[Volunteers] Volunteer listserv: November 16th

Tue Nov 16 12:34:48 CST 2004

Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Office of Volunteer Programs Weekly Listserv

Thanksgiving is a time to reflect upon how much we have to be 
thankful for, including the people in our lives and our 
general living conditions and environments that others may 
not be as fortunate to have. What better way to show thanks 
this Fall Break than to donate some of your time and 
volunteer. Any little thing helps. “We ourselves feel that 
what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean 
would be less because of that missing drop.” ~Mother Teresa. 
Have a happy holiday. 

Table of Contents
1. Tutor Needed
2. Serve Dinner at Women’s Shelter
3. Parents’ Night Out
4. Invasive Tree Removal, Preserve the Prairie 
5. Winter in the Woods at Allerton Park
6. Tent City at State Football Tournament
7. Children’s Holiday Party
8. Aerospace Museum
9. Holiday Toy Drive

1. Tutor Needed

High school student, Junior, is seeking a tutor as soon as 
possible for all subjects. Tutor will need to meet with the 
student 2-3 times per week.  Times and locations are 
flexible, but a car is necessary because the student lives in 
Urbana. Please contact Anna Kultys at kultys at uiuc.edu if 
interested. Further information can be discussed at that time.

2. Serve Dinner at Women’s Shelter

Service and Justice Outreach will prepare and serve dinner at 
a women's shelter on the evening of Thursday, November 18th. 
Volunteers are needed to prepare and serve the meal, and to 
provide child care.  For more information or to volunteer 
please contact serviceandjustice at yahoo.com

3. Parents’ Night Out

The YMCA is hosting a Parents’ Night Out, Friday, November 
19th from 6PM-10PM.  This is an event where parents can drop 
their kids off at the McKinley Family Center and go out for a 
night!  We entertain their kids with games, swimming, crafts, 
food, and a movie! We are looking for volunteers to just hang 
out with and help watch the kids! Please contact   
ashleyc at ccymca.net for more information.

4. Invasive Tree Removal, Preserve the Prairie

Educational Resources in Environmental Science needs 
volunteers to help preserve the prairie. We will be removing 
invasive trees that have encroached on our railroad right of 
way prairie near Monticello. The trees, which are not large, 
will be dragged to the edge of the row where they will act as 
wild-life habitat. We have one urgent problem and that is if 
we do not remove these trees, especially those under the 
power lines, Illinois Power has a right to herbicide the 
trees and the prairie because if the trees get too big they 
can short out the power lines. So your help is appreciated. 
The ability to handle a saw is helpful or you can bring your 
own, but neither is necessary to help. We will meet Saturday, 
November 20th at 115 N Market at 8.30 AM and go to 
Monticello. Anyone who needs to leave early should bring a 
vehicle or team up with someone who has the same difficulty. 
The task is one that provides instant gratification because 
progress can be made quickly. For information or directions 
contact David Monk at dmonk at prairienet.org or call (217) 351-
1911.

5. Winter in the Woods at Allerton Park

Allerton Park is having its Winter in the Woods event this 
weekend and still need help!  Volunteers are needed November 
20th, Saturday morning from 10AM-12PM to greet, take tickets, 
and prepare and serve hot chocolate and cookies at the 
Visitor Center. Later that night, volunteers are needed 
around 7PM-8:30PM to light the luminaries for evening hike 
and then collect them from the trail at the end of the night. 
Sunday, volunteers are needed for two hour shifts at a time 
from 10AM-4PM to greet, take tickets, perform crafts with 
children, sell tickets for riding on the sleigh and also 
people to ride on the sleigh. If you can come in to help with 
any of these things, we’d really appreciate it.  Allerton 
Park is located at 515 Old Timber Road in Monticello. Contact 
Kim Petzing at (217) 244-1035 or email 

6. Tent City at State Football Tournament

Volunteers are needed inside "Tent City" during the State 
Football Tournament to monitor the interactive games, answer 
questions about the community, pass out complimentary 
souvenirs, pick up trash as necessary and make sure the 
coaches' room has food and drink. Shifts are from three hours 
long and begin at the following times: 7AM, 10AM, 1PM, 4PM, 
7PM and 10PM on November 26 and November 27. Tent City is 
across from Memorial Stadium Champaign. If you would like to 
participate or need further information contact Lucas at 
lucast at champaigncounty.org or call him at (217) 351-4133, 
extension 43.

7. Children’s Holiday Party

Volunteers are needed for the Children's Holiday Party for 
Sunday, December 5th. The even takes place in the Illini 
Union rooms A, B, and C. Volunteers will assist kids with 
crafts from 2PM-4PM, and are asked to come 15 minutes prior 
to the event. Contact Kathy Guthrie at (217) 244-7675 or 
email kguthrie at uiuc.edu if you are interested. 

8. Aerospace Museum

The Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum has volunteer 
opportunities in our museum. If you like to work with the 
public, we have a spot for you!!  Our admissions desk and 
gift shop are two of the most important positions.  Why? They 
are the public's first impression of our museum. We offer two 
shifts Mon-Sat 10AM-1PM and 1PM-5PM.  The weekends tend to be 
the busiest, so we like to have two people for each shift. We 
also offer several other volunteer opportunities to choose 
from: Help with Special Events- imagine this.... You love 
skydiving.  When this event comes every year, we will need 
help with a variety of things, and you get to check out the 
grounds, Tour Guide- if you like to provide information to 
others, we offer guided tours to groups of 10 or more, 
Custodial Work-cleaning glass displays, vacuuming, dusting, 
ect., Exhibit Set Up, Hall Monitors for large groups, and 
Maintenance- fixing broken things and general repairs. Our 
hours of operation are Mon-Sat 10AM to 5PM and Sundays 12PM 
to 5PM. If you have an interest in any of the above, contact 
Robyn York at (217) 892-1613 or email 
volunteers at aeromuseum.org.

9. Holiday Toy Drive

Seeing as the holidays are the most joyous times of the year, 
the OVP office collects toys to give to local agencies to 
help brighten a child’s holiday. The Illini Union Rec Room is 
currently offering coupons for a free game of bowling to the 
first 100 people who bring in toys for OVP’s Annual Holiday 
Toy Drive. There are still a lot of coupons left! The Toy 
Drive goes all the way through November and ends December 
6th. Email Lindsay at lbaran at uiuc.edu with the number of 
children you would like to sponsor, and she will give you a 
specific age bracket and requested gift ideas. This is done 
in order for a wider range of children to receive gifts 
rather than over emphasis on a particular age group. OR, you 
can just pick up a toy without signing up for a particular 
child. We can easily find a child to receive it. Please keep 
your toy purchases at $15 or less. Drop off new toys in the 
OVP office located at 277 Illini Union in the RSO complex 
between the hours of 9AM-5PM, Monday through Friday. Please 
do not wrap the toys. The toys collected will be distributed 
to human service agencies in Champaign County. If you have 
any further questions or concerns feel free to contact 
Lindsay or call the Office of Volunteer Programs at (217) 333-
7424.

Visit our website to find more volunteer opportunities: 
www.cuvolunteer.org. 
We offer the most comprehensive list of volunteer 
opportunities in Champaign County.

Staci Provezis & Michael Cipriani
Office of Volunteer Programs
Phone#:  333-7424
E-mail:  ovp at uiuc.edu
Office:  277 Illini Union (in the RSO complex)
Website: www.union.uiuc.edu/ovp