Staff Changes

There have been some recent staff changes in the UIS Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center.  Kelly Thompson has taken a position at Ronald McDonald House Charities and Jordan Jeffers will be attending graduate school in the spring.  The contacts for the center until a new director is hired will be Pam Hammond-McDavid and Brittany Elder. If you need any assistance in finding volunteer opportunities, feel free to contact us at 217-206-7716.

Mentors Wanted - Progressive Youth Foundation and Athletic League

The Harriett Tubman and Susan B. Anthony Community Center is starting a new program called the Progressive Youth Foundation and Athletic League, an athletic and mentoring program designed to give male youth a positive environment in which to become responsible adult men. The program stresses the importance of education, goal setting, and community building. Male volunteers (college age and up) are needed to act as mentors.

If you are interested, please call the Center at 217-670-0814. You can also stop by in person and find out what the program is all about. The Center is located at 2130 Clear Lake Ave, Springfield IL, 62703.

December Volunteer Opportunities

December Volunteer Opportunities

Friday, November 26 – Monday, December 27 - Holiday Outlet Store
Multiple Shifts Available

Springfield-based Design Ideas is teaming up with Sparc, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Illinois Capital Region, the Illinois Symphony Orchestra and the Junior League, to open the Design Ideas Holiday Outlet Store.

This is located at White Oaks Mall (in the previous World Market location). Products that will be available will include home, office, kitchen décor, organizational products and GelGems, all at drastically reduced pricing.

During store hours (10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday; and Noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays), volunteers are needed to help at the store. To volunteer, contact Todd Spann at 217-726-2206 Ext. 145 or at tspann@spfldsparc.org.

Saturday, December 11 – Habitat for Humanity
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Volunteers will have the opportunity to paint at one of the homes built by Habitat for Humanity in Springfield. If you are interested in volunteering, you can arrive at the site (1001 Knoll Pointe in Springfield) during the build times noted above. When you get there, you can sign the appropriate volunteer forms. The training and supplies will be provided. Volunteers should wear appropriate clothes to paint in. By doing this, volunteers will be helping a family in Springfield gain a home. If you have any questions you can contact Sarah Mackey at smackey@habitatsangamon.com. 

Wednesday, December 15 Deadline – Spring Mission Trip to Honduras

SIU Medical School is planning a mission trip to Honduras. They will work in a small village and set up a medical center for that week and provide primary care services.

More volunteers are needed; they can be studying a medical field or not. The cost for the entire trip will be around $1200-$1500. This is a great opportunity to give a helping hand to someone from another country. If you are interested please let Lynne Price know by December 15. You can email her at lpric1@uis.edu, and she will help you get in contact with SIU Medical School.

Saturday, December 18 – Habitat for Humanity
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Volunteers will have the opportunity to paint at one of the homes built by Habitat for Humanity in Springfield. If you are interested in volunteering, you can arrive at the site (1001 Knoll Pointe in Springfield) during the build times noted above. When you get there, you can sign the appropriate volunteer forms. The training and supplies will be provided. Volunteers should wear appropriate clothes to paint in. By doing this, volunteers will be helping a family in Springfield gain a home. If you have any questions you can contact Sarah Mackey at smackey@habitatsangamon.com.

Ongoing – Girl Scouts HERO Program

Girl Scouts has a 6 week program within elementary schools in the Springfield 186 schools. This program is called HERO (Helping Everyone Respect Others). Girl Scouts takes this program in the schools during the lunch hour/recess for students. The program teaches the girls about self-esteem, building positive relationships, avoiding cliques, and making good choices. Girl Scouts is still looking for volunteers to help with this program. If you are interested, you can contact Jamie Osborne at josborne@girlscouts-gsci.org.

Ongoing – Girl Scouts Series Program

There is a new way to join Girl Scouts, called series. This program was created because so many girls are too busy for a year round troop opportunity, and they want to join just for a focused topic. This 6 week opportunity allows girls to focus on a specific topic such as community service, arts, travel, events, etc. Girl Scouts is just starting to customize their programs and they need people to help them to get this up and going. The volunteers would need to recruit girls to join, and offer the 6 week series. The volunteers would work 10 hours a week for each of the 6 weeks. Girl Scouts would provide the curriculum, supplies and everything else needed. If you are interested, you can contact Jamie Osborne at josborne@girlscouts-gsci.org.