Drop of a Hat Brigade Digest

Brigade Digest delivery may be a bit spotty over the upcoming weeks -- our offices are moving to a beautiful new building in Old Town, across from the Morris Graves Art Museum…   Thank you in advance for your patience.   Stay tuned for when we reopen in our new digs—we hope you will all come visit!  Until then,

 

Happy Volunteering!

 

Stacy Becker

Volunteer Center of the Redwoods & RSVP

434  Seventh Street (coming soon!)

Eureka, CA 95501

(707) 442-3711 x 204

rsvp@a1aa.org

 

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Please contact me if you know about nonprofit events seeking volunteer assistance, anyone who would like to join the Brigade, wish to update or unsubscribe from our email list, or just plain have any questions!

 

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Help promote your favorite cause (and our Brigade, too!)!  ~ Send me (rsvp@a1aa.org) your photos, with description, of Brigadiers on the volunteer mission!  Photos may be used in our newsletter, Volunteer Voices, or in other media releases.

 

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New Opportunities

 

 

The Great Steam Up

 

The Great Steam Up is a family friendly event co-sponsored by California State Parks and KEET TV.   Loosely based on the popular kids TV series Thomas and Friends (talking model trains), the event will include rides on an historic steam locomotive, live music and dancing, period crafts and hands-0n activities, food, tours, and much more.     

 

WHAT: Volunteers will be overseeing stations where they will be supervising kids as they complete various activities such as kite making, candle dipping, flint and steel demonstrations, lantern making, etc.    

WHEN: July 19^th, 12-3pm

WHERE : Fort Humboldt State Historic Park

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS :  We welcome people dressing in period cloths (1850s and 1860s) but modern dress is appropriate too.

WHO:  James Marks, Fort Humboldt interpreter, (707) 445-6567,   jmarks@parks.ca.gov

WEBSITE: www.parks.ca.gov

 

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Friends of the Dunes 13th Annual Sand Sculpture Festival

 

Come on out to the 13th Annual Sand Sculpture Festival on Sunday, June 29th 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Manila Dunes Recreation Area. Grab your shovels and your friends and spend the day frolicking at the beach. Check out the website for sand sculpture building tips! Proceeds benefit FOD’s  Bay to Dunes education program for local schools.

 

WHAT: Volunteers can help with registration, tabling, etc.   You can also just join in on the fun by creating a sand sculpture ($7 registration fee).

WHEN & WHERE: Sunday, June 29^th. Registration opens at 9 a.m. at the Manila Community Center at 1611 Peninsula Drive in Manila.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS: Sun and beach play gear!

WHO: Call 444-1397for more information and to sign up.

WEBSITE: http://www.friendsofthedunes.org/sand_sculpture_festival/   

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Celebrate Your Independence by Pitching In

 

Redwood Community Action Agency’s RAVEN Project is hosting a fundraiser Fireworks booth again this year.  Come help with the efforts to support the RAVEN Project, which is a youth led, youth implemented street outreach program/drop-in center. The population RAVEN serves is youth up to age 21 whom are homeless, runaway, traveling, disenfranchised, street, or at risk.

 

WHAT: Help sell fireworks to rais $ for a new/replacement Raven Project street outreach van. Handle $, work the credit card machine, serve the public.

WHEN: The booth operates June 28^th through July 5^th; volunteers needed for two hour shifts from 9am – 9pm every day of the week.

WHERE: Eureka Natural Foods parking lot (Broadway & 18^th street), Eureka.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS: Must be 18 years of age and preferably attend the orientation meeting on 6/28, 3-4pm. Snacks and good fun are part of the efforts!

WHO: Contact Anna Thieleman at 443-7099 x 818 or email her at ysbraven@gmail.com for more info.

WEBSITE: http://rcaa.org/ysb/stroutrch.html

 

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Summer Lunch for Low Income Kids

 

46.6% of all Humboldt County children qualify for the free or reduced meal program during the school year—what happens during the summer? Food for People’s SAK lunch program is gearing up this year throughout Humboldt County. Help with the efforts to provide a free sack lunch for low-income children each summer weekday!

 

WHAT, WHEN & WHERE: Help pass out the lunches & serve children at the Eureka Food for People site, 12-1pm 7/9-7/28. Opportunities may exist for helping prepare the lunches in Eureka; ask for details.

WHO: Caitlin Collings at 445-3166, Tues. through Fri. 9am to 5pm.

WEBSITE: www.foodforpeople.org

 

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General Information - AmeriCorps Watershed Stewards Project-  Creek Geeks!

 

 Show your watershed you care…

 

“A watershed is a land area that collects or stores water and drains it into a stream, river, estuary or ocean… Everybody lives in a watershed…  Salmon & trout are also important to our communities on many levels, including commercial fisheries, recreational enjoyment and cultural significance.”  (Melissa Scott, AmeriCorps member & Creek Geeks team leader).  Join the efforts with this rewarding work by contacting Melissa for information on the next event.

 

WHAT: Watershed restoration in creek and wetlands areas. Removing invasive plants that degrade essential habitat for salmon & trout, planting natives to provide shade and erosion control, cleaning up junk and illegal dumpsites.

WHEN: TBA, one event at a time (see below for next scheduled event)

WHERE: TBA (see below)

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS: Work shoes, weather and work appropriate clothing, work gloves, water. For children under 18, a youth liability release form must be filled out at by parent or guardian at the event. Continental breakfast and coffee provided!

WHO: Melissa Scott at 725-8601 or email her at silver@watershedstewards.com

WEBSITE: www.watershedstewards.com

 

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Next Creek Geek Event: Stone Lagoon Invasive Plant Removal

 

Help restore fish passage for cutthroat and steelhead trout at Stone Lagoon. Bring your family and pals!

 

WHAT: Remove invasive ice plant and European beach grass.

WHEN: Saturday, July 19, 10 a.m. to 2p.m.

WHERE: Stone Lagoon. Call for directions.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS: Work shoes, weather and work appropriate clothing, work  gloves, water. For children under 18, a youth liability release form must be filled out at by parent or guardian at the event. Continental breakfast and coffee provided!

WHO: Cherrie Chavez at 725-1053 (cchavez@watershedstewards.com); or Melissa Scott at 725-8601 (silver@watershedstewards.com ).

WEBSITE: www.watershedstewards.com

 

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Returning

(Events that have already been listed in the Digest ~ Still seeking volunteers or offering training!)

 

 

 

Granada Special Events

 

Granada is a Skilled Nursing Facility in Eureka. Ongoing volunteers are asked to go through a screening process (TB test, etc), however, the following are opportunities to bring smiles to residents’ faces on a one-time basis without the more advanced screening.  It’s also a chance to let an elder capture your heart and charm you into returning for more visits, which make such a difference in the quality of many of these folks’ difficult end of life experience.

 

WHO: If you are interested in helping out at any of the following events, please contact Shirley Emmons or Kendra Bane at 443-1627 ahead of time.

WHERE: Granada is located at 2885 Harris Street, Eureka; some of the events are held elsewhere. Call for details.

 

EVENTS:

~ Senior Prom: 6/25, 5-6:30pm. Help out as “waiters,” pour libations, socialize, invite a resident to dance. Black pants and white tops, please.

~  Redwood Acres Fair: 6/27. Field trip buddies help push wheelchairs and generally look after their pals.

~ Sequoia Park Zoo: Field trip June date TBA. Call for details.

~ The Moose Lodge: Field trip July date TBA. Call for details.

 

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One Day Reggae on the River

 

The Mateel Community Center will be reviving Reggae on the River this year for a single day celebration. Volunteer assistance is requested!

 

WHAT: Call for details.

WHEN: Saturday, July 19^th.

WHERE: Benbow Lake State Recreation Area.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS: xx

WHO: Fo more info, contact the Mateel Community Center office at 923-3368 or email office@mateel.org

WEBSITE: www.mateel.org or www.reggaeontheriver.com

 

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Zippity Zoo Day!

 

Come help raise funds for the zoo and enjoy a fun-filled day of contests, games, and a community BBQ! Sequoia Park Zoo’s mission is to inspire wonder, understanding and respect for the natural world by providing fun, rewarding educational experiences that encourage meaningful connections between animals, humans, and our environment.

 

WHAT:  Volunteers are needed to help with set-up & clean-up, run activity booths, and to serve BBQ.

WHEN:  Saturday, June 28^th.  Volunteers are needed from 9 AM – 5 PM

WHERE:  Sequoia Park Zoo

WHO:  If anyone is interested in helping  for all or part of the day, please contact Meagan Tatum at 442-5649, or Meagan@sequoiaparkzoo.net by June 16^th.

WEBSITE:  http://www.sequoiaparkzoo.net/

 

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Need more ideas?

Here’s the list from the last Digest of spontaneous

& other philanthropic ways to do your volunteer thing this summer!

 

~  Get to know an elderly or disabled neighbor, and ask if you can help with anything…

~  Trap and release a feral cat- after you have it fixed! Contact Companion Animal Foundation (826-7387) for ideas on low cost spay/neuter options.

~  Pick up junk that doesn’t belong on the beach or any trail where you hike…

~  Visit a local rest home and read, play games or write a letter for one of the residents. Field trips are also happening – you can join in on the fun!

~  Take a field trip to visit the Friends of the Dunes’ beautiful new Stamps Lane property in Manila, and join in on a restoration day (2^nd Saturdays). Call Emily at 444-1397 for more info.

~  Offer to housesit or petsit while friends or neighbors are gone…

~  Help out in a local community garden (Potawot Community Food Garden is one beautiful & abundant place in summertime, providing produce for local tribal members; contact T or Ed at 826-8476 for more info)…

~  What else can you, your friends and family think of to make a cheerful difference on this precious planet of ours?

 

 

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Trainings & Orientations

 

CASA July Advocate Training

CASA volunteers advocate for abused children in court, assuring that they are placed in safe, nurturing homes where they will flourish. CASA speaks for children who would otherwise have no voice, giving unconditional love, ensuring that each child receives the needed services to heal. Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) speaks for children in court because all children have a right to live in a safe, healthy and secure environment.

 

WHAT: Volunteers attend 30 hours of training covering areas such as: child abuse and neglect, court room procedures, court report writing, interviewing and fact-finding, substance abuse, child development, cultural awareness, child welfare law, and other topics that involve child welfare.

WHEN: July 14^th- 18^th, 9am-4:30pm.

WHERE: Eureka (call for details)

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS: Application and interview must be complete before you may enroll in the training.

WHO: Call the Volunteer Coordinator at 443-3197 x207 for more details, or to obtain an application, email volunteer@humboldtcasa.org or go to http://www.humboldtcasa.org/application.html

WEBSITE: http://www.humboldtcasa.org

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Democracy Unlimited Volunteer Training: “How To Have A Good Meeting"

 

Learn the basics of meeting planning, agenda design, facilitation, note-taking and being a productive meeting participant even if you're not the facilitator. Includes an overview of the consensus process for better understanding of how to use this decision-making method in a way that helps your group gain trust and make sound decisions so that everyone's voice is heard.

Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County (DUHC) …designs and implements grassroots strategies that exercise democratic power over corporations  and governments.  The following is a list of short and long term ways you can get involved. Please check out their website for more information on this groups’ work.

 

WHAT: Free training on how to conduct a meeting.

WHEN: Tuesday, June 24, 6 - 7:30 pm.

WHERE: Call for location.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS: Free; pre-registration requested.

WHO: For more info or to register for the training, call 269-0984 or email info@DUHC.org .

WEBSITE: http://duhc.org/upcomingEvents.html  

 

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Snowflakes, leaves, humans, plants, raindrops, stars, molecules, microscopic entities all come in communities. The singular cannot in reality exist. ~ Paula Gunn Allen

 

 

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The Drop of a Hat Brigade

& the Volunteer Center of the Redwoods

are programs of the Area 1 Agency on Aging