Weekly Digest: January 25th, 2016

Civic Engagement Weekly Digest │ January 27th, 2016

 

Read below to learn about upcoming volunteer opportunities in the Charleston community. Volunteer announcements are either one-time events or ongoing service opportunities. Contact information is included with each entry. If you are searching for more volunteer opportunities email our office at: volunteer@cofc.edu. Please make sure to register/sign-up for events you plan on attending!

 

Recurring Service Opportunities

Keep Charleston Beautiful! Keep Charleston Beautiful, an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful and the City of Charleston, conducts environmental clean ups of debris around the Charleston area. Volunteers go to specific neighborhoods, streets, parks and marshes to help keep Charleston beautiful! Our next clean-up is January 30th from 10am to 1pm. To sign up or get more information, please email: volunteer@cofc.edu, with the subject line, “Keep Charleston Beautiful”!

Lowcountry Food Bank! The Lowcountry Food Bank, located in North Charleston, helps feed children, adults, seniors and families in need along coastal South Carolina. Come pack, sort, clean food while getting to know your fellow Cougars! Your next opportunity is February 19th, from 12:303:30pm! Limited to the first seven volunteers! Email volunteer@cofc.edu, with the subject line: Lowcountry Food Bank”, to register!

*Transportation provided

 

Community Partner Events and Volunteer Opportunities

People Against Rape! Rape victims in Charleston are in desperate need of advocacy and help. In the hours after the trauma of rape, victims need someone to stand by them. That is what People Against Rape (PAR) has done since 1974. The services that we provide to victims in the Tricounty area are done so by volunteer effort. PAR is currently searching for caring compassionate citizens to fill this crucial role. You can make a difference by helping rape victims after their assault, by accompanying them to the ED for an evidentiary exam, as well as responding to crisis calls and providing referrals for adult victims of sexual assault. We need more volunteer advocates! PAR will provide the necessary training in a series of workshops to be held January 28th through the 31st (Thursday and Friday from 6:00pm to 8:30 pm; Saturday and Sunday from 8:30am to 5:30pm). If you, or someone you know, is able to devote 24 hours per month to serving Tri-County rape victims, we would love to talk with you about PAR’s activities in greater detail. A SLED check is required.

E-mail volunteer@peopleagainstrape.org to obtain more information about this important volunteer opportunity. Please feel free to disseminate this to anyone you know who may be interested in volunteering their time for this very worthy cause. Please apply by January 22nd.

LEAP! Lowcountry Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy is looking for volunteers to fill multiple capacities. Their mission is to enrich the quality of life and relationships of residents of the SC Lowcountry by bringing horses and experienced, highly trained therapists together to assist those who are experiencing behavioral, emotional or psychological challenges.

Horse lovers: muck stalls, clean the barn, fill and clean water troughs, feed, brush horses, bathe horses! We have horse lovers shifts every AM and PM.

Groundskeepers: facility maintenance and beautification; design landscaping; plant, weed, and water flower beds; repair fences; mow and weed eat. (Sat and Sun)

Advocates: market LEAP to businesses and individuals, speak at community meetings regarding the mission and services of LEAP, solicit private donations

Organizers: plan and implement fundraising events, participate in community awareness events.

Please call (281.546.1448) or email (caroline.wallace2011@gmail.com) with your information and Caroline W. Fugle, LEAP’s volunteer coordinator, will be in touch with you.

Meals on Wheels! The Charleston Area Senior Citizens and their Meals on Wheels (MOW) program are looking for volunteers to better the lives of seniors! They serve senior citizens who may be low-income, home-bound, and may have moderate to severe physical restrictions. Volunteer shifts can last anywhere from 2-4 hours. To volunteer contact,Heather Browning, (843) 722-4217 or casc.vista@gmail.com. For more information: charlestonareaseniors.com

Engaging Creative Minds! The mission of Engaging Creative Minds is to inspire the creative and innovative potential of all students to achieve academically and become imaginative, adaptable and productive adults. Help provide arts integration, whether it is creative design or collaboration and problem solving skills, in more than 20 schools! To learn more and sign up, email: kathy@engagingcreativeminds.org

Lowcountry Herald Potluck and Donation Drive! The Lowcountry Herald is a newspaper dedicated to helping the homeless. We make newspapers, give them to the homeless, and the homeless in turn give them away and ask for a three dollar donation. The homeless vendors keep the money as a form of income. They hold a potluck everySunday at 12:452pm on Trident Tech’s Downtown campus. Volunteers are needed each week for this to bring and/or serve food to the homeless. Bringing food is appreciated, but not mandatory. They also collect a wide variety of donated items, from toiletries, blankets, clothing, etc. For more information about the Lowcountry Herald and volunteer opportunities, please email: lowcountryherald@gmail.com

Reading Partners! Reading Partners Charleston, a volunteer-based nonprofit literacy organization, is looking for volunteer tutors.  The organization offers one-on-one literacy tutoring to struggling readers in under-resourced elementary schools in Charleston, Berkeley and Florence counties.   Using a research-proven curriculum, volunteer tutors meet with a student for one hour each week to develop and practice skills crucial to reading proficiently.   In 2014-15, 77% of the students enrolled in the program accelerated their rate of learning and 67% narrowed their literacy gaps with their peers who read at grade level. The program is currently serving 570 students, but has another 140 students who are waiting for a tutor.  By becoming a Reading Partner and volunteering as little as one hour a week, you can help mentor and teach a child to learn to read – unlocking a critical skill that is the foundation for future learning.  For more information or to sign up, visit www.readingpartners.org or call Alexis Johns at 843-860-3915.

Communities in Schools! Communities in Schools and Lambs Elementary need energetic, caring mentors and tutors! Volunteers could work in multiple schools and gain valuable experience, while helping elementary students learn and grow! To get more information and become a volunteer, visit www.cischarleston.org and/or emaildbrown@cischarleston.org

 Beacon Hospice! Beacon Hospice is committed to making quality Hospice care available and accessible to terminally ill persons and their families, regardless of the ability to pay, in a manner consistent with the highest Hospice standards.  We are committed to advocacy for the needs of terminally ill persons and their families, while dedicating ourselves to provide comfort, dignity, privacy, and care efficiently and effectively.  Our commitment to the Hospice Philosophy of care includes compassionate staff dedicated to continuously improve and enhance the care we provide, respect the patient’s choices for care, respond to changing community needs and continue to expand the breadth, scope, professionalism, sensitivity, efficiency and effectiveness of our services to the terminally ill and their families.  Please contact Terry Frasier at 843-972-0500 to discuss volunteer opportunities.

Sandpiper Activities Volunteers! Sandpiper Premier Senior Living is looking for volunteers to interact with their residents in a multitude of ways! They are seeking motivated and energetic volunteers leading games (bingo, cross words, puzzles, shuffle board, etc.), helping put together socials, bible study and group luncheons. Interested parties should contact Marva Bland, Activities Director at (843) 881-3210 ext. 2215

 

 

 

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