Lend a Hand

Call the Volunteer Center of United Way, 209-524-1307, or email volunteer@uwaystan.org.

AMERICAN RED CROSS

NEEDED: Volunteers 16 and older to serve in a variety of roles in Modesto and throughout Stanislaus County. Disaster responders are needed to respond to home fires, which occur every eight hours in our region. Some positions may require 18 years of age and older. Fire prevention volunteers are needed to install smoke detectors in 700 homes in the next six months. Additional needs include general office work, volunteer intake and orientation, first aid, service to the armed forces and emergency preparedness education, including the Red Cross Pillowcase Project. All volunteers receive Red Cross volunteer training. Some volunteer duties may be performed at home. For more information, visit RedCross.org/GoldCountry and click on “Volunteer with Us.”

CONTACT: Eric Goossens, 209-523-6502, eric.goossens@redcross.org

CENTRAL CALIFORNIA ART ASSOCIATION

NEEDED: Volunteers 21 and older to be trained as Mistlin Gallery docents, working twice a month, Tuesday through Friday, from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday noon to 4 p.m. at Mistlin Gallery, 1015 J St., Modesto. Docents handle sales, greet the public and do light chores. An interview and nine to 12 training hours are required. Hospitality volunteers 18 and older are also needed for special events. Volunteers set up, serve and clean up refreshments and greet visitors for Third Thursday Art Walk from 5 to 9 p.m.

CONTACT: Dixie Zambruno, 209-883-2648, dendix@aol.com

SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS

NEEDED: Volunteers 18 and older and their pets to visit seniors in convalescent hospitals and care facilities through the SPCA Pet Outreach Program. Children are welcome if supervised by parent. Pets need to be friendly and like to be handled. Visits are made the first and second Saturday mornings and the third Wednesday mornings of each month.

CONTACT: Mary Davis, marydavis45@sbcglobal.net

STANISLAUS COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT

NEEDED: Volunteers 22 and older for the STARS program, citizen volunteers who assist the Sheriff’s Department. Roles include patrolling the county, court security, jail assistance, vacation house checks, neighborhood watch and more. Volunteers must be able to commit to at least 10 hours a month, pass an oral board, pass a background investigation and have the desire to help make our community a better place to live.

CONTACT: Deputy Del Nero, 209-558-8930

VOLUNTEER INCOME TAX ASSISTANCE (VITA)

NEEDED: Volunteers 18 and older to prepare taxes for individuals in Turlock, Patterson, Ceres, Modesto, Salida, Oakdale, Riverbank, Empire and Waterford. VITA will allow elderly, disabled and low-income families and individuals in the community to access free tax preparation. Volunteers do not need prior experience and hours are flexible. Training is required and is free. If you are interested in volunteering at the Salida, Riverbank or Oakdale site, contact Darlene at darlenemartinez@sbcglobal.net or 209-312-3957. For all other site locations, call , contact AARP Tax Aide team at 888-687-2277.

CONTACT: Margaret Land, margaretland@sbcglobal.net

UNITED WAY OF STANISLAUS COUNTY

NEEDED: Volunteers to support the United Way’s CHEF Health Initiative at Caswell Elementary School in Ceres and Bret Harte Elementary School in Modesto. The CHEF initiative provides bags of healthy food as well as nutrition education classes for parents and students. Volunteers can help build bags of food on two Fridays a month midday and/or assist teachers in providing nutrition education at one of the nutrition workshops.

CONTACT: Cory Brown, 209-523-4562, CBrown@uwaystan.org

This story was originally published December 30, 2016 at 10:40 AM with the headline "Lend a Hand."