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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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Volunteers are the only human beings on the face of the earth who reflect this nation's compassion, unselfish caring, patience, and just plain loving one another.
~Erma Brombeck
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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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April is Earth Month
Let's Celebrate!
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April 22, 2012, is the 42nd Anniversary of Earth Day. Celebrate by volunteering at environmental projects all throughout the month of April. Get your hands dirty and help keep our community clean!
Here are a just a few; all are approved for Student Service Learning (SSL); click here to check our website for more.
Wetland Planting Site Prep with Anacostia Watershed Society. Help to control dangerous storm water runoff from reaching the river by planting native plants and flowers along the side of the river.
Thur April 5, 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
Long Branch Clean Up - Join Montgomery Housing Partnerships to help clean up woods and creek near Long Branch Community Center. Sat April 21, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM.
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Montgomery Serves Awards
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The inaugural Montgomery Serves Awards ceremony will take place the evening of April 30, 2012 at Imagination Stage in Bethesda. This  event will honor some of our County's most outstanding community leaders and dedicated volunteers. We were overwhelmed with the number of nominations received and the fabulous stories they told! There are several award categories for volunteer service performed in 2011; youth service, corporate service, individual and groups. As well as a life time of service that will be recognized with the Neal Potter Path of Achievement Awards. See our website for more information: www.montgomeryserves.org and to register to attend the event. |
Agency Spotlight: Montgomery Parks
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The mission of Montgomery Parks (M-NCPPC) is to protect and
interpret our valuable natural and cultural resources; balance the demand for recreation with the need for conservation; offer a variety of enjoyable recreational activities that encourage healthy lifestyles; and provide clean, safe, and accessible places for leisure-time activities. Our park system now includes more than 400 parks on over 34,000 acres of parkland. That's nearly 10% of the county's land mass. We rely on the active participation of the community through volunteerism and partnership to maintain these vital places.
Volunteers can engage in a wide variety of ways. A couple initial questions help guide the kinds of opportunities we might suggest. Do you want to volunteer for a day or on an ongoing basis? Will you be volunteering as an individual or family, or as part of an organization like a business or community group? Spring is an ideal time to explore the myriad of opportunities for volunteers in Parks. Earth Day and other spring clean-up opportunities make it easy to try volunteering. But longer term assignments really provide the chance for volunteers to have a big impact.
Currently we are looking for people to help with:
- Live Butterfly Exhibit
- African American Historic Sites
- Trail Rangers
- Skate Park Monitors
- Volunteer Naturalists Nature Camp Counselors
- And much more...
Download the Spring flyer for upcoming opportunities including Spring break.
Many of our opportunities include training opportunities and service learning credit. The best way to learn about what's available is to search opportunities on our website: www.ParksVolunteers.org or give us a call at 301-495-2504. _____________________________________ Get more visibility and volunteers for your organization by being a featured Agency Spotlight. Send an email to Fern.Carbonell@montgomerycountymd.gov for consideration. |
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Ride On bus passengers can help needy families and receive a free bus ride by donating canned or nonperishable food during Ride On's annual food drive. Riders who donate will ride free during Give and Ride from April 22 - 28, 2012. During the week, food collection bags will be placed near the fare boxes on all Ride On buses. The donated food goes to Manna Food Center, Montgomery County's food bank. Ride On collected more than 6,000 pounds of food and other items last year. Read more about the program here.
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National Volunteer Week: April 15-21
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National Volunteer Week, April 15-21, 2012, is about inspiring, recognizing and encouraging people to seek out imaginative ways to engage in their communities. Established in 1974, this week embodies the energy and power volunteers evoke on a daily basis as they lead by example, not only encouraging the people they help, but motivating others to serve as well.
There are so many stories to tell! Share your story (and pictures) on the Montgomery Serves website and on our Facebook page. Here are just a few from our website:
Jaison and Jeani Choe - We were at the King Farm Farmer Market to collect fresh produce and donations for Manna Food Drive. The weather was super nice; more than 100+ shoppers throughout the hours visited the market. At the ended of the day we collected a ton of vegetables and food donations. Jaison and Jeani had a fun filled day doing a charity event!!
Members of the Olney First Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints participated in a service activity at the Salvation Army in Germantown. They cleaned and organized a storage shed, sorted clothing and other gift items for the holidays and painted the well-know Salvation Army donation kettle stands.
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Eta Pi Zeta Chapter and Pan Hellenic Council Montgomery County MD Chapter joined together to sort donated clothes at the Interfaith Works Clothing Center. They also collected clothing prior to their sorting day to bring along with them to donate!
Find a volunteer opportunity on Montgomery Serves or search the volunteer opportunities below to start creating your story. |
Global Youth Service Day
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All around the world on the weekend of April 20-22, 2012, young people will be making a difference in their community in honor of Global Youth Service Day (GYSD)!
GYSD is an annual campaign that celebrates and mobilizes the millions of children and youth who improve their communities each day of the year through service and service- learning. On GYSD, children and youth address the world's most critical issues in partnership with families, schools, community and faith-based organizations, businesses, and governments.
GYSD coincides with Earth Day which provides ample opportunities for outdoor volunteer activities. Find Earth Day Opportunities here. Earn Student Service Learning (SSL) credit at the same time you are doing good things for your community. Check out all SSL approved opportunities here.
Want to volunteer with an organization that isn't SSL approved? Don't forget to turn in an Individual SSL Request Form BEFORE you start. |
| Featured Volunteer Opportunities |
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One-Time Volunteer Opportunities
Check the April calendar for the latest opportunities.
 Denotes opportunities that are approved to provide MCPS Student Service Learning (SSL) Hours.
April 7 & 28 - Nourish Now volunteer at Giant canned food drive - We are looking for enthusiastic volunteers to donate a few hours helping us collect food and donations at Giant Food. This is a great opportunity for people to interact with their community to help raise awareness for people that are hungry. Shifts will be from 10AM-12PM, 10AM-1PM, 10AM-2PM and 12PM-2PM. The address: 10400 Old Georgetown RD, Bethesda, MD 20814.
Contact Brett Meyers, Executive Director, 240-750-0747.
Website: www.nourishnow.org
April 14 - Calleva-PCR's 5th Annual Inclusive Earth Day 2012 at Riley's Lock - Help clean up the park at Riley's Lock: paint/repair park benches & fences, replace grills, cleanup embankments from land and water and remove flood debris. Join the GMC-Great Mustard Challenge-in removing invasive weeds!
Contact Karen Seibert, 301-216-1248.
Website: www.calleva.org
April 14 - Gaithersburg Green Up Day/Earth Day 2012 - Make a difference in the health of our community. This event offers plenty of opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors and engage in conservation success, including: Habitat Restoration and Tree Planting, Litter Clean-up, Conservation and Nature Demonstrations and more! We will be collecting small electronic devices to properly recycle them. Please bring your old cell phones and IPods for recycling. We'll be outdoors RAIN OR SHINE, so dress for the weather. The Izaak Walton League's Earth Day event was developed in association with the city of Gaithersburg's Green Week and Community Green Up Day. PLUS a FREE reusable IWLA shopping bag for the first 100 participants!
Contact Rebecca Wadler, 301-548-0150.
Website: www.iwla.org/earthday
April 15 - Rockville Science Day 2012 - The Rockville Consortium for Science sponsors Rockville Science Day every year with the support of the City of Rockville, and Montgomery College - Rockville Campus. We are planning over 60 exhibitors from the community, local businesses, and academic institutions. There will be science activities for the whole family including chemistry, rocket launch, robotics, water conservation, birds and reptiles. We expect to have over 3,000 visitors. Volunteers are needed to help coordinate the event; place signs and direct crowds; and help support and operate exhibits.
Contact Robert Ekman, 301-340-9696.
Web Site: www.rockvillescience.org/rcsday.html
April 22 - Breewood Park Stream Clean Up-Earth Day 2012- Lend a Hand! Join your Neighbors in Keeping your Community Clean and Trash Free! The Department of Environmental Protection is scheduling a cleanup of the local Breewood Park and nearby stream on Earth Day. Highlights of the day include a walk on the newly completed Northwood Chesapeake Trail, and a Stormwater Monitoring demonstration before starting the cleanup. Finally, we will conclude the afternoon with a rain barrel raffle for our participants! Ability to work outside for a couple of hours and a great humor a plus!
Contact Ana Arriaza, 240-777-7778.
Website: www.montgomerycountymd.gov/dep
Spring Break is a great time to get Student Service Learning hours!
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! |
| Selected Ongoing Opportunities
Denotes opportunities that are approved to provide
MCPS Student Service Learning (SSL) Hours
Gardener Assistant - Work with professional horticulture staff in planting and care of a wide variety of ornamental plants, including weeding, pruning, watering, grooming, mulching and general clean-up. Learn landscaping and garden maintenance practices, including safe use of tools and equipment.
Contact Nancy Traubitz, 301-962-1429.
Social Media Marketing Experts - The Circle of Hope Therapeutic Riding program, based in Barnesville, MD, is seeking individuals with expertise in Facebook, Twitter, Constant Contact, YouTube and other social media tools to help spread the word about the program and those it serves. Students must work in public place under supervision. Experience with the various social media channels, mentioned above, is required. Minimum age is 15 with parent's permission. Contact Lesley Shear, 301-916-2040.
Financial Education Instructor - Volunteers needed to teach financial education classes to low-income Montgomery County residents. Catholic Charities seeks volunteers to teach three components of the FDIC Money Smart Curriculum: Money Matters, Bank on It, and Pay Yourself First. Two classes will meet on the first and third Tuesday evening of every month to cover three lessons. These classes are mandatory for clients who seek rent or utility financial assistance from Catholic Charities. Volunteers need to understand personal financing and have the ability to clearly articulate the lessons. A background in financial literacy or working in financial institutions is helpful. Contact Tiffany Tan, 301-942-1790.
Retail Store Staff - SCRAP has saved close to 4 tons of "scrap" from reaching local waste streams, by collecting donations by people in and around Washington DC. We've set up a small retail store where shoppers can buy these items and get crafty steals, like fabric for $1.50/yard and paint brushes starting at 10¢. With our current staff of 2, we're open just 30-40 hours a month, but we would love to expand on that and need more personnel to make that happen. Prior retail experience is a plus but not necessary. Good "people skills" and customer service are more important. We will provide comprehensive training. Contact Karen L. Klein, Executive Director, 301-830-8690.
Administrative Support - Volunteer From Home! - Holy Cross Home Care and Hospice needs volunteers to help with administrative support. Volunteers will assist with emailing, phone calls, bulk mailings, word processing, etc. Work may be done from your home or in our Silver Spring office. Familiarity with MS Office is helpful. Contact Dotti Moorman, Volunteer Coordinator, 301-754-7744.
For more opportunities click here. |
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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