Volunteering keeps residents busy

Therapeutic Horse Riding Instruction of Lawrence serves less than a dozen students.

But every time one of the nonprofit program’s clients, each of whom has either a developmental or physical disability, climbs onto a horse, it takes three volunteers to safely lead the horse and rider.

That’s more than 30 volunteers, one night a week for just one of the more than 85 nonprofit organizations in Douglas County. The ratio illustrates the community’s need for volunteers and also the diversity of opportunities available to those who wish to donate their time.

Perhaps the best place for newcomers to get started is Lawrence’s Roger Hill Volunteer Center, which director Michelle Heller describes as “a clearinghouse of volunteer opportunities in Douglas County.” The center, located in Room 101 of the United Way of Douglas County building, 2518 Ridge Court, handles about 2,000 referrals each year.

“Volunteering gives you a chance to do things you might not otherwise get to do  explore interests, learn more about yourself, meet new people,” Heller said. “We might sit behind a desk at a computer all day, but at night we can go out and be around horses and teach children how to ride.”

Finding a volunteer niche is as simple as calling the center at 865-5030 or visiting its Web site at www.rhvc.org and clicking on Volunteer Now.

Something for everyone

The center has more than 250 volunteer positions appropriate for adults and youths. Most require committing an hour or two a week, though some call for more or less time.

Popular options include:

 Working with children.

“One of the greatest needs is for caring adults and older youth to mentor younger children,” Heller said. “For someone to take an interest in their lives is a big help.”

A section of the center’s Web site is devoted to volunteer opportunities with children.

 Assisting people who are isolated, the elderly or those with disabilities.

A few organizations that work with these populations include Interfaith Caring Neighbors, Douglas County Senior Services, Trinity Respite Care, Community Living Opportunities, Independence Inc., Cottonwood Inc. and THRIL.

 Lawrence Humane Society.

“We depend on volunteers to do the fun things that we as staff don’t have time to do  the socializing, the training, the bathing  all of the fun stuff because we’re busy cleaning and medicating and taking care of the dirty work,” said Stacy Hoobler, operations manager at the shelter, 1805 E. 19th St.

Anyone interested in volunteering must go through orientation. Sessions are at 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. the first Thursday of every month at the shelter.

Volunteers take animals to schools and nursing homes and help with a satellite adoption program each Saturday at Petco, 3115 Iowa.

The shelter currently has 300 to 400 volunteers, Hoobler said.

On campus

The center, a free service of the United Way, caters mostly to volunteers who aren’t Kansas University students. A referral service on campus plays a similar role for students. The Center for Community Outreach (CCO) is located in Room 405 of the Kansas Union.

Like the Roger Hill Volunteer Center, KU’s referral service maintains a list of volunteer slots, focusing mostly on 12 programs. Available opportunities range from traveling to sites across the country helping those in need to staying in Lawrence and working with children, the homeless and people with disabilities.

CCO can be reached by calling 864-4073 or visiting their Web site at www.ku.edu/~cco. CCO and the Roger Hill Volunteer Center share referrals and co-sponsor an annual community-wide “Day of Caring.”

Heller said that in her experience with volunteers, they always got more out of the experience than they gave.

“When you make a connection with your community  and you feel like you could have spent three hours watching television but instead were with an individual who really benefited from your time  that kind of puts it in perspective,” she said.