Is volunteering one of your New Year’s resolutions? Here’s a comprehensive list of volunteer opportunities from the Roger Hill Volunteer Center. Make a call today and feel some of that leftover holiday warmth on the inside.

Working With Kids

Ballard Community Center

Position title: Classroom assistants
Phone: 842-0729

Volunteers who love children are welcome to read to preschool children before naptime, assist with classroom activities, help during the holidays or make donations to the Center.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Douglas County

Position title: Big Brothers and Big Sisters
Phone: 843-7359

Being a Big Brother or Big Sister is about sharing simple, magical moments with a child; opening doors and widening horizons on the world. Volunteers are matched to a child based on mutual interests. Prospective volunteers must attend a volunteer orientation at the office, 1525 W. Sixth St., Suite A, at 5:15 p.m. Tuesdays and noon Wednesdays.

Boys and Girls Club

Position title: Youth assistants
Phone: 841-5672

Volunteers can help in many ways with assisting staff with the afterschool and summer programs and with building and ground maintenance.

Court Appointed Special Advocates

Position title: Child advocates

Arts & Literacy

Adult Learning Center

Position title: Tutor
Phone: 832-5960

The Adult Learning Center assists people to study for the ABE (Adult Basic Education) certificate or the GED. Volunteer tutors are needed to assist with literacy skills such as reading, writing and math.

Kansas Audio-Reader Network

Position title: Readers
Phone: 864-4600

Volunteer readers are sought for radio programs for the visually impaired. Volunteers record various publications live and on tape for later programming. To learn more about volunteer positions and recording times, contact Audio-Reader. A reading audition is required.

Douglas County Jail

Position Title: Literacy volunteers
Phone: 830-1055

Volunteers assist medium- and minimum-security inmates through a variety of literacy-related positions, including librarians, writing workshop instructors, coordination of an annual publication of inmates’ written work, and collection and delivery of donated books and magazines for inmates.

Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority

Position title: Adult tutor
Phone: 842-1533

Volunteers are needed to work with adults on reading, basic math, English as a Second Language and some algebra.

Watkins Community Museum

Position title: Museum volunteer
Phone: 841-4109

Volunteers support the museum through a wide variety of activities, including greeting guests, assisting with archiving and collections, coordinating exhibits, and by gathering and recording historical information about Douglas County.

Health & Counseling

Lawrence Memorial Hospital

Position title: Hospital volunteer
Phone: 840-3141

Volunteers are needed to assist in patient care areas. Duties include stocking supplies, cleaning equipment, transporting patients by wheelchair, providing refreshments to family members, etc. Volunteer applicants must have a TB test and submit to a criminal background check before being scheduled. Visit LMH.org for a full listing of available volunteer positions.

Ga Du Gi Safe Center/Rape Victim Survivor Services

Position title: RVSS Volunteer Advocate
Phone: 843-8985

RVSS, the direct service component of GaDuGi SafeCenter, depends on volunteer advocates to provide hospital/police/court accompaniment services, supportive listening and advocacy, and personal response to crisis calls for survivors of sexual violence. Training is provided. Please call for more information about this volunteer position.

Heartland Medical Clinic

Position title: Office and medical assistance
Phone: 841-7297

Administrative volunteers are needed to file, answer phone, take messages and pull patient charts. Volunteers may assist with medical services by checking in patients, getting medications and assisting doctors with X-rays, helping with splints and more.

Headquarters Counseling Center

Position title: Volunteer counselors
Phone: 841-2345

Volunteers are needed to assist people of all ages who call or come to the center for counseling, support or information. Counseling work includes responding to calls on the Phone A Friend line for school-age children in Douglas County, the National Hopeline Network suicide prevention line, with most calls to this center coming from underserved areas of Kansas, as well as the counseling and information lines of the center. A complete training is offered to volunteers twice each year. Please call for more information.

Health Care Access

Position title: Clinic volunteers
Phone: 841-5760

Clinical assistants can be trained to take vital signs and check patients into the clinic. They can pick up and deliver supplies on as-needed basis with schedule flexibility. MDs and DOs in family practice can volunteer their services per their schedule by either seeing our patients without charge at their own offices or on-site at our clinic. Pharmacists, physical therapists, registered dietitians and other health professionals can donate their services.

Supporting Senior Citizens

Douglas County Senior Services

Position title: Senior Services volunteers
Phone: 842-0543

Volunteers are needed for a wide range of positions to provide support to senior citizens and the center. Volunteers may deliver meals to homebound seniors, become a Friendly Visitor, train to become a volunteer health insurance information counselor, or clip “coupons for caring” to help raise funds for agency services.

ICAN Friendly Visitors

Position title: Friendly Visitors
Phone: 749-2005

Friendly Visitor volunteers are needed to visit homebound elders once a week for about an hour, provide companionship, help with light housework, run errands or provide transportation. Some volunteers may work from home, contacting a homebound senior on a daily basis for a brief check-in and chat.

Food Services

Ballard Community Center

Position title: Food Commodities volunteers
Phone: 842-0729

Volunteers are needed to help unload a truck delivering food commodities for low-income families once a month at the Ballard Center. A volunteer truck driver also is needed to drive the truck to Topeka to pick up the load and bring it back to Lawrence for unloading.

Lawrence Meals on Wheels

Position title: Meal Delivery Volunteers
Phone: 979-1440

Meals on Wheels drivers usually volunteer one day each week, picking up meals at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, delivering to about 6 homebound seniors. Each route takes about 45 minutes. Volunteers should be 18 and older or volunteer with a parent or responsible adult.

Jubilee Cafe

Position title: Servers, cooks
Phone: 864-4073

Volunteers are needed to serve customers, cook meals, expedite orders or clean up at the Jubilee Cafe. Volunteers are needed from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. Tuesdays and Fridays year-round. The Jubilee Cafe is located at 946 Vt. at the First United Methodist Church. Volunteers are especially needed when students are on breaks.

Lawrence Interdenominational Nutrition Kitchen (LINK)

Position title: Meal assistantsPhone: 843-0579

Volunteers help serve meals and clean up the kitchen and dining room after meals on Saturdays, 12:30 p.m.-3 p.m.

Homeless Services

Lawrence Community Shelter

Position title: Night shelter volunteers/agency support
Phone: 832-8864

Night shelter volunteers will assist trained monitors during the night or early morning, including helping with the preparation of an evening meal or breakfast. Training is provided. Volunteers support the shelter with daily operations and the Drop In Shop, which stocks items needed by shelter guests.

Working with animals

Lawrence Humane Society

Position title: Dog walker/cat socializer
Phone: 843-6835

Volunteers are needed to walk dogs and puppies and to socialize cats and kittens. The animals really enjoy the interaction. Volunteers must attend a brief training prior to volunteering. Following the training, each volunteer is welcome to assist anytime the Humane Society is open and need not sign up in advance. Please call to register for training.

Operation Wildlife

Position title: Wildlife caretakers
Phone: (913) 908-4252

On-the-job training is provided to volunteers, ages 16 and older, who have compassion for orphaned and injured animals. The facility needs assistance with animal care, and some rescue may be involved. Internships are available as well.