If you haven't any charity in your heart, 
you have the worst kind of heart trouble.
--Lilly Pulitzer
JUNE 2017
In This Issue
Gain Professional Experience as an Intern
internships

College and high school students: Looking to put your studies and skills to work while also providing service to a nonprofit or government agency this summer? You can do both as an intern! 

Although many business internships in the area were snatched up weeks ago, plenty of local organizations are still in need of professional help in exchange for a learning experience this summer (and beyond). One way to find them is to look through the Volunteer Center website's list of registered agencies and reach out to those with missions that interest you, offering them ideas on how you could help. Better yet, you can find specific internship positions on the website by searching for the keyword "intern" and/or simply ticking the box for opportunities available to interns on the advanced search page. 

Currently listed internship opportunities are as varied as student interests. Some--like those at Rukundo International,   Empowered Women International, and Hope Connections for Cancer Support--offer experience in nonprofit management, marketing, and community outreach. Others provide outlets for artistic skills, including opportunities with KindWorks, Olney Theater Center for the Arts, and Fairytale Brides on a Shoestring Budget. Still others offer opportunities for those with computer and website skills, including at Takoma Park JazzFest and  Kid Museum. There are even internships available for specialized interests, such as with the Montgomery County Police Department.
SPOTLIGHT ORGANIZATION
Therapeutic Recreation & Inclusion Services
Help Individuals With Disabilities Participate in Camp and Other Recreation Programs
Therapeutic Rec Volunteer
The Montgomery County Therapeutic Recreation & Inclusion Services Team provides accessible leisure and personal development activities for individuals with disabilities. A part of the county Recreation Department, the programs serve residents from pre-school age to over 90 through a variety of classes, camps, and other offerings designed specifically for those with disabilities, as well as by providing the assistance needed to enable individuals with disabilities to participate in general recreation activities.

Volunteers truly make Therapeutic Recreation & Inclusion's programs possible. More than 200 summer and 50 school-year volunteers help with activities every year. Therapeutic recreation volunteers assist at programs where all participants have disabilities, supporting program staff and providing help to participants as needed to be sure they have fun and positive social interactions. Inclusion volunteers, meanwhile, assist at programs where most participants do not have disabilities, working directly with one participant with a disability, facilitating his or her participation, encouraging independence and inclusion, and helping other participants understand and include the participant. 

With summer upon us, the program is now actively seeking volunteers to help with camp programs running June 26 to Aug. 18. Therapeutic recreation junior leaders are needed to help at camps for children with physical, developmental, and/or learning disabilities in Germantown, Kensington, Rockville, and Silver Spring. Inclusion volunteer positions are available at recreation centers across the county. Volunteers for both types of camp aides must be at least 14 and are required to attend training (available for a nominal fee). There is a minimum commitment of one week.

Other volunteer opportunities with the Therapeutic Recreation & Inclusion Services Team offered throughout the year include sign language/cued speech interpreters, after-school program companions, and swim assistants, all at multiple locations countywide.

All of these volunteer opportunities are pre-approved for MCPS student service learning credits.

Serving with Therapeutic Recreation & Inclusion is a rewarding experience for volunteers. It gives them a sense of responsibility, opens their eyes and minds to a population that they may not have interacted with otherwise, and allows them to experience what it is like to be a role model. In addition, many volunteers use the experience to explore career paths, get jobs and internships (including internships with Montgomery County Recreation), qualify for scholarships, and build relationships with supervisors who may serve as references or provide recommendations.

To learn more about volunteering, email Marco D'Ottavi or call 240-777-6891.
FEATURED VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Longer Days Leave More Time to Volunteer!
As we approach the summer solstice, many of us just seem to have a bit more energy. Put it to use by serving our community! Here are just a few of the hundreds of opportunities 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. 
SSL Icon
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.

Fundraising Walk Volunteers: Saturday, June 3, 11 am-3 pm or 3-8 pm, DC. Set up the course, register participants, cheer on walkers, distribute food, monitor sponsor booths, and more for the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America's Take Steps Walk, its largest annual fundraising event. Email Kate Brown or call 301-287-8494.

SSL Icon Sports Festival Assistants: Sunday, June 4, 10 am-3:30 pm, Potomac. Team up with an expected 500 children and young adults with disabilities, their families and friends, and their volunteer coaches to participate in exercise activities and games at this annual Kids Enjoy Exercise Now (KEEN) Greater DC event. Minimum age: 15.  Email Beth Wenger or call 301-461-2278.

SSL Icon Canal Park Beautification Volunteers: Saturday, June 10, 9 am-12 noon, Potomac. Clean and paint exhibits, maintain trails, prune vegetation, and help with other spruce-up projects at Great Falls for the C&O Canal Trust. Minimum age: 12. Email Josh Whitman, call 301-745-8888, or sign up online.

Baby Basket Assemblers: Saturday, June 17, 11 am-2 pm, Silver Spring. Put together baskets full of baby supplies to be donated to Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless clients and/or contribute items for the baskets. Email Lynn Rose or call 301-917-6657.

SSL Icon Baseball Snack Bar Assistants: Wednesdays, June 21 and 28, 5-10 pm, and Friday, June 30, 8 am-10 pm, Rockville. Help staff the snack bar for the Rockville Baseball Association. Email Barb Clark or call 240-988-9572.

SSL Icon Bicycle Camp Spotters: Monday-Friday, June 26-30, 90-minute shifts available 8:30 am-4:50 pm, Takoma Park. Help teach students with disabilities how to ride a bike, running alongside the camper to provide instruction and encouragement. Volunteers work with the same camper daily under the supervision of iCan Shine professionals. Sponsored by the City of Takoma Park. Minimum age: 16. Email Lucy Neher or call 301-891-7235.

Shelter Meal Cooks: Fridays, June 30 and July 28, 11 am-2 pm, Gaithersburg. Prepare weekend breakfasts for 160 residents of the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless men's shelter in Rockville, working in the kitchen of the Gaithersburg Presbyterian Church, using food supplied by Nourish Now, in an activity coordinated by KindWorks. No experience necessary. Minimum age: 18. Email Deb Lang or call 301-792-3708.
ONGOING & FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES
 
SSL Icon Food Distribution Volunteers: Get involved in fighting hunger by helping to create boxes of fresh food to be distributed to  Manna Food Center clients that day. Typical shifts run 9 am-3 pm weekdays at Manna's  Gaithersburg warehouse.  The work is physical, and may require the ability to lift up to 25 pounds. Minimum age: 17 or at least a high school senior. Email Katie Sayago or call 301-424-1130.

Military Hospital Assistants: Help the Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy departments at Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda serve current and veteran service members by folding towels, cleaning mats, and taking on additional tasks as needed during four-hour weekday shifts. Sponsored by the American Red Cross in the National Capital Region. Minimum age: 18. Email Miriam Chaponniere or call 703-268-0311.

Executive Director: Manage and serve as the primary point of contact for of Bethesda Help, an all-volunteer organization that offers immediate, short-term assistance to residents of southern Montgomery County. Duties include general organization management, fundraising, communications, and daily operations oversight. Email Tobie Bernstein or call 301-365-2022.

SSL Icon Senior Communication Program Volunteers:  Learn effective strategies for working with older adults and plan interactive programs (focused on anything from dance to technology) to encourage social and cognitive stimulation among assisted living residents at Ingleside at King Farm in Rockville as part of Link Generations's Summer Storytelling Series. The series  meets Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:30-4:30, June though August; volunteers must commit to participating in at least five of the nine weeks. Minimum age: 14. TB screening required (and provided at no charge). Email Lori Marks or call 301-365-2218.

Assault Victim Assistants: Provide crisis counseling and companion services at hospitals and police stations for victims of rape, sexual assault, and domestic violence. The Victim Assistance and Sexual Assault Program of the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services is now accepting applications for its June outreach volunteer training session, which will cover crisis intervention skills and specialized knowledge of the emotional, medical, and legal issues that victims face. Volunteers must commit to serve in an on-call capacity for 12 hours per week for at least a year; they also must be Montgomery County residents, at least 21 years old, have a valid driver's license, and have immediate access to transportation. Call 240-777-1355 or learn more online.
Got a Group? Make Some Meals
Are you looking for a meaningful summertime service activity for your family, scout troop, book club, or other group? The Interfaith Works Women's Center in Rockville could use your help providing and serving meals for its 35 residents.

Volunteer groups bring and serve dinner, socialize with residents, and drop off breakfast foods and bagged lunches for the following day. Don't worry if you don't fancy yourself a cook. The center's residents are as pleased with take-out meals--such as pizza and salad or Chinese food--as they are with home-cooked items.

Meals are needed on the following dates: July 10-14, July 24-28, Aug. 27, and Sept. 1-15.

For more information, or to sign up to make a difference, email Dwana Pinchock.
NEWS & RESOURCES
Feed the Hungry and Catch a Baseball Game
Players from the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League--an amateur wooden bat, summer baseball league based in the Baltimore-Washington region--will be collecting food for Manna Food Center at several local grocery stores on Saturday, June 10, 10 am-2 pm. Donate a nonperishable food item to meet these college stars and help provide nutrition for needy families and individuals in our region. Plus, if you contribute two or more cans or boxes of food, you'll receive a free family pass for four to one of the league's regular season games this June or July. 

The league's eighth annual Feed the Hungry Challenge will be held at Whole Foods Markets at Kenwood Station (Bethesda), Friendship Heights, Kentlands Square, North Bethesda, and downtown Silver Spring, and at Giant stores at Bethesda Row, Old Georgetown, Shady Grove, Kentlands, Muddy Branch, Montrose Crossing (Rockville), Arliss Street Center, and Blair Park. Participating players come from the 
Bethesda Big Train, Gaithersburg Giants, Rockville Express, and Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts. 

Get more details here.
RSVP/AARP Tax-Aide Volunteers Help Residents Secure Nearly $4.5 Million in Refunds
Tax Aide
To celebrate the work of the Tax-Aide volunteers, Brighton Gardens of Tuckerman Lane hosted an appreciation event at which County Executive Ike Leggett presented the group's volunteer management team with a proclamation in honor of Senior Corps Week. Pictured: Kathleen Meaney Stobie, RSVP director; Lynn Kinch, RSVP/AARP Tax-Aide district coordinator; Gretchen Zekiel, RSVP manager; Leggett; and James Eulau, RSVP/AARP Tax-Aide scheduling office supervisor.

More than 140 RSVP/AARP Tax-Aide Program volunteers--part of a program coordinated through the Volunteer Center--recently wrapped up another successful tax season, preparing nearly 5,000 federal and state tax returns for low- to moderate-income county residents, many of them seniors. These efforts generated $4,464,585 in refunds.

Interested in joining this incredibly hard-working and congenial team next tax season? Visit our website to learn how to volunteer as a tax counselor, client facilitator (greeter), or scheduler, or email the Tax-Aide Program. Volunteer information is distributed in the fall.
Region-Wide Giving Campaign Is Now Live
Do More 24--this year set for Thursday, June 8--is an annual opportunity for people across the Washington region to unite for one day of online giving to support the most pressing needs in our community.

Visit the website and click on "Participating Nonprofits" to find organizations sorted by their missions and learn specifically how each could benefit from donations ranging from $24 to $480. Then, return between 12 am and 11:59 pm on June 8, to give to those you'd like to support. If you're afraid you'll forget to come back at the right time, you can sign up for an email reminder and/or simply set up an advance giving donation.

Do More 24 is organized by the United Way of the National Capital Area.
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 Family Services Inc., which offers a wide array of services to more than 27,000 people annually.  Watch it online here .
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