[Volunteers] OVP Digest for 12/3 to 12/9

[Office of Volunteer Programs]

Monday, December 3, 2007
OFFICE OF VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS WEEKLY LISTSERVE
Brought to you by CUVolunteer.org, the most comprehensive list of volunteer opportunities in Champaign County

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1.  International Health Fair TODAY
2.  OVP Holiday Toy Drive Still Runnin’ Strong
3.  Champaign Park District Holiday Events (12/1,12/3,12/8)
4.  Feed the Need (finals week help needed)
5.  Spring Break with Habitat (apps. due 12/15)
6.  Community Stewardship through Environmental Education
7.  Reaching Out to Homeless Women
8.  The Illini 4000 for Cancer (May 2008)
9.  Volunteer Positions at the University YMCA


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Lose yourself in generous service and every day can be a most unusual day, a triumphant day, an abundantly rewarding day!

(William Arthur Ward, American scholar, author, editor, pastor and teacher)
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1.  INTERNATIONAL HEALTH FAIR TODAY

We wanted to remind you that "Pushing the Boundaries of Global Health" an international health fair is TODAY, Monday Dec. 3rd 5:00-7:00 pm in Illini Union room A.  The featured speaker is Dr. Susan Farner, a professor in the community health department. We will have groups such as the Peacecorps, International Impact, and the study abroad office present, so BRING YOUR FRIENDS!

-GET EDUCATED!
        - learn about international health issues
        - how different governments keep their countries healthy
        - about health issues such as literacy and disability
- find out how to TAKE ACTION
     -through health related volunteer opportunities
     - study abroad opportunities
     - international internships

For more info contact Liya Milgram milgram2 at uiuc.edu



2.  OVP HOLIDAY TOY DRIVE STILL RUNNIN’ STRONG

The Holiday Toy Drive started Wednesday, November 14 and will run through Wednesday, December 12th.  We have several toys donated already, but why not make it more?  Help brighten the holidays for local children by dropping off your donated toys in room 288 Illini Union. They should value no more than $15 and should be left unwrapped. Individuals who donate will be entered into a raffle to win gift certificates to campus businesses and restaurants. The group that donates the most toys will win either a pizza party or a free DI ad. If you have questions, please feel free to contact OVP at ovp at uiuc.edu or call 333-7424.



3.  CHAMPAIGN PARK DISTRICT HOLIDAY EVENTS

With the holidays right around the corner, the Champaign Park District has several fun events coming up that need volunteer help!

During this week, we are looking for a group to come in and help wrap numerous holiday presents for kids in preparation for our Douglass Holiday Party. The exact day and time is flexible depending up the group’s own scheduling needs.

On Saturday, December 8, the Douglass Holiday Party will be taking place from 1pm to 3pm. We need some people to help set up the event, run the games and crafts, and help pass presents out to the kids. Finally, we are looking for a group of males to help out with our Calls from Santa. Volunteers will act like Santa and call a list of good little boys and girls, eagerly waiting to hear from the North Pole. Volunteers would be needed from 5:30 to approximately 8pm.

If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please contact Katie Flint (at 217.398.2550 or katie.flint at cparkdistrict.com). Thanks in advance for your support!



4.  FEED THE NEED

Students Team Up to Fight Hunger will be hosting a campus-wide food drive entitled "FEED THE NEED". They will need volunteers during the week of finals to collect food from dorms and apartment complexes on campus.  They will be collecting from 6pm-10pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night of finals week. Please e-mail illinistufh at gmail.com if you are interested in helping for any amount of time!



5.  SPRING BREAK WITH HABITAT

Come on Spring Break with Habitat!!!! This year we are going to Fort Smith, AR and Oak Ridge, TN. To apply, go to: http://habitat.union.uiuc.edu/H4H/default.aspx, register, then to documents. It is due by December 15th with a $75 deposit to the Habitat Office in the RSO Complex, Room 266. Any questions or just want more information? EMAIL BECKY at schield2 at uiuc.edu



6.  COMMUNITY STEWARDSHIP THROUGH ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

Enroll for a new service-learning course for Spring 2008! "NRES 285: Community Stewardship through Environmental Education" is an exciting new service-learning course that will be team-taught by three NRES faculty members, and supported by staff from Extension's Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Program and the Center for Teaching Excellence. Students will have the opportunity to hear lectures from scientists on topics related to biodiversity, ecosystem health, and the effects of aquatic invasive species. They will work in teams to teach elementary and middle school youth about these topics, using the "Nab the Aquatic Invader" interactive website www.sgnis.org/kids. They will also develop community stewardship projects with the youth to teach the community about how to reduce the spread of invasive species. Community stewardship projects will be celebrated at U of I's Annual Environmental Horizons showcase in the Union. For questions, contact Valeri Werpetinski werpetin at uiuc.edu

There are eight sections of this course available (CS1-CS8). Please note that there are NO PREREQUISITES for these sections!! Visit http://courses.uiuc.edu/cis/schedule/urbana/2008/Spring/NRES/285.html for more class information.



7.  REACHING OUT TO HOMELESS WOMEN

Did you know that the City of Champaign has no emergency shelter for homeless women?  Think back to last January when our community was paralyzed from a blizzard so icy, snowy and cold that the University of Illinois closed its doors to students for two days for the first time since we can remember.  Now, imagine where a woman without a home would find shelter overnight from that storm.  Probably clothed in layers and surrounded by cardboard, she huddled over a warm air return behind a Laundromat in some unobtrusive part of our community.  Now, imagine instead that this homeless woman was able to find shelter-- a bed in a warm room -- in your community, at Champaign First United Methodist Church.

Beginning January 1, 2008 and running through mid-April, working in collaboration with the Center for Women in Transition and the TIMES Center, Champaign First United Methodist Church will answer the much-needed call to offer emergency overnight housing to homeless women in the CU community – to five or six homeless women per night.  While providing overnight shelter for six people may seem a small endeavor, the volunteer effort required will be enormous (needed will be: drivers, schedule makers, phone-callers, launderers, set-up and clean-uppers, prayer-partners, on-site volunteers, etc.)

You are invited to consider how you can be involved in this new program to those in our midst in need.  If you would like to learn more about the various volunteer opportunities related to this program, please contact Mary Brady at  mbrady at champaignfumc.org or  217 356-9078 or Cathy Koerber at ckoerber at uiuc.edu or 355-2589.



8.  THE ILLINI 4000 FOR CANCER

The Illini 4000 sends a team of 25 riders across the United States each summer to raise money for cancer research.  This summer they are riding from Seattle to Washington D.C; the ride will begin during the last week of May 2008 and end no later than August 2, 2008. This year they hope to raise $100,000 for the American Cancer Society and Camp Kesem. If you are interested in riding or helping out, please contact Jonathan Schlesinger at jschles2 at uiuc.edu and check out the following websites: www.Illini4000.org & www.filmsthatmove .com (see the trailer)!!!



9.  VOLUNTEER POSITIONS AT THE UNIVERSITY YMCA

Development Assistant (2-3 hours per week)
The University YMCA is looking for a volunteer to help price, post, sell, and ship items online to raise money for the University YMCA programs.

University YMCA Program Intern (6-8 hours per week)
Tasks may include, but are not limited to: * Assist with planning, marketing, and implementation of weekly lecture series * Help track program participants * Assist Program Director with the development and implementation of a comprehensive marketing plan for University YMCA programs * Assist Program Coordinator with the development of fundraising resources and the implementation of local business survey *
Develop content for quarterly newsletter publication (Y-book) * Assist with general office tasks, such as: mailings, filing, copies, etc.

If you’re interested in either of these positions, please send a resume and a short paragraph describing your interests to Kasey (kasey at universityymca.org OR (217) 337-1514).


Have a studious week!