Friday, January 23, 2009

Volunteers Make It Happen

(Here at ShelterCare, we depend on the devotion of volunteers from our community. This morning, our guestblogger Gene Obersinner, ShelterCare's dedicated Volunteer Coordinator, weighs in on some of the whys and hows of volunteerism).


Why volunteer? There are many reasons...

- To step outside of yourself. Helping persons less fortunate or in need can help you be less worried about your own problems and issues.

- To help a cause greater than yourself.

- Volunteering is a way to meet new people and do new things.

- Helping others can be a healthy challenge for yourself! It allows you to step outside of your comfort zone, and learn and grow as a human being.

- Having a regular activity that helps others can be a very calming, grounding life ritual for people, one that provides meaning and zest to life. 

-Volunteering can be a way for you to express a talent or skill that brings great joy to yourself and others.


Volunteers paint our Shankle Safe Haven facility during United Way's Day of Caring, 2008

How to Get Involved:

- Go to www.unitedwaylane.org or www.volunteermatch.org and check out hundreds of wonderful volunteer opportunities in the local area. 

- Project Homeless Connect is Friday, March 6. This is an awesome one-day event that reaches out to over 1,000 homeless individuals in the Eugene/Springfield area by providing an impressive array of services and hope! Be one of over 500 volunteers to come and help make the 3rd annual PHC Lane County the best one yet!

- ShelterCare is often in need of volunteers to be companions for individual residents, to transport clients to appointments, take them to the library, help them learn how to ride the bus, etc. Feel free to check out our opportunities at one of the websites mentioned above or by contacting Gene Obersinner, Volunteer Coordinator, at 541-686-1262 or at gobersinner@sheltercare.org.



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