April 17-23 is National Volunteer Week

by Joyce Remy

"I Want to Volunteer! Where Do I Start?"

If you have the desire to give of your time and energy, opportunities for civic engagement await you! How about public schools? Hospitals? Community agencies, such as United Way or the local senior center? Your parks and recreation department? Your church or other faith community? Cultural organizations such as museums, the symphony, theater groups?

A good place to begin your search is your local Senior Services office.  A directory of local offices can be found through The Eldercare Locator. Just enter your location and the Eldercare Locator will in most cases give you the website address and phone number.

Senior Services of Seattle-King County offers opportunities to serve seniors in our area as a volunteer. For a list of organizations that seek volunteers, go to the Senior Services Volunteer Opportunities web page. You can even fill out an application online!

You can also register with United Way of King County's volunteer matching program, and be notified when opportunities matching your interests are available.

Another rich source of information is U.S. SeniorCorps, which is part of Americorps, a network of national service programs that is part of the Corporation for National and Community Service. Opportunities include the Foster Grandparents Program, Senior Companions, and the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP).

The U.S. Government's FirstGov portal website includes Public Service and Volunteerism, a directory of organizations and government agencies that seek volunteers.

The U.S. Administration on Aging also maintains a directory of volunteer opportunities, including contact information and web links. 

Vounteermatch.org is a non-profit online service that matches prospective volunteers with service opportunities in their communities.

Volunteers report: "I get so much more than I could ever give!"

2005, Caresource Healthcare Communications

Photo: Corporation for National and Community Service