1. Spotlight Volunteer Area: Choice Pantry Volunteers:
Personal Shopper - Guide customer thru selecting a pre determined number of food items from food list and other household or personal items when available.
Traffic/Hospitality/Stock – Greet customer and Monitor hallways to direct customer in right direction. Stock and prepare food for distribution to eligible clients. Clean work area before signing out for both main choice pantry and stock storage as appropriate. Assist customer when needed.
Intake – Complete required paperwork with client, share nutrition information, give the client their “shopping” list.
The pantry is open Monday from 5-7pm and Tuesday-Friday from 9:30–11:30am. The pantry is located at 922 W. Riverview Ave., Dayton.
Records Archivist: To maintain closed records for “Beginnings” program including filing closed records, assuring that current field records are accurately alphabetized, reviewing contents of old records, identifying records for destruction and in what year they can be destroyed (actual record destruction done by and/or approved by management), and updating card catalog. In the future, identifying (with adequate training) what can be electronically stored, operating scanner or other archiving equipment, and participating in special projects related to records management. Respite Care Volunteer: Provide respite and support for caregivers who care for dependent elderly adults at home. Volunteers stay with elderly clients and meet their needs while caregivers take a break. Time commitment is 3-4 hours weekly. Dates and times are negotiable with clients. Fifteen hours of training is provided. Spanish Teacher: Provide Spanish lessons to children 2 1⁄2 - 10 years of age at the CSSMV Day Care Center on the grounds of the VA Hospital. This is a flexible position; however, it would require some consistency. Short-term opportunities available, especially for students performing service-learning or short-term practicums. Back to Top 2. Volunteer Opportunities at CSSMV Riverview Avenue Main Office Administration
Volunteers answer calls at the front desk (which serves as our Dayton locations operator), assist clients, greet agency visitors. Volunteers perform administrative tasks, such as data input, filing, copying, shredding, etc. Volunteers are needed on Monday and Wednesday, any time between 8:30-5:00. Volunteers are needed on Monday and Thursday, any time between 8:30-5:00, Wednesday afternoon, and Friday morning.
Accounting/Bookkeeping Assistant – Assist with accounting/ bookkeeping work, such as entering leave time on leave logs, reconciliations, filing, and other such duties. Volunteers are needed during the week/during the day and the days/times are flexible. Back to Top 3. Volunteer Opportunities at our Brown Street Center for Families Office Erma’s House Family Visitation Center
Erma’s House was created to assist families that have difficulty interacting in a non-threatening manner and is structured to provide safety to both the custodial parents and the children. The need for supervised visitation may be due to issues related to divorce or separation, protection-restraining orders between parties, threats, child abuse or neglect issues, safety concerns or other visitation issues where a neutral setting would increase a family’s level of comfort or safety. Volunteer Visit Monitor: Volunteers provide supervision of scheduled visits (visits are generally 1-2 1⁄2 hours) and exchanges. Initial training of 10 hours is required. Ongoing training is provided throughout the year. Erma’s House is open Sunday afternoons between 1:00 - 6:00 pm, Tuesday and Friday (3:00 – 6:00 p.m.) and Wednesday and Thursday (3:00 – 8:00 p.m.). Some daytime volunteer hours are available to assist families with preschoolers.
“Spring” Cleaner - To provide deep cleaning - thorough dusting, going through games and checking on all the pieces, disinfecting all toys and throwing out what isn’t working, cleaning windows, organizing arts area, etc. This is an ongoing project for a small group to come in every couple of months, for a few hours at a time. Administration
Volunteers answer calls at the front desk (low volume), assist clients, and greet agency visitors, as well as performing some administrative duties, such as helping with mailings, putting together packets, etc. Open times include any time M/T/Th/F from 1-5pm..
Back to Top 4. Volunteer Opportunities at other locations
Interfaith Care Teams and Mentors offer support and guidance to low-income families who are working towards economic and personal self-sufficiency. Volunteers are needed to provide tutoring, mentoring, problem solving, and support for 1-2 hours each week. Two hours of training is provided to volunteers.
Refugee Resettlement: Volunteers assist refugees when they first arrive in the U.S. The refugees assisted are coming to CSSMV through the US Government’s Refugee Resettlement Program.
Volunteer Interpreter: Volunteer interpreters assist new refugees at medical and social service appointments and with orientation and acculturation issues. Time commitment is based on volunteer availability.
Resettlement and Acculturation Volunteer: Provide tutoring, job coaching, transportation for new arrivals to appointments, assistance with enrolling children in school, locating housing, and assisting with acculturation.
Transportation Volunteer: Volunteers who have trucks or other large vehicles are needed to transport donations of household items.
Development/Fundraising
Volunteers are needed to assist with friend-raising events, such as the Jazz Party or Northern Counties Harvest of Caring. Back to Top 5. Family Volunteer Opportunities: Literacy/Reading
Collect books to be distributed to clients/children in our pantry, refugee resettlement, and teen programs, and to be used and distributed in our Erma’s House Visitation Center, mental health services, or CSSMV day care center. Ask a local bookstore to assist with encouraging their customers to purchase and donate a book for a local child. Partner with area bookstores to promote literacy to under-privileged children and encourage family volunteering as a way of life by collecting books. Ask the local library to donate unpurchased books, videos, etc. after their twice-annual book sale. Write or read to children at the CSSMV day care center. Volunteer to provide tutoring or be a homework helper to help people learn how to read or improve their skills (refugee resettlement, interfaith, day care). Organize a fundraiser to buy school supplies, puzzles, and “fun” books. Environmental
- Help out a low-income family or senior citizen by cleaning up, painting, raking, and doing minor repairs.
- Plant flowers and clean trash from the landscaping of CSSMV office buildings.
- Organize a community “house cleaning” day or week and have people donate furniture and other gently used household items to the refugee resettlement program.
- Wipe down walls and wash windows.
- Recycle cans to raise money for Erma’s House.
Opening Your Heart and Home
- Help newly arrived refugee families celebrate their “First Thanksgiving” by collecting kitchen supplies, toiletries, school supplies and toys.
- Help refugee families prepare for school by collecting school supplies and putting them in backpacks.
- Make refugee “Welcome to America” kits containing toiletries, such as a comb, brush, toothpaste, toothbrush, lip chap, shampoo/conditioner, toilet paper, etc.
- Ask your dentist to donate toothbrushes, toothpaste, or dental floss and donate them (refugee resettlement, pantry).
- Clean and re-stock the food pantry.
- Prepare food baskets for needy families for Thanksgiving and donate them to the food pantry.
- Organize a neighborhood food drive and donate the non-perishable food items to the food pantry.
- Become a Pen Pal to a client in the senior programs or a child in our refugee resettlement program.
- Collect teddy bears, purchase toys, or make a craft item for the day care children to receive when Santa Claus visits every year. Or donate such items to the Santa Shop program.
- Adopt a family for Christmas through our Holiday Help-A-Family program.
- Make videos or cassettes for children in our programs, such as Erma’s House, mental health, or the day care center. Videos or cassettes can include singing, fingerplays, or reading.
- Do a puppet show or sing songs for the day care center.
- Make directions for and supply items to make simple craft projects.
- Make word search and seek & finds, making sure to talk about positive topics, such as nature, holidays, geography, etc.
- Make math puzzles to help a child develop or enhance their math skills.
Other Ideas:
Help with mailings – putting labels on, stuffing, and putting stamps on envelopes, or labels on newsletters Back to top |
