Agency: Friends of Hidden Valley

Contact: Durand Reiber at 785-842-5342 or durandi@sunflower.com

The Friends of Hidden Valley group is seeking volunteers to assist the camp manager in fence-line inspections and clearing in a 40-acre wooded area that is surrounded by a barb wire fence. Each winter, volunteers are needed to help walk along the inside of the fence, cutting back smaller trees and new growth within 5 feet of the fence, treating the stumps, removing downed branches and hauling debris into the woods. While cutting back, some time will be spent inspecting/repairing the fence, picking up litter, and removing larger, invasive honeysuckle shrubs in the understory of the woods, as time permits. Tools provided are loppers, hand saws and a battery-operated reciprocal saw; a volunteer with a chain saw would be a great addition. Workdays will be each Thursday afternoon of the week until the work is complete, or until March 15, weather and conditions permitting. For more information about how to get involved, contact Durand Reiber at 785-842-5342 or durandi@sunflower.com.

Immediate needs

• Douglas County Senior Services is in need of volunteers who can schedule appointments for local seniors to have their taxes filed through the AARP Tax-Aide program. Volunteers will schedule appointments Monday through Thursday from Jan. 17 through April 15. If you are available for any period of time each week to help, contact Criss at 785-842-0543.

• The Willow Domestic Violence Center and GaDuGi SafeCenter are developing programming to educate teenagers in Lawrence about dating violence and healthy relationships. Volunteers are needed to participate in a series of focus groups in late January and early February. There will be separate focus groups conducted for both teens and adults who work with teens in order to create an open dialogue about healthy relationships and get a sense of what the community believes are important topics to address with this new programming. The focus groups will last between one and a half to two hours; dates are still being scheduled. Teens ages 15-19 are needed, as well as adults who are at least 20 years old and who work with adolescents. For more details about these focus groups and to volunteer as a participant, contact Kaylyn Wright or Holly Santee at teen@wtcskansas.org.

• Small World is in need of a volunteer or two to perform admissions and administrative tasks beginning Jan. 24 at its twice-weekly classes held at First Presbyterian Church, 2415 Clinton Parkway. Responsibilities include processing applications, collecting tuition, entering student information into a database, greeting new students, providing building tours, maintaining the mailbox and other correspondence with staff, and more. Volunteers must be able to commit to Tuesday and Thursday mornings between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. To find out more about Small World, which helps international women and their children adjust to the Lawrence community, contact Kathy Mulinazzi at 785-841-3645 or kathymulinazzi@aol.com.

• Grassland Heritage Foundation is looking for volunteers to assist with layout and story development for its quarterly newsletter. All volunteers would work under the direction of the newsletter editor, and will receive a proper orientation to the organization and newsletter specifications upon starting the volunteer position. To view some of GHF’s previous newsletters, go to grasslandheritage.org and click on the “Newsletters” tab on the left side of the homepage. Prior writing and/or design experience is preferred. Contact Kim Bellemere for more details at 785-840-8104 or grasslandheritage@gmail.com.

For more volunteer opportunities, contact Shannon Reid at the United Way’s Roger Hill Volunteer Center, at 785-865-5030 or volunteer@rhvc.org, or go to volunteerdouglascounty.org.