King County Journal - April 8, 2000

Weave Yourself Into The Community
During National Volunteer Week
(and year-round)
by Pamela Mauk
Family Resource Center

Why do people volunteer?

Take a ten minute walk around Family Resource Center, the Eastside’s human services campus, and you will find as many answers to that question as volunteers.

For Thelma Gascoigne, recently transplanted from Australia, it’s a way to stay connected to the work world. (She volunteers during her son’s school hours supporting the campus administration.) “With volunteering you find contacts in the local community and references for employment. Also, computer systems change so quickly.  If you stop being active in the work world, you can become stuck with antiquated skills.”

Mitzi Kemphert is a volunteer for the Redmond Food Bank (a program of Hopelink, one of eighteen independent agencies serving the Eastside which share the Family Resource Center campus in downtown Redmond).  Why volunteer? “ I love it. I enjoy giving something back. I like the people who come through the food bank.  My smile makes them so happy. The work is help that’s needed, and it costs you nothing except a little time.”

Edna Virnig also volunteers for the Food Bank and has done so for many years. “I’m a widow.  I don’t want to sit home in the house and feel sorry for myself.  I don’t have enough to keep me busy at home, so I’m here three times a week.”

 Shaun LaChute is a Camp Fire Boys & Girls camp volunteer  “even though I don’t have kids.”  Why volunteer? “I want to be able to impact youth of today, not so much in a solve-the-problem way, but in a positive-development way.  It’s also fun, and I get to meet other people.”

Judy Herrmann volunteers on a Family Resource Center planning committee.   Why volunteer?   “It’s the challenge of creative thinking and the pleasure of making resources available to the community. It’s feeling connected to the community in which I work. Volunteering gives me information about what’s going on, current needs and changes in community activities.”

 Fun.  Doing good for the community. Getting out. Meeting new people.  Learning new things. These and many other reasons lead people to assist nonprofit and other helping organizations with their volunteer time.

But how do you get involved? Where do you sign up? How can you weave yourself into the community?

For a fun, one-stop shopping trip for volunteer opportunities, join Family Resource Center as which it hosts its annual Eastside Volunteer Fair mid-April (In 2001, the fair will be held on April 12 with sponsorship by Microsoft with support from the Redmond National Bank). Enjoy jazz music and appetizers as you review the tabletop displays or talk with staff from dozens of Eastside nonprofit organizations.  It’s a relaxed drop-in party meant to help you find the kind of volunteer role that works for you:  one-time or ongoing supporter, team member or individual worker, strategic planner or hands-on helper. (We’re located at 16225 NE 87^th across from the Bella Botega movie theater in Redmond.)

 You can check out volunteer opportunities at the Family Resource Center campus (and even apply on-line) at www.familyresourcecenter.org <http://www.familyresourcecenter.org>. You’ll learn where to go to mentor children, teach English as a second language,  build homes, transport the elderly, organize and distribute food, share office skills, be a public speaker, assist medical professionals, prepare mailings and much more.  (You can also give the Center a call to receive a list at 425-869-6699.)

 United Way Volunteer Center is the major volunteer assistance program locally. United Way has opportunities of all kinds at 400 organizations throughout King County.  You can give them a call at 206-461-3655 or visit on-line at www.uwkc.org.

More ideas?  Family Resource Center is one of hundreds of nonprofit organizations throughout King County that yearly benefit from corporate teams who volunteer a day of service to United Way’s Day of Caring.  Employee groups from Boeing, Eddie Bauer, Bon Marche, SAFECO, Hewlett Packard and Alexander Morford & Woo have each spent exhausting, productive, grimy but satisfying days painting the campus, spreading mulch bark, trimming trees, and much more. Day of Caring is United Way of King County’s annual mobilization of thousands of volunteers in our community.  On Sept 15^th over six thousand volunteers will lend at hand at more than 250 nonprofit agencies throughout King County. If you have a volunteer team ready to pitch in for a day, contact the United Way Volunteer Center at 206-461-3655 or e-mail volunteers@uwkc.org.

Still not finding what you need? Perhaps you have a special concern you would like to address. I recommend a resource most commonly used to locate service providers.  The Crisis Clinic maintains the most comprehensive list of nonprofit agencies and delivers detailed referral information on their Community Information Line.  Call 425-869-2811 to discuss your area of interest and locate an agency near you. You can also peruse their database on-line at www.crisisclinic.org, where you can seek agencies by type of service and location.    An additional resource was launched in 2000 when United Way of King County unveiled its Data Resource Center web site to make human service information more available to the community (visit www.uwkc.org/datacenter).

Most agencies are hungry for volunteers. Give your favorites a call and tell them you want to help.

Jump into volunteer service this National Volunteer Week.  It’s fun. It teaches you new things.  You’ll meet new people. Or it may provide

something that’s unique for you. One thing you’ll share with all volunteers: you can weave yourself into the community during National Volunteer Week and year round.

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