The Volunteer Center of Durham, a United Way agency, lists the following volunteer opportunities. For information, call 613-5105 or visit www.thevolunteercenter.org.
- Duke Hospice needs volunteers for patient/family support. Volunteers are needed to help patients who are living with a terminal illness and their families and caregivers. Two sessions of volunteer training have been scheduled for this fall. Session one will be held once a week on Monday afternoons for 6 weeks starting September 21st in Durham. Session two will be a focused weekend training on November 13th-15th (Friday evening, all day Saturday and Sunday).
- Youth Empowered Solutions is a small, new nonprofit in need of grant writers. If you have grant experience, or even just enthusiasm for organizations that empower youth, they need you. Volunteers will assist staff in researching, writing, editing and reviewing grant proposals.
- The Durham Economic Resource Center is looking for volunteers available on a one time as well as an ongoing basis. There is a great need for people to sort through items in the warehouse.
- Volunteers needed to mentor children and teens who have serious illness, and participate in recreational and social activities with them. A one-year commitment of four hours per month is required.
- Duke Homestead is seeking motivated and dependable individuals to give tours of the historic Duke family farm in Durham. Tours are 45-minute walking tours of four buildings, about 300 yards total.
- Hearing Loss Association of NC -- Durham Chapter is looking for a volunteer to assist in running their small non-profit. Primary duties would be to facilitate a monthly meeting, recruit and assist members/ volunteers, and coordinate services for the hearing impaired. Interested volunteers with good computer skills should contact Bob Jentsch at 489-7186 or fitzjent@aol.com.
- Wish Granting Volunteers Needed for the Make-A-Wish Foundation! Wish Granters visit the family and interview the wish child, explaining the wish procedures and experiencing first-hand the impact a granted wish can make!
- Caring individuals are needed to staff the Durham Crisis Response Center's Crisis Line Advocate or Hospital Responder programs for four-hour daytime shifts. Hours are flexible and are worked out to fit your schedule. 40 hours of training time is required.
- Foster Homes needed for abandoned pets! A pet foster parent provides temporary, in-home care for friendly kittens, puppies, dogs, cats, rabbits, or other animals until they are adopted. All veterinary expenses are covered. If you can open your home to a pet in need, the Pet Foster Network needs you!
- Do you like working with people? Do you need flexible volunteering hours? Durham Parks and Recreations -- Campus Hills needs your help assisting with recreation programs. Programs include after-school activities to senior aerobics to special events, and everything in between.
- Ronald McDonald House of Durham needs volunteers to supervise their family room. The family room is an oasis for families of children hospitalized on the 5th floor, and is not open unless a volunteer is on duty. The volunteer welcomes the parents and introduces them to all the amenities the room has to offer. If you like meeting new people and bringing cheer to someone's day, this is the opportunity for you.
- Help the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle with nutrition outreach! Volunteers will be trained to speak to groups of low-income individuals by Durham DSS about the food assistance programs available and the importance of good nutrition. Speaking engagements will be in the afternoon or evenings.
- Clean Energy Durham is looking for volunteers with some experience using hand tools to become trainers for homeowners in basic "do it yourself" energy-saving techniques.
- Achievement Academy of Durham needs volunteers to tutor one-on-one with motivated students who have dropped out of high school and are working towards their GED. Tutors needed to read with low readers and possibly to help students with high school level subjects. Need not be a teacher or an expert; GED materials provided are designed for easy teaching and training is provided.
- Project Compassion seeks volunteers interested in working as part of a team to provide practical, emotional, and spiritual support to people in our community who are facing serious illness. Schedule is flexible- teams coordinate their activities when they can. Volunteers carry out a wide range of activities, including visiting, providing transportation, working in the garden, and helping identify community resources. Right now volunteers are needed to participate in teams in Durham and Hillsborough, as well as in other areas of the Triangle. Volunteers are also needed to participate in a project called Circles of Care, which develops Support Teams for African-Americans with serious illness in Durham, Orange, Wake, and Chatham counties.
- The after school program at Persontown Elementary, a year-round school, is looking for a volunteer to instruct students in sign language. Students enrolled in after school are ages 5 - 11 and they meet every week day from 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. Instruction time can be scheduled at the volunteer's convenience. The students would like to learn a song to perform for the school and community!
- Do you love libraries? Durham Public Schools media centers are in need of volunteers to shelve books, check in books and magazines, repair books, assist with Book Fairs, and maintain catalog files and displays. This is a wonderful opportunity for a volunteer able to commit to several hours a week. Assistance is needed at elementary, middle and high schools.
- CenterFest needs your help! Spend three hours at CenterFest Arts Festival Saturday or Sept. 20 in downtown Durham doing one of the many various jobs around the festival grounds- serve soda, hand out information, greet folks as they come in, monitor parking and entrance gates, work with the kids zone, and more.
Retired and Senior Volunteer Program of Durham County
Have you considered helping others and don't know whom to call? The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program of Durham County is eager to use the skills and expertise of people 55 years and older. Contact us at 536-7247 extension 5303 or 5301 or rsvpdurhamnc@durhamtech.edu.
- Calling all animal lovers. A great way to get your walking in and to also serve your community is to volunteer as a dog walker with the Animal Shelter. Please call 536-7247 extension 5303 or 5301.
- Welcome Baby needs volunteers in the following areas: Child Care Helpers, Car Seat Helpers, and a Giving Closet Donation Deliverer. Call RSVP for more information.
- Volunteers are needed for a new Inpatient Care Facility (ICF). We need volunteers to support he staff with routine administrative tasks. Training provided. Must be able to serve 3 to 4 hour shifts with a one year commitment.
- Volunteer Tutors wanted. Work one-on-one with teenage students, tutoring them in Math, Science, Reading, Language Arts, Writing, Social Studies, or test taking strategies.
- Are you passionate about sharing your work experiences or special skills you have acquired? If so, your expertise is needed to teach a 10-week apprenticeship class to a group of 12 middle school students. Mandatory training sessions are September 19 and September 25. Please call for more information.
- A child is waiting for you to share your volunteer spirit! Become a Reading Buddy. No prior tutoring experience is necessary. Give one hour a week to work with a child one-on-one in the Durham Public Elementary School of your choice.
- Urgent!! Drivers needed to take Durham Residents to the hospital and for doctor visits. No lifting involved and vehicle is provided.
- Would you enjoy calling new parents once a week for about 8 weeks to answer questions and provide information on newborn care and community resources? Call today for more information. The first of three mandatory volunteer training sessions starts October 2 from 6-9 p.m. Bilingual (English/Spanish) volunteers are especially needed.
- Volunteer Child Care Helpers are needed at various times throughout the week to hold and care for babies and to engage young children in reading and play activities for about 2 hours while their parents attend classes and participate in other activities at Welcome Baby Family Resource Center. Day and evening opportunities are available.
- Help a child become all he or she can become. The Boys and Girls Club needs you. We are seeking Arts Crafts and Computer Lab Instructors. Call RSVP Durham County today.
- Carolina House Durham needs volunteers to assist residents to/from their activities, to do light paper work and to occasionally answer the phone. We hope you can help.
- Yo Durham needs mentors to provide support and encouragement in career related and academic activities to teens. Training and on-going support will be provided.
- Duke HomeCare and Hospice needs volunteers to provide support and a caring presence to patients and their families. Volunteers are also needed to knit or crochet care shawls for the patients. Patterns are provided. Please call RSVP today if you can help with this great need!
- Is your favorite pet a cat or do you like all animals in general? If so, Independent Animal Rescue can use your assistance as a cat caregiver.
- Futures for Kids (F4K) is looking for career coaches. F4K provides students, parents and educators with valuable information on hundreds of careers. You must be able to use a computer.
- Big Brothers Big Sisters can use your assistance to contact references, conduct phone interviews, and update assessments with participants awaiting service.
- Durham Convention and Visitors Bureau-Do you love Durham and want to share your knowledge about the good things with others? An opportunity awaits you at this beautiful downtown facility. Help others in person, on the telephone, or via the Internet.
- Advantage Hospice seeks a Direct Care Volunteer and an Indirect Care Volunteer to provide companionship to patients and families, help activities director, provide spiritual support, or respite care.
- Edge Training and Placement has a need for a receptionist. Responsibilities will include answering the phone, data entry and other clerical duties.
- In Stepp is looking for volunteers to serve as job developers and life coaches/mentors to assist women re-entering the work force.
