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Keep up with the latest Volunteer Center news and opportunities!
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Watch this awesome video!
 Learn about the innovative ways these featured non-profits are reaching out to the community:
- A Wider Circle
- The Senior Connection
- Manna Food Center
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Have you seen our PSA?
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Volunteer!
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(Created by Montgomery Community Media!)
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 Quote of the Month |
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How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.
~Anne Frank
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Make a Difference highlights the contributions of stellar County volunteers and organizations that contribute positively to Montgomery County.
Click here for recent episodes. |
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For our online calendar of opportunities,
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The Montgomery County Volunteer Center is part of the Office of Community Partnerships. For more information on the Office of Community Partnerships and to sign up for the Partnerships Newsletter, please click here.
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Privacy is important to us; therefore, we will not sell, rent, or give your name or address to anyone. At any point, you can select the link at the bottom of every email to unsubscribe.
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 The First Annual Montgomery Serves Awards will take placeon Monday, April 30, 2012, from 6:30pm-8:30pm at Imagination Stage in Bethesda, MD. Montgomery County will recognize the extraordinary commitment and dedication of individuals, businesses, community-based organizations, youth, and seniors whose work has made a positive difference in Montgomery County.
We need your help in identifying individuals, companies, and community groups whose volunteer service has made a positive difference. Nominations must be submitted by 5:00pm on Monday, March 19, 2012.
Click here for more information and to nominate now! |
April is Earth Month!
Be ready for it.
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 The Montgomery County Volunteer Center will be promoting environmentally focused projects during the entire month of April as a time for volunteers to get engaged in the recognition of Earth Day. Spring is a great time to get outside and help your community become a more beautiful place.
Click here to find volunteer opportunities and keep checking back as new ones are added. |
Agency Spotlight: Prevention of Blindness Society
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The Prevention of
Blindness Society
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Founded in 1936, the Prevention of Blindness Society of Metropolitan WashingtonŽ (POB) is the nation's largest local blindness prevention agency. POB is dedicated to the improvement and preservation of sight by providing services, education, advocacy and innovation.
POB offers both one-time and ongoing opportunities for volunteers. The two most popular ongoing opportunities are helping at the resale shops and with the glaucoma and vision screening programs. The shops, located in Kensington, MD and Alexandria, run successfully thanks to the help of regular volunteers. Volunteer responsibilities include:
- Sorting and pricing donations,
- Providing customer services, and
- Designing merchandise displays.
These volunteers also receive discounts in either of the shops. Vision screening volunteers are trained to provide both glaucoma and visual acuity at health fairs, offices and other locations in the area. Transportation is required for this opportunity.
POB's special events are also a great way to get involved with the organization. POB's staff often needs assistance preparing for these events at our office in Washington, D.C. Volunteers can offer their time to:
- Prepare invitations and other event materials
- Secure auction donations
- Share event information in their communities
- Help out the day of the event.
This can be a great opportunity to dress up and enjoy a night out while helping others.
Please contact POB at 202-234-1010 to learn more about these opportunities and what you can do to help improve and preserve individuals' sight. Visit the website at http://www.youreyes.org/
Want to be featured in the Agency Spotlight? Send an email to Fern.Carbonell@montgomerycountymd.gov for consideration.
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Are You A Handyman?
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Rebuilding Together is always in need of volunteers skilled in electrical, roofing, plumbing, contracting, and other trades to help low income homeowners make needed repairs and safety modifications to their homes. Volunteers may be called upon several times throughout the year to perform these tasks.
Contact Emma Byrnes at ebyrnes@rebuildingtogethermc.org for more information or to complete an application.
To learn more about Rebuilding Together, visit their website at http://www.rebuildingtogethermc.org/
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Teach A Class on Bone Health
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Volunteers are needed to teach free Bone Builders classes at locations in Silver Spring, North Potomac and Germantown. The daytime classes are designed to prevent and slow development of osteoporosis and help regular participants increase bone density naturally, an effective option for those who may not wish to use anti-osteoporosis medicines.
Osteoporosis causes bones to become thin and easily broken. Although osteoporosis can strike at any age, it affects one in three women and one in eight men over the age of 60. One out of every two women and one in four men over 50 will have an osteoporosis related-fracture in their lifetime.
Bone Builders is sponsored by Montgomery County's Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) and the Department of Health and Human Services' Aging and Disability Services and is based on research conducted at Tuft's University. Each one-hour session includes balance and weight training. Because teams of volunteers staff the program, there is no charge for instruction or equipment.
Volunteer leaders receive eight hours of free training and ongoing supervision by a master trainer. The next training is scheduled for March. Space is limited. For more information or to register for the training, contact Shawn Brennan, program manager for Senior Health Promotion, at 240-777-1350 or shawn.brennan@montgomerycountymd.gov.
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| Featured Volunteer Opportunities |
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One-Time Volunteer Opportunities
Check the February calendar for the latest opportunities.
 Denotes opportunities that are approved to provide MCPS Student Service Learning (SSL) Hours.
March 11, 12, & 13. Do you like the theater? Volunteer at this Charity Event - Hospice Caring, Inc., is honored to be the charity beneficiary for the Hexagon 2012 Revue, "I Get No Kick From Campaign!" which will be held at the Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center in Silver Spring. Performances will include both matinee and evening performances. Volunteers will help with ushering, concessions or ticket vending. Contact Madeleine Carmichael at 301-869-4673 for more information. Visit the website: http://www.hospicecaring.org
March 17. Love history? Be a History Judge! - Judges needed for the Montgomery County History Day competition (local middle school and high schools competing) at Richard Montgomery High School. Prior education/historical research experience a plus. Some paper and website judging will be done prior to 3/17, but can be done remotely at volunteer's convenience, but all volunteers will need to attend the event on 3/17/12. Basic knowledge of history and research techniques, reading, writing skills, ability to work with adolescents. Contact Taylor Baltzer, Volunteer Coordinator at 301-340-2825 for more information. Visit the website: http://www.montgomeryhistory.org
March 24. Olney Mill Community Clean-up - Help keep Olney Mill beautiful by cleaning up the common areas and parks. Dress appropriately (you may get dirty and/or wet). Please bring work gloves if you have them. You should wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts to avoide scratches from branches. We will be asking for a few adventurous individuals to collect trash from the streambeds and ponds. Sunday, March 25th is our raindate. Any last minute announcements or postponements will be posted to www.olneymill.net by 8:30 a.m. on 3/24. Contact Dennis Twombly at 301-231-3739 for more information.
March 25. Good Deeds Day - The Greater Washington community will join thousands of volunteers nationally and around the world for a day of service. Be among the first to get your pick of volunteer opportunities in our area. Seize this one day with endless opportunities to give yourself as a gift. Be a part of Good Deeds Day because you are the best gift anyone could ask for.
March 30 & 31. Cherry Blossom Health & Fitness Expo - Event volunteers needed to help with various facets of packet pick-up for 15,000 runners who are picking up their bib numbers, t-shirts and visiting the Health and Fitness expo with approximately 75 exhibitors. Contact Becky Lambros at 301-320-6865. Visit the website http://www.cherryblossom.org
Spring Break is a great time to get Student Service Learning hours!
Here is one opportunity from Red Wiggler.
Red Wiggler Community Farm - Don't mind getting your hands dirty? Come volunteer at Red Wiggler Community Farm! The camp will run Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of spring break week from 9am to 3pm. Volunteers will have the opportunity to learn about sustainable agriculture, our Solar house, greenhouse practices and nonprofit management while working along side our growers in the fields. Visit the website www.redwiggler.org to learn more. Contact Kara Desmond at 301-916-2216.
Do you have a great volunteer story to tell? Share your story with a paragraph and a photo. Tell how you're making an impact in your community! Stories will be displayed throughout our website.
Click here to read some Success Stories.
Search for more volunteer opportunities here!
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| Selected Ongoing Opportunities
Denotes opportunities that are approved to provide
MCPS Student Service Learning (SSL) Hours
Tutor Young Children - The Latino Outreach program provides basic English classes to Hispanic adults, and child care and child tutoring for their children. We are seeking young people (ages 14-20) who like to work with small children and/or school age children. Volunteers provide tutoring and other activities for children while their parents take classes. Volunteers may choose to work on either or both Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Knowledge of Spanish is not necessary. Contact Lynn Arndt at 301-637-0705 for more information. Visit the website at http://www.cmrocks.org
Newsletter Manager - Montgomery County government's Office of Community Partnerships (OCP) needs a volunteer to produces our monthly E-Newsletter. OCP works to strengthen ties government and the residents it serves. A lead volunteer is needed to create the newsletter, this includes compiling content and designing the layout using Constant Contact. Work can be done either at home or at the Office of Community Partnerships. Orientation and training will be provided. This is a great opportunity for anyone looking to use their writing skills and gain experience using popular email marketing software.
Contact partnerships@montgomerycountymd.gov for more information. For more information about OCP click here
Graphic Designer - The Danya Institute, Inc is seeking a creative designer to help create appealing graphic representations of data provided by the Institute, develop logos, publication design and templates and other special projects. Contact Tamara Parris, Special Projects Manager at 240-645-1142 for more information. Visit the website: http://www.danyainstitute.org
Sports Management Trainee - The Big Train seeks students to perform major roles in conducting the operations of the Big Train baseball season. The Student Leadership Committee is designed as a beginning sports management training program. The leaders participate in a variety of tasks, including instructing younger volunteers in their game night jobs, and directly performing roles like reporting on games, announcing, leading the stunts during the game, and ushering. Games are scheduled about 3 times per week in June, July, and August. Student leaders should begin pre-season work around March. Junior or senior in high school, with solid academic and sports background. Student leaders are selected via an application process. Contact Adam Dantus, general manager, at 301-983-1006 for more information. Visit the website: http://www.bigtrain.org
Band Assistants - If you are a trained musician, InterPLAYcompany wants you to join them in playing with and assisting adult independent cognitively impaired musicians. The InterPlaycompany is a participatory serious music program that puts adults who do not read music into a concert band. Rehearsals are on Monday nights throughout the year at Strathmore. Disabled players use regulation tonal and percussion instruments and play every genre of music: jazz, classical, contemporary, folk, Broadway, motion picture scores, comic opera, opera, and marches. Performances include guest artists, local and national, with the full band playing traditional printed scores as well as commissioned music. Contact Paula Moore at 301-229-0829 for more information. Visit the website at http://www.interplayband.org
For more opportunities click here.
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The best place to start searching for volunteer opportunities is the Center's website www.montgomeryserves.org. If the information on our website doesn't answer your questions, or you need help finding volunteer opportunities or exploring volunteering options, contact us via email at volunteer@montgomerycountymd.gov.
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