United Way of Greater Lafayette
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Volunteer Center
Current Volunteer Needs

 

Volunteer Needs Column

February 10, 2012   

 

             What's New This Week?

Plant a Tree...or Two        

Tree Lafayette needs 200 volunteers for its annual Arbor Day event on May 5, 2012. Sign up to volunteer online  or link to the sign-up form on their website, www.treelafayette.org. Families are encouraged to volunteer together.

  

Howl at the Moon 

Wolf Park is looking for volunteers 18 years and older to help give tours for Howl Night and the Wolf-Bison Demo, work in the gift shop and visitors center as well as office help and fundraisers or grant writers. If interested, please contact Wolf Park at 567-2265.

  

Assist Cancer Patients  

Community Cancer Network is looking for volunteers to transport cancer patients to their doctor appointments Monday thru Fridays. If interested, contact Lori or call 765-413-0684.  

 

If interested in learning about more volunteer opportunities, contact Amy at the  

United Way Volunteer Center or visit:


Without Valentine's Day, February would be...
well January.

~ Jim Gaffigan 



 *Still Needed*  

Shop at the Village     

Westminster Village has a mini store for the residents selling milk, juice, small grocery items and some toiletries. They need someone to open and run the register on Saturdays from 10 - 2. If interested, email Kim or call 464-5115.

Put your Dance Shoes On
United Way is looking for dancers to create a flash mob to kick off Money Smart Week, April 21 - 28. Would like volunteers to learn a choreographed dance to be preformed in selected places to launch Money Smart Week. If interested, email Amy or call 765-742-9077 x 222.

Are you good at Fundraising?Homestead Consulting Services is looking for help with fundraising for their housing counseling programs. This volunteer activity would include making contact with local community leaders to explain our programs and to enlist their partnership. This position would work with the Executive Director and the Board of Directors of our organization. If interested view opportunity here or call Amy at United Way Volunteer Center at 765-742-9077 x 222.

Put Books in the hands of Preschoolers     

Volunteers are needed on Wednesday and Thursday mornings and Thursday afternoons to assist preschool children in making selections when they trade books on Book Cycle Day. Volunteers may also read to the children, sort and organize book inventories at the centers, and help with data collection. Volunteers can help weekly, every other week, or monthly. Book Cycle operates in all Tippecanoe County Child Care Centers and all Head start Centers. If interested in this opportunity, reply here.

 

Good at Spelling?

Lafayette Adult Resource Academy's 22nd Annual Spelling Bee for Literacy is on Saturday, February 25th. Put together a team and join the fun! To find out more, call LARA at 765-476-2920.


Volunteer
Post Items onto Donation Exchange 

United Way of Greater Lafayette Volunteer Center has a new section on the website for agencies to list items they are in need of as well as a place donors can post items they would like to donate to a local non-profit.
 
Some Items posted in need: 

 

 

Toiletries


Donated Item for Agencies:

 

Lexmark E350d Document Printers (must be an agency to view this item)    

 

 

 Colored pencils

To view more items or place an item onto the site, visit the website

 

Contact Amy for assistance!  


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Learn more about the United Way

Do you want to find out more about what the United Way of Greater Lafayette is all about? Visit the website

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Valentine Bear
Check out the New Volunteer Center Website
United Way of Greater Lafayette Volunteer Center is working on making the process of linking you to the right volunteer opportunity better! You will be able to still access a large list of organizations through the current site but some have already started posting their opportunities directly to the new site. You can see what they have available and if interested, contact them straight from the website! It is easy to get started and check back for tips in the upcoming needs columns.

Click here to check out the new site and register as a volunteer today!
February is the Time to Donate Your Cans
Cans

 

February is a very special month indeed! It is a month full of Valentines love, heart awareness and black history. With all of these fun things going on in one month, can you believe there is even more events to celebrate? (GASP!) Yep, that's right February is also National Canned Food Month!

 

This month is a great time to volunteer without straying from your hectic daily schedule. Donating canned foods can be a lot easier than you think and can actually help a great deal of people.

 

How exactly can you incorporate this service idea into your schedule? Check out our tips below to get inspired to feed those in your community!

  • Partner up: Ask your local grocery store about placing a canned food donation bin in the store, so that customers can donate to the cause. It is an easy way to attract donations because people will just pick up an extra can during their shopping trip. Hand out flyers to shoppers so that they understand your cause and the people that their donation will be helping.
  • Make it a food collection competition: Compete with friends, neighbors, classmates, or family members to see who can collect the most food. You can design a scoreboard and who ever collects the most cans, wins the prize!
  • Host a movie night: Invite your community to watch a movie such as a documentary about hunger in America. The price of admission into the movie is a canned good! You will get great discussion and help your community members understand the impact that their donation will make.
  • Host a casual Friday: Ask your boss if your company or organization can join in on the canned good fun. If a majority of employees bring in a canned good, all employees will be rewarded with a casual attire day.
  • Make your next event a donation opportunity:Whether your kids have a big sporting event, or you are hosting a party encourage attendees to bring cans instead of gifts.
  • Raffle:Make your canned donation an event. Ask local companies whether they would be interested in donating a gift to your cause. Whoever donates a can, gets a chance to win an awesome prize!
  • Get your kids' teachers involved: Ask your principle if you can get the school involved in the donation. Have the teachers do something for the amount of cans donated. For example, if every student donates a can, the class gets a longer recess.
  • Make it a theme: Put a theme around your donation cause. For example, Tomato Tuesday every person must donate a canned good that contains tomatoes. More people will donate if they have a little twist added to the mix.
  • Ask your neighbors: Kill two volunteer birds with one stone. Offer to do something nice for someone in your neighborhood such as clean their house, mow their lawn, rake leaves, or shovel snow in exchange for canned goods.

Canned food donations are an easy way to truly help your community members who may be in need. Food Finders Food Bank and food pantries often run low on supplies after the holidays, and your decision to donate canned goods will change that fact.

 

We hope that these ideas help make your canned food celebration both meaningful and fun. Are you donating canned goods this February?
article provided by HandsOn