|
Serve the Community Through AmeriCorps
|
 More than 80,000 Americans serve nonprofits, public agencies, schools, and community and faith-based groups each year through AmeriCorps, an intensive service work program often referred to as the "domestic Peace Corps." In Montgomery County, several nonprofits are currently recruiting AmeriCorps members to serve the community in a variety of positions. Here is a sampling.
CASA de Maryland is looking for full- and part-time immigrant integration specialists to support eligible lawful permanent residents in applying for U.S. citizenship and to provide them with financial education and tax preparation assistance. Preference for those bilingual in Spanish, French, Korean, or Mandarin. To apply, send a current resume by email to Pablo Blank.
Interfaith Works seeks six full-time vocational coaches to work directly with unemployed and underemployed individuals, equipping them with knowledge and skills to find and succeed in jobs and long-term career goals. The organization is also looking for four full-time outreach coordinators to connect needy households to appropriate resources for which they are eligible, helping to support their path out of poverty. View position details here. To apply, submit a cover letter and resume by email to Lynn Arndt.
Project Change Maryland is recruiting a dozen AmeriCorps members to serve at its partner agencies in Montgomery County. The full- and part-time opportunities include coordinating group dialogues on race and ethnicity for MCPS, providing after-school dance training for disadvantaged students through ClancyWorks Dance Company, and supporting school-day and after-school programs for YMCA Youth & Family Services, Montgomery Housing Partnership, MCPS, and more. View position details here. For more information, email Paul Costello.
Volunteer Maryland seeks full-time volunteer program coordinators to develop or expand volunteer programs at nonprofit and public agencies throughout the state, including the following in Montgomery County: Conflict Resolution Center of Montgomery County, Hospice Caring, Mercy Health Clinic, Montgomery County Community Action Agency, So What Else, and Stepping Stones Shelter. View the position announcement here. Call 410-697-9282, email Volunteer Maryland, or visit the agency's website for an application.
AmeriCorps members receive job experience, training, and are paid a living allowance stipend throughout the course of their service. They may also be eligible to receive an educational award at the end of their service.
|
 |
|
|
CollegeTracks
Making Higher Education a Reality for Area Youth
|
|
|
| CollegeTracks volunteer Helen Morgan works with students at Wheaton High School |
Without a college degree, the path to independence and prosperity can be uncertain for young people these days.
CollegeTracks came on the scene in 2003 to make the dream of going to college a reality for low-income and immigrant students who do not come from a college-going tradition.
CollegeTracks currently serves students at three high-need high schools in Montgomery County--Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Watkins Mill, and Wheaton--helping students with college selection, standardized test preparation, essay writing, application preparation, and completion of the FAFSA to qualify for financial aid. The organization's mission is to help deserving students get to and through college with little to no debt and the support to stick it out to the finish line.
Since its inception, CollegeTracks has helped 7,500 students go to college and onto productive and rewarding careers. But to meet the growing needs of the program, its devoted full-time staff needs high-energy volunteers with a desire to improve the lives of young people, their families, and the community.
Volunteers report high satisfaction with the CollegeTracks experience. "Helping these terrific kids is amazingly rewarding volunteer work," one long-time volunteer enthusiastically notes. "I find it personally gratifying that I can give back in this way, and more importantly, it produces very real, tangible results and changes lives. I get the same sense of pride sending these kids off to college as I did sending my own kids off to college."
To learn more about the organization and how you can experience that volunteer pride, visit the
CollegeTracks website.
|
|
|
FEATURED VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
|
|
Put Your Language Skills to Work as a Translator
|
Do you speak (or sign) a language in addition to English? Put your skills to work to help our community as a volunteer translator or interpreter, assisting local nonprofits and government agencies in their work to serve residents who may have limited English proficiency or communicate with sign language.
The Montgomery County Volunteer Center's website features a wide range of such opportunities for individuals who are fluent in multiple languages, including the Montgomery County Language Bank, a program of the Office of Community Partnerships, which seeks adults fluent in all languages to serve as translators for short-term needs for a variety of county agencies and area nonprofit organizations.
Other organizations currently recruiting translators include
- The county Office of Consumer Protection in Rockville, which needs native speakers of all languages--but especially Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Spanish--to help work to investigate and resolve consumer complaints as well as to work with the immigrant community on outreach
- Family Services Inc., which is looking for an American Sign Language interpreter for a parent in its Early Head Start program in Germantown
- The C&O Canal Trust, headquartered in Hagerstown, now seeking an English-Spanish translator to create brochures and other media in Spanish
- Charles E. Smith Life Communities, which seeks volunteers who speak Russian, Hebrew, Spanish, Mandarin, and other languages, to visit with residents of its Rockville nursing home, assisted living facility, and rehabilitation center
- Gaithersburg Help, which is recruiting volunteers fluent in both English and Spanish to work from home to help schedule support for clients of this organization dedicated to providing residents with basic food and medical needs
- Community Ministries of Rockville, which needs Spanish interpreters to assist patients and care providers at its Mansfield Kaseman Health Clinic, a low-cost primary health care and health education facility
- Mercy Health Clinic in Gaithersburg, which also needs Spanish (as well as French) interpretation assistance for its low-income and uninsured patients and medical providers
You can find even more language-based volunteer opportunities on the Volunteer Center website by searching for "translator" or "interpreter."
|
|
|
Dive Into a New Volunteer Position!
|
Summer is a great time to try something new--maybe a new volunteer role! Check out these below--just a few of the hundreds of volunteer positions listed on the Volunteer Center's website. Check our calendar for more date-specific opportunities and our newest listings for those posted most recently. Or use the red box on our home page or at the top of this email to search for more opportunities by keyword, location, organization, or more.
These opportunities are pre-approved to provide MCPS Student Service Learning (SSL) hours--but they're not just for students! Other opportunities may be eligible for SSL hours; visit the MCPS SSL website to learn more.
|
|
Social Skills Mentors: Saturdays, July 15 and Aug. 5, 4:30-7 pm, Germantown. Learn and demonstrate social and communication skills along with dance moves at
ArtStream's inclusive party class for adult actors with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Training provided. Minimum age: 13.
Email Chad Rabago or call 301-565-4567.
Picnic Fundraiser Assistants: Tuesday, July 25, shifts available 7:30 am-10 pm, Olney. Shuck corn, serve food, assist at shopping tables, run games for kids, direct traffic, and more for the
Women's Board of Montgomery General Hospital's 95th Annual Picnic & Bazaar, which raises funds for the hospital and scholarships for students pursuing healthcare degrees.
Email Joan Murphy.
5K Run/Cookout Volunteers: Saturday, July 29, 7 am-3 pm, DC. Help set up, register runners, oversee race markers, distribute t-shirts, and serve food for Fast Forward: The Race Back from Leukemia, an event sponsored by the
Leaders Institute.
Email Patricia Biggs.
Birthday Party Hosts: Wednesday, Aug. 2, 7:30-9 pm, Rockville. Bring the cake, ice cream, and other goodies, and stick around to help celebrate the month's "birthday girls" at a women's shelter. Sponsored by
KindWorks. Volunteers must be reliable and friendly.
Email Deb Lang or call 301-792-3708.
Music Camp Counselors: Weekdays, July 31-Aug. 11, 8:30 am-3 pm, Glen Echo. Assist with week-long summer music camps run by the
Washington Conservatory of Music. Volunteers must provide two references and have the ability to relate to young children.
Email Kathy Judd or call 301-320-2770.
Basketball Clinic Assistant Coaches: Weekdays, Aug. 21-Sept. 1, 6-8 pm, Rockville. Help
Maryland Basketball Academy coaches run preseason youth skills clinics. Volunteers must be rising high school juniors or older and commit to attending all five days of at least one session.
Email Andrew Meringoff or call 703-677-1818.
|
|
ONGOING & FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES
Volunteer Program Manager: Lead the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP--a part of Senior Corps) based out of the
Montgomery County Volunteer Center's Germantown office. Specific duties will depend on the volunteer's interests, experience, and availability, but may include managing the RSVP/AARP Tax-Aide Program (including recruiting volunteers, scheduling program sites, and promoting the program), participating in community outreach efforts, and assisting with other Volunteer Center events and activities.
Email Kathleen Stobie or call 240-777-2600.
STEAM Museum Apprentices: Assist the Kid Museum's lead artists, developers, creative director, and program managers with delivering workshops, activities, and museum exhibits. Apprentices must be current high school students and commit to volunteering at the Bethesda museum at least three four-hour shifts per month for a minimum of one semester. Fall application deadline: Tuesday, Aug. 15. Email Adriana Ray or download the application.
Meal Delivery Drivers: Pick up and deliver meals mid-day to area disabled individuals who cannot safely shop or prepare meals themselves. Each Gaithersburg Meals on Wheels delivery route serves about 8-12 clients, and can be completed in about an hour. Drivers must commit to serving a route once a week or every other week and must supply their own vehicle. Email Thomas Gill or call 301-926-0420.
Teen Court Jurors: Hear cases and determine appropriate disposition for first-time juvenile offenders brought before the Montgomery County Teen Court. Open to all high school students residing in Montgomery County. Volunteers must commit to attending court sessions on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month throughout the semester, 4:30-7:30 pm, at the Circuit Courthouse in Rockville. Training provided. Applications accepted Thursday, Aug. 10-Wednesday, Aug. 16. Email Paulette Corbit or call 240-777-7388.
|
|
|
You can help ensure that all students in our area are equipped for success during the coming school year by participating in the following school supplies drives sponsored by organizations that serve some of our county's neediest youth. Some of these drives are seeking specific supplies as noted below, but, in general, the greatest needs are sturdy new backpacks, loose-leaf paper, pencils, highlighters, markers, colored pencils, binders, pencil pouches, pens, and glue sticks. Monetary donations are also welcome.
Housing Opportunities Commission is collecting backpacks, school supplies, gift cards, and cash donations to create 1,000 backpacks filled with supplies for youth living in HOC's low- and moderate-income housing.
When: Thursday, July 13, through Wednesday, Aug. 23
Where: HOC offices at 10400 Detrick Ave., Kensington; 231 East Deer Park Drive, Gaithersburg; 101 Lakeforest Blvd., Suite 200, Gaithersburg; and 8241 Georgia Ave., Third Floor, Silver Spring
Details: Email Kiara Crawley or call 240-528-4619
Interfaith Works is seeking donations of a variety of school supplies, backpacks, new children's socks and underwear, Giant gift cards, and SmartTrip cards to help 2,000 local needy students start the school year well-equipped.
When: Throughout summer
Where: 751 Twinbrook Parkway, Rockville
Details: Call 301-424-3796
Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless is collecting backpacks, lunchboxes, books, and a variety of school supplies for the children it serves, and is also in need of party supplies for its back-to-school fair where supplies are distributed. In addition, volunteers are needed to help sort supplies, fill backpacks, and serve during the fair.
When: Weekdays, 9 am-5 pm, through Wednesday, Aug. 23 (back-to-school fair held Monday, Aug. 29)
Where: 600-B East Gude Drive, Rockville
Details: Sign up online or email Lynn Rose
Montgomery County Public School Educational Foundation's Give BACKpacks campaign accepts monetary donations, which it uses to provide students in need with backpacks filled with school supplies. A $10 contribution covers the cost of a backpack and supplies for one student.
When: Throughout summer
Details: Visit the Give BACKpacks website
|
|
| Plan Your Groups Projects for This Fall |
Are you part of a group interested in working together to help the community in the fall? Now's the time to start planning projects for Maryland's Day to Serve (actually a month to serve--Sept. 11-Oct. 10) and Montgomery County's own Community Service Week (running Oct. 22-29). Schools, community groups, businesses, nonprofits, and other groups, large and small, can follow these links to let organizers know about their plans and ideas, and potentially receive funding for project materials.
|
|
Coming Soon: New Volunteer Center Website!
|
| The Volunteer Center is in the process of updating its website to bring you an improved database of opportunities, new search features, and a more mobile-device-friendly interface. No need to change your bookmarks; you'll still find us at montgomeryserves.org. Watch for more details in our September newsletter! |
|
Watch the Ways to Make a Difference
|
Make a Difference
, a monthly County Cable Montgomery program, highlights the contributions of stellar county volunteers and organizations that contribute positively to our community. The current program features Interfaith Works, a coalition of more than 165 congregations of diverse faiths working together to meet the needs of the poor and homeless in Montgomery County.
Watch it online here
.
|
|
Follow Us on Social Media and Get the Latest!
|
Learn about new and last-minute service opportunities, volunteer news, and information to inspire on the
Montgomery County Volunteer Center Facebook page. If you haven't already done so, Like us to get the latest information in your Facebook feed.
You can also stay connected through these links:
|
Subscribe to Our Partner Newsletters
|
The Montgomery County Volunteer Center is part of the Office of Community Partnerships, which works to strengthen the relationship between the Montgomery County government and the residents it serves, with special emphasis on underserved and emerging communities. Subscribe to the monthly OCP newsletter to keep up these activities.
Follow these links to subscribe to our other partner agencies' electronic publications:
|
|
Montgomery County Volunteer Center
240-777-2600
|
|
