Lend a Hand

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

SOCIETY FOR DISABILITIES

NEEDED: Volunteers 14 and older to help fundraise in the annual SnowFest Event, a ski and snowboard event comparable to a Jog-a-thon, to be held Saturday, March 4, at Dodge Ridge Resort. Volunteers should arrive by 8 a.m. Volunteers also needed to form fundraising teams. Form a team at: www.firstgiving.com/SOCIETY/society-for-disabilities or to volunteer for the committee or day of event, pleas

CONTACT: Carolyn Teixeira Gomes, 209-524-3536, Carolyn@societyfordisabilities.org

DESTINATION GRADUATION BOOK PACKING PARTY

NEEDED: Volunteers 14 and older for a Book Packing Party in Patterson, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. March 10-11. There are 20,000 books that need to be packed into kits. Local organizations that have needy families who could use books also can pack and take kit of books.

CONTACT: Rochelle Van Horn, 209-238-1706, rvanhorn@stancoe.org

AMERICAN CANCER

SOCIETY

NEEDED: Volunteers 18 and older are needed to assist with the Road to Recovery program, which provides free rides to and from treatment for people with cancer who do not have a ride or are unable to drive themselves. All volunteers must have a valid driver’s license and insurance. Training is required as well as passing a background and DMV check. Drivers are needed in several areas of Stanislaus County.

CONTACT: Linda Sites, 209-524-7241, linda.sites@cancer.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. 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 and emergency preparedness education. 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

HEALTH SERVICES AGENCY VOLUNTEER SERVICES

NEEDED: Volunteers 18 years of age or older, committed to volunteering at least one day a week for a minimum of six months. Gain on-the-job experience while assisting with your clerical and computer skills: Clerical Assistance in Public Health/Family Practice/Pediatrics with our Refugee Program (EMR experience helpful) and/or Arabic, Assyrian, Spanish and other as needed bilingual translator skills. Also recruiting for Volunteer Services Board of Directors (Board Secretary). Complete the application at www.stancounty.com/volunteer. Click on “volunteer application form” in the Volunteer Forms box at the right.

CONTACT: Joyce Decker, 209-558-4179, jdecker@schsa.org

PROJECT SENTINEL

NEEDED: A diverse group of volunteers 18 and older who help fight housing discrimination in Stanislaus County. Like mystery shoppers, fair housing testers pose as potential tenants to see how landlords treat different types of people in real-life situations. As a volunteer tester, you will receive a small stipend for your work.

CONTACT: Zoha Khalili, 209-236-1577, zkhalili@housing.org

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

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 healthy food on two Fridays a month mid-day and/or assist teachers in providing nutrition education at one of our Nutrition Education Workshops.

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

This story was originally published February 24, 2017 at 12:32 PM with the headline "Lend a Hand."