Agency: Roger Hill Volunteer Center

Contact: volunteerdouglascounty.org

Save the date! Day of Caring 2011 is quickly approaching, so mark your calendars and plan to volunteer on Saturday, April 16. Volunteer projects are rolling in and will be posted to volunteerdouglascounty.org in coming weeks. Keep checking back to see what projects will be happening around our community and get your friends, family and co-workers together to come out and help an agency with a special project. See you in April!

Immediate needs

• The Douglas County Child Development Association needs volunteers for its new program, Families, Farmers and Educators United for Healthy Child Development. During the week of March 14, volunteers will be delivering the city compost to several day care providers throughout the day. The compost will be used in gardens where children will learn about growing their own food, plant ecology, health and nutrition. Volunteers with pick-up trucks, wheelbarrows and shovels are needed to load up the compost from the city facility on East 11th Street and deliver it to designated locations. If you can help make these kids’ gardens a success, contact Emily Hampton at 842-9679 or emily@dccda.org.

• Health Care Access Clinic is in need of volunteers to help with the upcoming Kansas Half Marathon presented by Hy-Vee. This event, which is the clinic’s largest annual fundraiser, will begin at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 17, and will feature a half-marathon, 10K and 5K races, as well as a free half-mile Fun Run/Walk and the Hy-Vee Mile At A Time Marathon Finale. Volunteers are needed for a variety of positions on race day in addition to some pre-race projects. Contact Sally Zogry, event coordinator, at 841-5760, ext. 209, or zogrys@healthcareaccess.org.

• The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Douglas County is looking for volunteers who are interested in joining the planning committee for the Relay for Life event in June. Volunteers will also be needed for the actual event, but the current focus is to find community members interested in volunteering to help prepare for the event. Contact Barb Gorman at 841-7723 or Angela Prewitt at 785-438-5605 for more details.

• Centro Hispano Resource Center is looking for volunteers for its Intercambio — Cultural Exchange program. This is an opportunity for those who are interested in helping a Spanish speaker learn English, while gaining cultural awareness and understanding in exchange and is great for people who are trying to learn/improve upon their Spanish skills. Volunteers will be paired with a Spanish-speaking person from the community and will be asked to meet regularly with them for the shared purpose of improving new language skills. Volunteers must have at least a rudimentary understanding of Spanish as well as a desire and ability to help someone else improve their English. Contact Paul Spacek at 843-2039 for more information.

— 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.