Volunteer Opportunities
Morris
Arboretum Volunteers
The
Morris Arboretum is seeking volunteers to help with
the Annual Spring Plant Sale and the Garden Railway
Display.
The
Plant Sale features high-quality trees, shrubs,
perennials and annuals, many of which are rare or
unusual or difficult to find at other retail outlets.
Volunteers are needed to help throughout the Sale;
horticulture experience is not required. The Sale
hours are Friday, May 9, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.;
Saturday, May 10, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; and Sunday, May
11, noon-4 p.m.
The
Garden Railway Display returns for its sixth year.
The theme this year is Americana: Covered Bridges,
Mills and Barns and features historic buildings,
tunnels and overhead trestles created entirely of
natural materials, creating an enchanting landscape.
The Display is open daily June 16-October 13, 10
a.m.-4 p.m. Volunteers welcome visitors, distribute
materials and introduce visitors to the wonders
of the Arboretum. Shifts are three hours with flexible
scheduling. Required training workshops will be
held on May 20, 10-11:30 a.m. and May
21, 6-8:30 p.m.
For
more information about either of these opportunities
or to register, call Flo Freedman at (215) 247-5777,
ext. 170.
May
Volunteer Opportunities
Dear
Penn Community,
Following
is our monthly posting of community service opportunities.
Each month, Penn Volunteers In Public Service (Penn
VIPS) posts a list of volunteer opportunities that
represents the many requests we get from the surrounding
community for assistance/partnerships.
Penn
VIPS undertook its annual Penny Drive recently to
benefit Vare Charter School. We are still in the
process of counting and will share with you the
totals in June. Thanks for your support of this
venture.
Please
contact me via e-mail (sammapp@pobox.upenn.edu)
or (215) 898-2020 to volunteer for any of the programs.
Thank you for your continued support.
--Isabel
Mapp, Associate Director,
Faculty, Staff and
Alumni Volunteer Services,
Director, Penn Volunteers
In Public Service,
Center for
Community Partnerships
Participate
in Career Day at University City High School: Wednesday, May
7, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. or any parts thereof.
Help prepare students for post secondary education
and the world of work. Motivate students and guide
them in their choice of careers in the coming years
by sharing your experiences.
Become
a mentor for a veteran: Penn's Veterans
Upward Bound Program, http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/dasp/veteransUpwardBound_home.html, invites
you to consider volunteering as a mentor for a VUB
Student. They are envisioning an opportunity for
current VUB students to be paired with experienced
and successful college students or college graduates.
They are anticipating that the time involved would
be minimal, perhaps a face to face meeting an hour
or so twice a month, but phone contact and/or e-mail
contact on a weekly basis. The goal in mentoring
is to offer lots of encouragement and motivation.
Most VUB students want to further their lives through
education, but academically they often don't
know how to do this (this is where the VUB staff
and instructors come in) and they often get overwhelmed,
frustrated, and disheartened with the demands and
challenges of the learning process (this is where
we all come in). The summer cycle begins with a
student orientation on Thursday, May 8, 5:30-
8:30 p.m. and classes begin on Monday, May 12.
There will be an orientation for mentors.
Mentor
a student: How ould you like to help prepare
a University City or West Philadelphia High School
Student for the world of work? Hire them to do general
office work and expose them to their areas of interest.
We have students interested in the medicine, law,
computers and much more. Hire a student to work
in your department. Students earn academic credits
and are paid through the YouthWorks Program for
their internship.
Computers
Needed: Is your department upgrading its computers?
Would you like to donate your used computers to
a worthy cause? The Center for Community Partnerships
and a group of volunteers are working to provide
computers to West Philadelphia schools, churches,
families and nonprofit agencies. Join us by donating
your used computers to this cause. Visit our web
site at: www.upenn.edu/ccp/computerdonations.
Move
Out Drive: Leaving campus? Travel light. Donate
your clothing, computers and other articles. Bring
donated items to: Isabel Mapp, Center for Community
Partnerships, 133 South 36th Street, (near the corner
of 36th & Walnut Streets), Room 515 on the 5th
Floor.
Exciting
Volunteer Opportunity: Saturday, May 10,
3-10:30 p.m., University of Pennsylvania Museum;
The Delaware Valley Friends School's Annual
Auction Gala. Delaware Valley Friends School is
the only secondary Quaker school in the region for
children with learning differences. The Annual Auction
Gala is their largest and most important fundraising
event of the year, with a goal this year to net
$45,000. It takes many volunteers to make this event
happen. They need volunteers to work from 3-6 p.m.
setting up the auction items on tables and creating
attractive displays. From 6-9 p.m.volunteers will
be working at registration, checking in guests,
and monitoring the item tables. At 9 p.m. volunteers
will begin packaging up the items and preparing
them to be given to the winning bidders. Some volunteers
will work at check out, handling the payments of
items, and some will act as runners, getting the
items to the winners. All volunteers will receive
a very nice boxed dinner and 10 DVFS dollars to
be used towards any items they may win, as well
as a formal letter documenting volunteer hours.
The most laid back time will be from 6:30-8 p.m.when
volunteers can work in shifts to get the jobs done
and also enjoy the auction, bidding on items and
eating hors d'oeuvres.
Almanac, Vol. 49, No. 31, April 29, 2003
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