NEW MEMBER! Nothing feels better than helping someone else find a job! Volunteer at The 50+ Employment Connection

Editor's Note:  Welcome to our new member of E¡V!
The 50+ Employment Connection - a unique service looking for a very specfic kind of volunteer.  If you fit the following description, this sounds like a very worthwhile endeavor...& fun!

Are you over 50, computer literate, a former business woman or man, have job counseling experience?

Santa Fe now has the best job search support center for persons 50+ in the State.  And Volunteers are needed to develop jobs with local businesses, to help customers revise resumes, administer a job club or teach cutting edge job search techniques. Be part of a dynamic workforce center in Santa Fe helping to beat the recession!

The 50+ Employment Connection is at 301 West De Vargas.  Open weekdays 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

If interested in volunteering, please call me.
Sondra Match at 505/474-3800, Ext 1007.

Adult literacy needs you ASAP! Give the gift of reading, writing & speaking English!

49% of adults in Santa Fe County are either functionally illiterate or speak only limited English!!! 49%!!!

LVSF's outreach is unique and impressive, including a variety of literacy programs from its home base at Santa Fe Community College, at workplaces in Santa Fe and in locations throughout the community.

Give the gift of reading, writing, and speaking in English by tutoring adults twice a week for 1-2 hours each time. The rewards are greater than you can ever imagine.

Upcoming Tutor Trainings
These are the last sessions until next fall. Trainings are held at Santa Fe Community College.
Basic Literacy Tutor Training involves a commitment of 20 hours.
Thursday, April 22, 4:00 - 6:00 pm
Friday and Saturday, April 23 and 24, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

English as a Second Language Training involves a commitment of 20 hours.
Thursday, May 20, 2010, 4:00-6:00 pm and
Friday and Saturday, May 21 and May 22, 9:00 am-5:00 pm

The Tutor Application form is on our website.
Or call 505-428-1353.

Or, if you have FUND RAISING TALENT and want to help resolve our very serious funding situation...you might prefer staging a wonderful, one-time fund raising event with us!!!! That would be a HUGE help! This does not have to be an on-going volunteer commitment.

Please contact me: Meredith Machen, LVSF Board President, 505-577-6337, mermachen@cybermesa.com or visit our website to learn more about us,  http://www.lvsf.org/

Santa Fe Public Schools really needs Volunteers. If it helps kids, how good is that? Apply now.

Got time for helping kids? Believe attention to our young people in any fashion is an investment in their future - and ours? Then consider volunteering with the Santa Fe Public Schools (SFPS) this coming school year!

What can you do? Take a look at this list! Surely something will "call" to you. Anything you sign up for will be appreciated and valuable!

• Participate in reading programs!
• Provide computer training and assistance.
• Assist with science projects and field trips.
• Act as mentors to students.
• Provide positive adult role modeling.
• Assist with use of media centers.
• Provide individual attention.
• Share your hobby with classes.
• Act as a community resource instructor.
• Assist on advisory committees.
• Lend support to school offices.

BUT FIRST... you've got to fill out a SFPS VOLUNTEER APPLICATION from which a background check will be conducted. So contact Helen Pacheco ASAP for the application...and Helen will also tell you about upcoming Volunteer Orientation and school tours.
Email me: SFPS Volunteer Coordinator, Helen Pacheco, HPACHECO@sfps.info

1st & 2nd graders at The Santa Fe Boys & Girls Club would love to read to you - with your help along the way.

Remember...this program is ideal if your schedule is every-changing. You may volunteer as much or as little time as you have available. You can even just show up spur of the moment!

From Lou Finley:
(Honored in 2009 among 10 Who Made a Difference by The New Mexican.  Story here.)
If the younger ones steal your heart, come volunteer at the Santa Fe Boys & Girls Club on Alto Street downtown. An after-school reading program, its mission is to take care of children's individual needs. Beginning September 8, it will run every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 3:15 to 4:15.

From Gaye Pollitt:
No commitment or special training required. Just show up! I've been volunteering with this program for three school years now and love it! Activities vary, but never the excitement or the need. Come help with reading, word games, worksheets, story writing, flash cards and other engaging teaching tools. All materials are provided.

Contact program Coordinator (Mrs.) Lou Finley at 505-988-7278. She does an incredible job and will be happy to discuss the program and your schedule.

Want to inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and bold? Volunteer for Girls Inc.

"Dear World, It’s me, a girl who is not afraid of standing up for people and myself. I don’t care what other people think of me. I am who I want to be. I am not afraid to be different."  By Breanna (age 9, Zona del Sol Center)

If this gives you the good chills like it does me everytime I read it, then maybe you've found your volunteer niche...Girls Inc. of Santa Fe.

From Tiffani Moody
Since 1955, we have been a strong advocate for the changing needs of girls and young women in the Santa Fe community...to help girls stay in school, prepare for financial independence, avoid teen pregnancy and violence, and to interact with role models. Girls often say that their time at Girls Inc. is when they feel the safest, both physically and emotionally. Learning is supported by field trips, community projects, arts and crafts, special mentoring and other ways of experiencing the heritage, culture and diversity that make Santa Fe unique.

Our volunteering need includes:

• Event assistance
• Office help
• Committee assistance
• Program collaboration

Examples of how volunteers have worked with our girls in the past are:

• Teaching yoga once a month as part of our Sporting Chance program
• Planting a garden and talking about mulching techniques as part of our Operation SMART program (science, math, relevant technology)
• Leading a workshop at our Career Day: making a short movie, digging for fossils, developing a business, etc...

We ask that all interested volunteers attend one of our 1-hour Girls Inc. Expedition Tours to learn more about what we do, how we do it, and why we do it, and to discuss with us their volunteer interests. We want to find the best fit for both you and our organization!

Please contact me...
Tiffani Moody at 505-982-2042 or tmoody@girlsincofsantafe.org. Or, visit our website at http://www.girlsincofsantafe.org/.