In cooperation with the Volunteer Center of Southwest Michigan, file 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 Web site 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 partner agency.

Spotlight of the Week
• You may have seen Disney’s “Give a Day Get a Disney Day” Campaign. You can volunteer for a day with a participating organization’s project and receive a one-day admission pass to a Walt Disney World or Disneyland theme park for free. Disney wants to inspire one million people to volunteer.

To be eligible, you must sign up through Disney’s Web site. You must be at least 18 to sign up and children must be at least 6 to participate in the program. Ticket quantities for this program are limited to one million.

If you are interested this is what you need to do: 1) Search and sign up: Register and sign up for an eligible volunteer opportunity at www.disneyparks.com. Not everyone will find an opportunity to fit their family and their time schedule. Opportunities are limited. 2) Volunteer: Complete your service for the volunteer opportunity you selected. The agency where you volunteered must verify your service. 3) Celebrate: Once your service is verified you will receive a voucher within about 2 weeks to redeem your Disney theme park ticket. This is a generous program that encourages everyone to volunteer but please remember that not everyone will fit into the program rules. Visit www.disneyparks.com or call (407) 827-5990 with your questions.

Families
• Community Day at Orchards Mall in Benton Harbor is March 6 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Stop by the Community Room to do hands on projects appropriate for all ages with the Volunteer Center. You can create cards for fellow volunteers, make decorations for the annual recognition luncheon for community volunteers and participate in other activities.

This qualifies for Disney’s “Give a Day Get a Day.” Visit www.disneyparks.com for more information.

Adults
• Who mentored you? January is National Mentoring Month and why not make it part of your New Year’s resolutions to consider becoming a mentor or talking to others about becoming a mentor. You can contact the Volunteer Center for information on mentoring programs in your area. You can also request materials to post at your work place, library, house of worship or other location to encourage others to become mentors. Our children need mentors.

• Helping our Youth Achieve (HOYA) enables youth in transition to remain in the education mainstream. You can be a guest speaker for their career awareness education series. Talk to middle and high schoolers about job skills, careers, and other issues. You can stop by over your lunch or invite them to visit you at your work place. You can also become a tutor at their Benton Harbor site anytime you have an hour to give between 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Students are doing self-paced study and sometimes need help understanding concepts in algebra, science, language arts and social studies.

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Berrien and Cass and Big Brothers Big Sisters: A Community of Caring (Van Buren and Kalamazoo counties) have opportunities for you to become a “Big” in the community where you live or where you work. In one hour a week you can meet your “Little” at their school and have lunch with them. It’s easier than you think. Talk about what they are doing in school, sports or whatever interests them. Kids just want adults to listen and let them know they matter.

• Benton Harbor’s Harbor Harvest Urban Ministries (HHUM) mission is to meet immediate physical, emotional and spiritual needs while also working to change conditions and attitudes in individuals, community and society which create human need. HHUM has several mentoring programs including a program for boys and one for girls in the 6th grade reaching them at an important stage in their lives.

• Do you enjoy reading this column? Would you like to be involved in writing it and promoting it? You would learn a lot about area nonprofits and volunteerism. This position as columnist for the Volunteer Center of Southwest Michigan would require two to three hours each week and could be an on-going position or be set up as an internship or a temporary position for someone who is unemployed. Minimum commitment would be three months and training would be provided. This position would work closely with the executive director.

• Lakeland Hospice is offering an orientation session for new volunteers on Thursday, Feb. 25 with sign in at 9 a.m. Learn about the different areas that you can volunteer for and the important role you as a volunteer can play in supporting patients and families during end of life care.

• The Museum at Southwestern Michigan College collects and preserves artifacts related to the history of the college’s district and interprets this history through exhibits, school tours and programs. The first person visitors meet is the friendly volunteer at the front desk who can answer their general questions. The volunteer schedule is flexible. Museum hours are Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 1p.m. and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. with some variation possible.
• Memorial Hospital of South Bend wants you to be their “people mover.” If you have a smiling face and are safety conscious, you can drive the people mover to various areas of the hospital. You must be over 18 and complete orientation and training.

• The Salvation Army meets local community needs. In Niles, lunch is served on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Volunteers make it all possible by helping anytime between 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Work can include preparing food, setting up and cleaning up.
Live your New Year’s resolutions … donate your blood today!

Berrien County Chapter of the American Red Cross
Tuesday, Feb. 16 – St. Mark’s Catholic Church, 3 North 19th St., Niles, noon to 5:45 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 17 – Red Cross offices, 303 Riverview Drive, Benton Harbor, 11 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.
For a complete listing visit www.berrienredcross. org.

Michigan Blood (formerly known as Michigan Community Blood Centers)
For a complete listing visit www.miblood.org.