TOP TO BOTTOM: Amanda Roettger (left),
Denver senior, and Sara Shupe (right),
Augusta, Kan.,freshman, volunteered at the
Jubilee Cafe Friday morning. The volunteers
cook, clean-up and serve the homeless.
—Abby Tillery/Kansan
Liz Linderer, Lenexa sophomore, attended the Headquarter's counseling informational meeting on Thursday, August 28. "The meeting was informative, but not what I thought it would be. I'm a little afraid of answering phones, but the meting gave me confidence to do the training,"
Linderer said. -Kit Leflour/Kansan Headquarters counseling center, one of the oldest 24-hour counseling centers in the nation, held an informational meeting for possible volunteers on Thursday, August 28th. Headquarter's mission is to provide personal assistance through counseling, education and informational services to people in need. —Kit Leflour/Kansan
Through the Outreach program, volunteers distribute over 60,000 condoms a year through passing them out and filling condom bowls at locations around town, such as The Java Break, 17 E. 7th St. DCAP also sets up safer sex information tables at businesses, concerts and taverns.
"Volunteers are very integral in getting us into places we've never been before," Rowland says. Last year, DCAP was able to send speakers to some KU sororities because members of their houses had joined as volunteers.
Volunteers with a more hands on approach can join the Taking Care of Business program, assisting people living with HIV/AIDS with housework, running errands and doctor visits.
The staff at DCAP,2518 Ridge Court, is coming up with new campaigns where volunteers solicit donations to provide people living with HIV/AIDS with necessities such as phone cards, gas vouchers and gift cards.
Another avenue is the tentatively named Angels in Action program. Shannon Ikerd, case manager, calls this low-impact volunteering because it allows volunteers to incorporate their knowledge of HIV/AIDS into other groups of the community that they are already involved with.
"The most important thing that volunteers can do is know about HIV/AIDS," Rowland says.
Volunteers go through a four-hour training session and give a three-month commitment, although Marilee McCleerey Jansen, client care coordinator, says that they have no expectations on how much time volunteers dedicate. "We help to foster a dynamic of caring for people with HIV/AIDS or are affected by HIV/AIDS," she says.
To raise money for programs and awareness, the DCAP Red Ribbon Art Auction will be held on Sunday. November 23 at the Naismith Ballroom in Spring Hill Suites by Marriott in the Riverfront Plaza. DCAP is seeking donations of original artwork to be auctioned at the event. Contact Janet Horner, Auction chair, at 841-2234.
Big eyes follow you from behind thick cage bars. An occasional whine or lonely meow pierces the quiet as little paws scratch at the air.
THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS & DOGS
You may not think of animals when you think of volunteering,but our four-legged friends need help just as much as we do.The American Humane Society estimates more than 2,000 dogs and
3,500 cats are born in the United States every hour. Approximately 15 million dogs and nine million cats enter shelters as strays and more than 15 million healthy cats and dogs will be put down because they are unwanted. The Society tries to find homes for these animals and educates people on proper care and techniques to keep the population down.
That's a dog-gone big job.
At the Lawrence Humane Society, 1805 E.19th St., Midge Grinstead, executive director, is just as happy to see volunteers walk through the door as the cats and dogs."As money gets tighter, we rely more and more on volunteers," Grinstead says.Coming up approximately $80,000 short this year, Grinstead had to cut five staff positions and raise fees.With a shortened staff, Grinstead needs volunteers to associate with the animals, clean up and work at informational events and fundraisers.Volunteer training meetings are the first Thursday of every month and volunteers can visit the shelter as often as they like.The five-year-old volunteer program never falls short of people who want to work with the animals, but fundraising events, which are equally important, are often short staffed.Besides funds, the Society runs short on cat and dog food and toys, soap and cleansers, and blankets and towels.Volunteers try everything to raise money, including making items to sell such as cat toys, bandannas for your pooch and even a pet recipe book complete with directions for catnip cookies. You can catch volunteers at local businesses on Saturday afternoons behind an information booth, accepting donations, or even parading a furry friend or two at Hastings' story time.
Grinstead, who works 12 hours a day, six days a week, appreciates volunteers like Carol Ingham, Lawrence resident. Besides just taking the animals outside to play, volunteers also visit nursing homes and local schools to give the animals a chance to get used to being around people and promote the Society's mission.
"They don't get out of the cages unless people are here," Ingham says. She started volunteering six months ago because she was sad when she came to look at the dogs in cages. She says it is important for volunteers to show the animals that people aren't bad.
Grinstead believes that the Society has something to offer volunteers that no one else has to offer - the human-animal bond. "Animals don't care what you look like, they don't are what you're wearing. They don't care how many times you tell them the same story. They just want to be
with you. The thing about animals is that they give you unconditional love."
ON THE LINE
On a sunny Friday afternoon she sits behind a closed door. With the phone in hand and a look of patience on her face, she is listening intently, nodding her head occasionally. Kirsten Zucht, Lenexa junior, emerges from the office taking a break from answering calls only to explain how she came to Headquarters six weeks ago because she was looking for a place to volunteer where she could reach out to the community.
"I think that it's a comfort to the community that there's a place that they can call anonymously to get support, information and encouragement," she says.
Headquarters, 211 E. 8th St., was a drug crisis center established in 1969 as part of a movement to provide hotline assistance. Perhaps known best as a suicide prevention hotline, Marcia Epstein, director, says that her trained staff of volunteers offers personal assistance through counseling about anything that might be bothering callers. The hotline is confidential, safe and easy to use 24 hours a day, including the Phone-A-Fried hotline for children who are home alone and need grown up advice or just need to confide in an adult. About 60 volunteers put in approximately 15,000 volunteer hours a year through fourhour and overnight shifts. To volunteer you must attend an informational meeting held before the start of each KU semester.
"What people are saying about our training is that this not only prepares them for this job, but that it makes them better listeners," Epstein says. "Some people are using it for professional development."
Having taken a variety of calls at Headquarters, Zucht feels that it takes a certain kind of person to volunteer there someone open to different lifestyles. Not wanting to deter people, Zucht mentions that not only is she exposed to a variety of people who call, she has met a lot of caring people who volunteer.
Of course some days are better than others. "I've left here feeling like I've really helped someone, but sometimes I've left feeling like I wish I could have done more," Zucht says.
If you're worried that Headquarters might not be the place for you to volunteer, heed Zucht's advice to go and find volunteer work that interests you. "I think there is a place for everyone to volunteer," she says. "It might not be here, but it's somewhere not far from here."
12 jayplay
thursday, September 18, 2003