profit organization working to end violence against women through prevention, educational programs, crisis intervention and support services. This agency has training sessions for potential volunteers three times a year. You may be selected to volunteer after training and reference checks are completed. Volunteer opportunities include women’s advocates, children’s programs, Spanish translators, donation coordinators, and community outreach. For more information about volunteering with Project Safe, please contact Awatif Eljack at 706-549-0922. Friday The Salvation Army could also use your help. Some volunteer opportunities outlined by Mrs. Alyce Kerns include working in the soup kitchen, answering the phone in the office, visiting nursing homes and helping in the thrift store. Kerns also said that more volunteer opportunities arise around the holidays with kettle work (ringing the bell) and holiday dinners. For more information on volunteering with the Salvation Army, please call 706-543-5350 and ask for Yevonne. To volunteer in the thrift store, ask for Jim, and to help out around Christmas time, ask for Major or Mrs. Kerns. Saturday The Sexual Assault Center provides advocacy for victims of sexual violence in the Athens community as well as education and prevention programs. Volunteers are needed to assist with the 24-hour crisis hotline as well as creating innovative prevention programs for the community. With the crisis hotline, volunteers will provide emotional support to survivors of sexual assault and their significant others, friends and family members who may also call the line. You will also be trained to accompany sexual assault survivors during the law enforcement interview and the rape exam. Prevention programming would be on all topics surrounding sexual assault such as self-protection, dating violence, and child sexual abuse. Volunteers would represent the agency at local health fairs, festivals, and classrooms in an effort to prevent sexual assault through education. Although a great opportunity for volunteering, a volunteer must be a man or woman age 18 or older. You must also complete a 30-hour intensive training course and pass a criminal background check before volunteering. For further information please contact Emily Hannon at 706-546-1133. Sunday Last, but certainly not least, is the Athens Area Humane Society. Give your time to help the animals! AAHS depends on volunteers to help keep the shelter and adoption center running smoothly, to support animals in the community and to help raise funds to keep all of the vital programs of AAHS operating. If you are interested in giving your time to help the animals, you will need to attend a new volunteer orientation. This will give you a broad understanding of what AAHS does for the community, its programs and volunteer opportunities. Orientations usually last about two hours and refreshments are provided. Please contact Denise at denise@athenshumanesociety.org if you are interested in learning more. Enjoy your week of helping others! They will surely enjoy you. Comments [post a comment]
Comments are closed |
|
Thursday, February 09, 2012
Weather: , °
Weather: , °
Post a Comment
E-mail To A Friend
Join The List
Technorati Tags
Athens Ga Georgia Volunteer Volunteering Charity