Agency: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Douglas County

Contact: 785-843-3759; Angie Stewart at astewart@ksbbbs.org; Maggie Fieger at mfi3657800@aol.com

Big Brothers Big Sisters is seeking volunteers to help with its annual Gingerbread House Festival, which is an auction of gingerbread and graham cracker houses in December that benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters of Douglas County. Volunteers are needed to help at the public viewings Friday, Nov. 30 (as part of Final Friday) through Sunday, Dec. 2. Volunteers are needed for two-hour shifts, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. If you’re interested in “guarding” the gingerbread houses while chatting with the public, please call BBBS at 785-843-3759 or contact Angie Stewart at astewart@ksbbbs.org or Maggie Fieger at mfi3657800@aol.com.

Immediate needs

• The Douglas County Holiday Bureau is in need of volunteers to provide intake support at agencies that offer holiday assistance to community members. ECKAN, Penn House and Salvation Army will be taking applications for holiday assistance starting today and running until Nov. 15. The Salvation Army takes applications only for families with children.

Volunteers are needed to welcome community members as they arrive to apply, verify photo identification and proof of income, then complete an application for assistance. Volunteers with good communication and organizational skills, as well as legible handwriting, are encouraged to sign up; Spanish-speaking volunteers are also needed. To provide support to the Holiday Bureau this year, contact the agencies directly to find out what their volunteer shifts are: ECKAN, 785-841-3357; Penn House, 785-842-0440; and Salvation Army, 785-843-4188.

• Heartland Community Health Center is looking for an individual to volunteer as a “resource specialist” in the HCHC food pantry. This volunteer will gain valuable experience working with underserved populations, connecting them to various resources in the community to ensure that all needs of the client are met. Students studying social work or a related field are preferred. For more details, please contact Ali Edwards at 785-841-7297 or aedwards@heartlandhealth.org.

• Project Lively, a program of Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department, is in need of volunteers to help a senior client that needs a 12-by-12 deck painted on a mobile home in North Lawrence. Project Lively often needs volunteers to help senior clients with home projects they aren’t able to do themselves and cannot afford to pay someone for. If you’re able to help this current senior client or are interested in helping on an as-needed basis, please contact Project Lively case manager Sarah Norman at 785-843-3060 or snorman@ldchealth.org.

— 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.