Volunteer Opportunities: Help Douglas County children win brighter smiles

Agency: Douglas County Dental Clinic

Contact: Heather McCreight at abcd@dcdclinic.org or at 785-312-7770

The Douglas County Dental Clinic is a non-profit community dental clinic serving the residents of Douglas County by providing quality dental care to low income and uninsured residents. The Dental Clinic is looking for volunteers to assist with their Access to Baby and Child Dentistry (ABCD) program that focuses specifically on improving the oral health of children ages infant to 5 years through visits from the “Tooth Fairy.” Volunteers are needed to be the tooth fairy at the Downtown Sidewalk Sale on July 16 and at Heartland Community Health Care’s Block Party on Aug. 8. Prior to these events, a volunteer seamstress is needed to repair/renew the Tooth Fairy costume. For more information about these volunteer opportunities, please contact Heather McCreight at abcd@dcdclinic.org or at 312-7770.

• Just Food and its partners fight hunger in our community by increasing the availability of a variety of foods while reducing waste from discarded food. Just Food is entering their busy season and is in need of drivers to make weekly trips for food pickup and delivery. The hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Volunteers must have a valid driver’s license. If you are interested please contact Jen Williams at operations@justfoodks.org or at 856-7030.

• Help equip Douglas County students for school by staffing our school supplies drive on July 18 and July 25. All donations will stay in Douglas County and be distributed to clients of local agencies including Ballard Community Center, ECKAN, Penn House and the Salvation Army. Two-hour shifts at Office Depot and both of the area Walmart stores are available from 10 a.m. to noon, noon to 2 p.m. and 2 to 4 p.m. July 18 and 25. This is a great opportunity for families or groups. To sign up to volunteer, go to voluneerdouglascounty.org.

• Visiting Nurses Association provides hospice care, home health care, rehabilitation care and private duty care. Visiting Nurses Hospice is looking for volunteers interested in providing friendly visits for our hospice patients housed in local facilities/nursing homes, as well as interacting with other residents in the facilities. Visit day/time is flexible but prefer a once weekly or twice monthly commitment. Volunteer visits could include: sharing of interests (music, art, reading), talking/life-review, engaging in facility activities together or just providing a peaceful presence. Length of overall time commitment is flexible. Summer, school year or year-long commitments are available. Will work around your schedule. No prior medical knowledge needed. Volunteer training, interview and paperwork will be required. For more information, please contact Sarah Rooney at sarahro@kansasvna.org or 843-3738.

• The Willow Domestic Violence Center provides safe shelter, advocacy and hope for survivors of domestic and family violence in Douglas, Franklin and Jefferson Counties. The Willow has many ongoing volunteer opportunities including Administrative Office Assistant, Shelter Advocate, Community Educator, Community Advocate, Marketing and Publicity, Court Advocate, Special Events and Projects, Child Activities Assistant and more. The volunteer opportunities require varying levels of training, ranging from six to 40 hours, dependent upon the opportunity. Please contact Becca Burns-Spielman, at 331-2034, ext. 104 or at bburns@willowdvcenter.org, for more information.

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Douglas County provides one-to-one relationships for children facing adversity. Are you looking to make a difference in the life of a young boy in our community? Big Brothers Big Sisters has over 40 boys waiting for a one-on-one mentor. We also match boys with couples and families. Currently, we have a 12-year-old male who enjoys cooking, talking and Tae Kwon Do. He is funny and super creative. This pre-teen boy lives with his aunt and would like to have quality time with a positive male role model. If you have a few hours a week to make a difference in his life, call Big Brothers Big Sisters today at 843-7359. Learn more about becoming a mentor at a BBBS Information Session held every Tuesday at 5:15 pm and every Wednesday at noon.

— For more volunteer opportunities, please contact Shelly Hornbaker at the United Way Roger Hill Volunteer Center at 785-865-5030, ext. 301 or at volunteer@unitedwaydgco.org or go to volunteerdouglascounty.org.