Lend a Hand (2/12/12)

Call the Volunteer Center of the United Way at (209) 524-1307 or e-mail volunteer@uwaystan.org.

HOWARD TRAINING CENTER — 18th annual Crab Fest Fundraiser will be held March 2-3 at the Howard Training Center Witmer Hall. The event features an all you can eat crab dinner, raffle, live auction, and dancing to the sounds of the Silver Moon Band while raising dollars to support services and vocational/nonvocational training for adults with mental retardation and other disabilities. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and dinner is served at 7. Tickets are available on the agency's Web site at http://howardtrainingcenter.com at $45 for dine-in and $30 to-go. All tickets are sold pre-sale and will not be available at the door. Volunteers, ages 16 years and older, are needed to help set up between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and serve between 5:30 p.m. to midnight on both days and to assist with final clean upMarch 4 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Volunteers are also needed to assist with event prep work such as assembling programs, scrubbing potatoes, bagging cookies, etc. from Feb. 29 to Mar. 2 with flexible daytime hours as arranged with the agency.

STANISLAUS LITERACY CENTER — Spotlights on Reading, "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" by Robert Fulghum, fund-raising event to support literacy efforts will be held Feb. 17-18 at the Petersen Event Center in Modesto. The Feb. 17 performance will begin at7 p.m. with a wine and cheese reception at a ticket price of $25. The Feb. 18 performance will begin with dinner at 6 p.m. for $30. Tickets are available by calling (209) 522-0656 or on the agency's Web site at www.readingworks.net/events. Volunteers, ages 14 years and older, are needed at each event to assist with set up at 1 p.m. on Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday. Volunteers are also needed to serve and replenish refreshments, and assist with silent auction activities during the events, and clean up from 6 to 9 p.m. after each production.

CENTER FOR HUMAN SERVICES HUTTON HOUSE — Adult volunteers are needed to aid runaway and homeless youth in crisis at the shelter. Volunteers answer the crisis line, perform intakes, lead recreational activities, tutor youth, co-facilitate groups, transport youth, chart in files, etc. Volunteers attend 18-hours of initial program and CPR/first-aid trainings and monthly training meetings, pass FBI fingerprint and criminal background review, physical clearance, tuberculosis test, and Child Abuse Index clearance, and commit to volunteeringfour hours per week for a minimum of one year. Training will be held Monday and Tuesday evenings beginning March 5 through March 20 between 5 and 8 p.m. Scheduled volunteer interviews will be held Feb. 21 between 1 and 4:30 p.m. and Feb. 24 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

DOCTORS MEDICAL CENTER — Join a dynamic group of dedicated individuals and spread joy and encouragement to patients, visitors, and staff at DMC. Adult Service League volunteers over the age of 25 years are needed in all areas of the hospital to direct patients and visitors, escort discharged patients by wheelchair, assist staff with errands, help with merchandising and sales in the hospital's gift shop, the Gift Box, and much more. All volunteers receive 25 hours of training in the selected areas of service throughout the hospital. Prospective volunteers must be dependable, organized, work well with people, commit to volunteering at least two 3½-hour shifts per month for one year of service, complete the application process, and pass a background check.

INTER-FAITH MINISTRIES — Adult volunteers are needed to help provide food and clothing to needy individuals and families weekdays. Warehouse volunteers pick up, receive, sort, and distribute food to clients; food pantry volunteers interview clients, offer support and referrals, bag grocery orders, and stock shelves; and clothes closet volunteers sort clothing and assist in the community clothes closet. Volunteers must be at least 18 years of age or 16 to 17 years with an adult and be able to lift at least 25 to 40 pounds depending upon the position.

READINGWORKS ADULT LITERACY PROGRAM — Teach an adult to read and change the future! More than 100,000 Stanislaus County adults are in the two lowest levels of literacy and are considered functionally illiterate and you can change a person's life, their future, and their children's future by opening doors through reading. For the first time in many years a special tutor training will be offered in Patterson on Feb. 25 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Patterson/Newman Family Resource Center. After training, volunteers are matched with an adult student living in this area who is available for tutoring at a time and location convenient for the volunteer. Volunteers, ages 16 years and older, spend just 90 minutes twice a week increasing a student's basic reading skills utilizing an easy to follow phonics-based curriculum.