Cancer center calling for volunteers

Published 6:08 pm Sunday, July 10, 2011

In cooperation with the Volunteer Center of Southwest Michigan, the Niles Daily Star will publish opportunities for volunteers each week.  To find out about these or other volunteer opportunities, please call 983-0912 in the St. Joseph-Benton Harbor area, 683-5464 in the Niles area; visit our website at www.volunteerswmi.org; or e-mail us at volunteer@volunteerswmi.org for further information. To arrange an appointment, please call ahead. Appointments do not constitute an obligation to accept a volunteer opportunity. The center is a United Way agency.

Spotlight of the Week

Dealing with cancer is hard but your friendly face and kind words of assistance can make a difference. Volunteer at the welcome center information desk at Lakeland HealthCare Marie Yeager Cancer Center by assisting patients and visitors. Currently there are open slots Monday through Friday from 12:30 to 5 p.m.

Adults
• Build strong kids, strong families and strong communities at a local YMCA. Contact Sharon at the Volunteer Center to learn more.
• The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance of Southwest Michigan wants a website to meet local needs. As a website designer for them, you will design the website background and theme, design a method of inputting recurrent meetings, add special events to the site, etc. Work on your own schedule.
• Who mentored you? School supplies are already showing up in the stores and mentoring programs are interviewing potential mentors for the fall. Contact the Volunteer Center to receive a copy of our current Mentoring booklet listing mentoring opportunities in Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties. One such program is Second Chance Mentoring (The Opportunity Center). They are setting up a new mentoring program to work with at risk youth from throughout the area that have spent time at the Juvenile Center in Berrien Springs. You can help these young people turn their lives around  Contact Debra at the Volunteer Center to discuss this and other Mentoring programs so you can decide which one best meets your schedule and interests.
• Volunteer by donating blood!

Berrien County Chapter of the American Red Cross
• Tuesday, July 19 – Sawyer Highlands Church, 13100 Red Arrow Highway, Sawyer, noon to 5:45 p.m.
• Wednesday, July 20 – American Red Cross, 3838 Niles Rd., St. Joseph, 11 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
For a complete listing, visit www.berrienredcross.org.

Michigan Blood
• Wednesday, July 20 — Lake Michigan College-Bertrand Crossing, 1905 Foundation Drive, Niles,  11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Friday, July 22 — Fifth Third Bank, 322 Broadway St., Niles, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For a complete listing visit  HYPERLINK “http://www.miblood.org” www.miblood.org

Adults and youth
• The Michigan Nature Association is always looking for people like you to help out at their sanctuaries across the state. Activities include removing invasive species, trail maintenance, and general land stewardship. Work days are scheduled throughout the year at different days, times and locations. Visit www.michigannature.org to check out upcoming work days.
• Wonderful, unique volunteer opportunities await you at the Michigan Flywheelers Museum in South Haven.  They are an organization of dedicated volunteers working to restore and preserve antique gas and steam engines, and tractors. As a volunteer mechanic you will restore antique tractors and other farm equipment. Volunteers generally work together on the engines on Wednesdays and over the weekends.  They also are looking for an artist to donate their time and skill to create a one-of-a kind item for their gift shop.  The art needs to be antique tractor or engine related. The museum will purchase supplies.
• Looking for a garden to play around in? Not all museum work is indoors. At the North Berrien Historical Museum in Coloma you can volunteer in the garden by planning, planting and doing seasonal upkeep of the gardens.
Are you a kid at heart who likes to play with trains? Do you enjoy nature, history, and the art of miniature landscaping and scale buildings designed with all natural materials?  Fernwood Botanical Gardens in Niles has the opportunity for you! You will get to monitor the Railway Garden G-scale trains, answer visitor questions, do some light gardening such as trimming, weeding and watering of the exhibit. This is a special garden that welcomes enthusiastic volunteers wanting to share the fun with visitors of all ages. Docent training is provided and two- or three-hour shifts are available Tuesday through Sunday. At least 18 more volunteers are desired.
• Looking to use office skills you already have or to build your resume for a future job? Currently on the Volunteer Center’s website there are openings listed for office/receptionist help at the following organizations: Memorial Hospital, The Salvation Army in Niles, Box Factory for the Arts, Fernwood, Van Buren United Way and the Maritime Museum in South Haven.
• Which animal is your favorite to ride on the carousel? Or do you love to eat popcorn and watch all the kids having fun? The Silver Beach Carousel is run by volunteers who take tokens, pop the popcorn and make sure the kids are safe. They are running many shifts are counting on you to keep the carousel running! Sign up today and keep the carousel going round and round.
• How to pay the bills? This is always a concern for local nonprofits. Have you considered helping a nonprofit with their fundraising? Think about a cause you care about and then contact the Volunteer Center or visit our website at www.volunteerswmi.org to pick an organization with a mission that matches your passion.
• If you feel passionate about helping people with special needs, Therapeutic Equestrian Center (TEC) in Watervliet would love for you to work with other volunteers on fundraising projects. TEC is an all volunteer run organization and it costs $300 a month to care for a horse and they have five horses that need to be maintained on a year-round basis.
• Would you like to receive regular updates on volunteer opportunities? Like the Volunteer Center on Facebook and learn all the great ways you can get involved. Don’t forget to post pictures of projects and ways you get involved and invite others to volunteer with your favorite organization.

Youth
Join other youth volunteers for activity fun at Lakeland Continuing Care in St. Joseph from 2 to 3 p.m. the first Saturday of the Month (Aug. 6).  As a volunteer you will interact and help facilitate various activities with residents which may include wheelchair basketball, bowling and ring toss. You may also play table top games such as scrabble or just talking. Contact Callie at the Volunteer Center for more information. RSVPs appreciated but not required.