How to Help: Family Promise seeks help hosting families

Agency: Family Promise of Lawrence

Contact: Becky Peters at becky@lawrencefamilypromise.org

Family Promise of Lawrence is in need of volunteers to provide support for their guest families staying overnight at host congregations each night.

Families are transported at 5 p.m. each day to their host congregations where they will have dinner, spend the evening, sleep and have breakfast before being transported back to the Day Center about 6:30 a.m. the next morning.

Volunteers are needed to help at the host congregations in the evenings by preparing dinner, helping with after-dinner cleanup, offering conversation and friendship to the families, possible tutoring for the children, providing supervision overnight and making breakfast preparation in the morning.

All volunteers must attend a one-time training session before volunteering with guests; sessions are held at least once a month currently. For more information about becoming an Overnight Host for Family Promise, please contact Becky Peters at becky@lawrencefamilypromise.org.

Immediate needs

• Lawrence Meals on Wheels is in need of several volunteers to deliver meals to homebound community members. Regular volunteers are sought to commit to at least one route per week, and substitute volunteers are also needed to be on call for uncovered routes on any given day. Volunteers pick up meals for their route at 11:15 a.m. on their assigned day and should count on delivering meals for about 45 minutes. To get signed up as a Meals on Wheels volunteer, please call 785-830-8844.

• AARP Tax-Aide, the nation’s largest free volunteer-run tax preparation and assistance service, is looking for volunteers to help low- and moderate-income families prepare and file their individual tax returns next season. AARP Tax-Aide volunteers will receive comprehensive tax training in January and are provided access to all computer equipment and training materials required. You do not need to be an AARP member or have previous tax-preparation skills but should have basic computer skills and a willingness to learn and become proficient with new tax preparation software provided by the IRS. Tax preparation is on weekday afternoons and Saturday mornings from Feb. 4, 2013, through April 15, 2013; flexible hours are available for volunteers. For more information, please contact the Lawrence District Coordinator, Sarah Merriman at 785-813-1136.

• Van Go Inc. is seeking volunteers to come help them prepare for their 15 Year Reunion, which will be Saturday. Volunteers will help make buttons and prepare other event decorations as needed. Ideally, volunteers will be available to come in for a few hours throughout this week to help out. For more details and to set up a time to help, please contact Mandy Enfield at 785-842-3797 or mandy@van-go.org.