| A MESSAGE FROM THE VOLUNTEER VENTURA! COORDINATOR | |
Spring is in full bloom and summer's a-coming! What a great time to get outdoors and enjoy our city's beautiful parks and beaches! And while you're there, please consider giving some love back to these beautiful places by participating in one of our cleanups or joining one of our "Friends of" groups sponsored by the Volunteer Ventura! Program. They meet monthly to spruce up these open spaces - it's a great way to get a little exercise, make some new friends and, if you are a student, fulfill your community service requirements. It's easy to participate by looking over the Community Service Opportunities Calendar (pdf) or on Facebook and signing up through our website . We thank you in advance for making this a summer of service - stay active and get involved with Volunteer Ventura! -Rosie Ornelas |
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2012 COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES CALENDAR
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These community service projects are available to students, non-profits and service clubs, community groups and councils, faith based organizations and military personnel, businesses, corporations and individuals. Click here to get a printable calendar (pdf) of the image below. 
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UPCOMING VOLUNTEER EVENTS
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 Seeking Volunteers for
Family Festival In the Park on May 12
Volunteer Ventura! is seeking enthusiastic volunteers, ages 14 and up, to assist with our city's 9th annual Family Festival in the Park and Kids Swap Meet on Saturday, May 12, at Barranca Vista Park, 7050 Ralston St. Choose from two overlapping shifts, 7 am to noon or 11 am-4 pm.
Volunteer duties include: event set up and take down, loading and unloading of vendor merchandise, parking attendants, installing festival signage, and litter removal. Volunteers interested in helping to make this wonderful community event a success can sign up online and click on Family Festival in the Park & Kids Swap Meet. This is a great opportunity for students to fulfill their school required community service hours. For more information, contact Volunteer Coordinator Rosie Ornelas at rornelas@cityofventura.net or 805.652.4555.
Westside Neighborhood Recycling and Collection Event on June 2
 Westside residents have an opportunity to discard e-waste and recycle unwanted household items free of charge on Saturday, June 2 from 8 am-12 pm as part of the Westside Neighborhood Recycling and Collection Event.
The event's collection site, conveniently located at the corner of Kellogg Street and North Ventura Avenue, will accept items such as metal, wood, furniture, appliances, tires, and electronic waste. Residents can access the collection event site via Cameron St. or by heading west on Kellogg St (via Cedar St).
For a complete listing of accepted items, you may print the flyer (pdf) or visit the City of Ventura's website. The annual event is sponsored by the City of Ventura's Volunteer Ventura! Program, Westside Community Council, Westside Community Development Corporation (WCDC), and the City of Ventura's Community Development Department through a grant from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. The purpose of the federally funded CDBG program is the development of viable urban communities. The City of Ventura uses CDBG grant funds for activities that provide decent housing, a suitable living environment, and expanded economic opportunities primarily for people of low and moderate income.
Strong volunteers, ages 16 and up, needed to assist with the Westside Neighborhood Recycling and Collection Event. Volunteers are needed to assist residents with unloading of vehicles, sorting items, and disposing of articles in the appropriate container. Sign up online by selecting the shift you would like to work: 7:30-10:30 am shift or 10 am-1 pm shift
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NEW VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Avenue Library | | |
New Opportunities to get Involved at our Neighborhood Library
If you are looking for rewarding ways to give back, please consider donating some time to the Avenue Library.
A variety of positions are available including: Outreach, Homework Center, Summer Reading Program, and Assisting with the Spanish Language Collections. We are especially interested in bilingual volunteers.
If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Rosie Ornelas at Rornelas@cityofventura.net or 652-4555 for our upcoming volunteer orientation date.
Grant Specialist Intern
Description
The City of Ventura's Community Development Department has an internship opportunity as a grant specialist within the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Home Investment Partnership (HOME) unit. The intern who fills this position should expect to learn the various aspects of the two programs from top to bottom, and will gain a general knowledge of federal entitlement programs, graduating with defined and accelerated skills in the public administration field. It's essential that applicants for this position have excellent communication skills, demonstrate creativity, and be detail oriented.
Requirements
The applicant should be a student, preferably one that needs to satisfy internship hours towards a degree. Students applying for this internship must have an interest in working in the public sector, non-profit management, and/or economic or housing development projects. Applicants must exhibit strong written communication and organizational skills, with a capacity for summarizing information and aggregating data. Only interns proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, and other Microsoft Office applications should apply.
Relative Majors/Degrees City/Urban/Regional Planning, Business Management, Historic Preservation, Public Administration, Public Policy, Sociology, or any closely related field.
If you are interested in learning more about this position, please contact Rosie Ornelas at (805) 652-4555 or Rornelas@cityofventura.net.
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ONGOING VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
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Be a Docent and Make History Come Alive
 Be a volunteer docent at the Olivas Adobe, the original hacienda of Rancho San Miguel built over 150 years ago, and discover the exciting history of the Olivas Family and the Rancho Period of California. This volunteer program has many levels of opportunities and events for participation.
More information is available here.
Please contact Gina Reyes at 805.658.4728 or greyes@cityofventura.net.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Ventura Visitors & Convention Bureau
Like talking to people? Serve as an ambassador and navigator for all visitors who enter or call the Ventura Visitors Center. The goal of the volunteer program is to enhance the visitor experience and promote the City of Ventura by providing information on the accommodations and attractions in the city and points of interest in the region. Various shifts available, come and join our team!
For more information, please contact:
Michele Gilmour
Visitor Services Manager
(805) 648-2075
michele@ventura-usa.com
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RECENT VOLUNTEER NEWS
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 | Staff and Students from Santa Barbara Business College celebrate Earth Day
by cleaning up Surfer's Knoll Beach |
42nd Annual Earth Day Beach Cleanup
On Saturday, April 21, over 520 volunteers celebrated Earth Day with the Volunteer Ventura! Program by collecting hundreds of pounds of trash and recyclables from Surfer's Knoll Beach.
Volunteers painstakingly removed hundreds of rusty nails, shards of broken glass, Styrofoam, fishing line, cigarette butts and other non-natural debris that may have otherwise ended up in the ocean or harming unsuspecting beachgoers.
A short distance away, 150 students and parents from Saint Bonaventure High School teamed up with 74 employees and patients from Premier Orthodontics Clinic to clean and beautify popular Marina Park and beach.
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Assistant Police Chief Quinn Fenwick and Councilmember Cheryl Heitmann participate in the S. Seaward Ave cleanup
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South Seaward Spring Cleanup
Saturday, March 10, was a busy day for our community volunteers as they spruced up South Seaward Avenue. Over 75 volunteers came out and spent the morning weeding sidewalks, medians, and overgrown planter boxes, painting curbs, wiping down trashcans and news racks, and weeding and mulching the Community Garden. The hardworking volunteers filled two dumpsters with trash and weeds and left South Seaward and the community garden looking great!
A special thank you goes out to Councilmembers Christy Weir and Cheryl Heitmann, Ventura PD Assistant Chief Quinn Fenwick and Detective Jim Brittle, members of the Pierpont Community Council, the terrific team of Starbucks employees, and all of the middle and high school students and community members who worked hard to spruce up this gateway to the beach. To see more photos of the South Seaward Cleanup, visit our Facebook page.
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THANK YOU!
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We thank our community partners for supporting
Volunteer Ventura! events.
US Navy Seabees
for serving lunch to our seniors at the Eastside Café in March
The Pierpont community and all the student volunteers
for coming out to participate in our first South Seaward Spring Cleanup
Ventura High School Wrestlers
for volunteering for the Corporate Games Opening Ceremonies and both 5k runs at the Community Park
The Olivas Adobe Docents & Junior Docents and CSUCI students
for volunteering and putting on a great 1st Annual Owl Celebration
US Navy Chiefs and 1st Classmen
for cleaning up the beachfront promenade
St. Bonaventure High School students
and the Staff and Patients of Premier Orthodontics
for cleaning up Marina Park and Beach
Over 500 community volunteers
for coming out to our Earth Day Beach Cleanup and celebrating Earth Day by caring for our earth
Ventura Yacht Club
for cleaning up Harbor Cove beach
ARC - Walker Street
for helping out with our City's Community Development Department's large FEMA mailing
Starbucks employees and community members
for spending a Saturday morning giving Barranca Vista a mini-makeover
St. Bonaventure High School Track Team & US Navy Seabees
for spending their Saturday morning working on Phase II of the "inside track" at the Community Park
Hundreds of other City volunteers
for staffing our Community Resource Centers, volunteering with the Police Department and at our historic sites, tending to our rose gardens or Cornucopia Garden, giving their time at one of our parks, senior centers, Westpark Community Center or assisting in one of the many departments and offices throughout the City!
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GET INVOLVED WITH VOLUNTEER VENTURA!
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- Check out the NEW calendar of events and register online!
- Subscribe to our bimonthly e-newsletters HERE.
- Find us on
 Facebook www.facebook.com/volunteerventura
Cary Glenn, Supervisor (805) 658-4732 cglenn@cityofventura.net Rosie Ornelas, Coordinator (805) 652-4555 rornelas@cityofventura.net |
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