The Olympia Volunteers In Parks (VIP) program is sponsoring a work party at Mission Creek Park (Intersection of San Francisco Street and Marion Street NE) on Saturday, November 15, from 9 am to noon. We’ll be weeding, removing English Ivy, and doing a general cleanup of the park. Please dress for the weather and wear sturdy boots or shoes. Volunteers under the age of 18 are welcome, but must have signed parental permission. Volunteers under 14 must be accompanied by a responsible adult. Tools and refreshments will be provided. No need to sign up in advance. See you there!

Workshop At The Evergreen State College:

"Incorporating Fundraising, Volunteer Development, and Public Relations Into Your Community Group's Work"

This workshop offers low-cost, easy ways to attract money, volunteers, and publicity. It highlights the overlap between fundraising, volunteer development, and public relations; and how groups can use the overlap to increase their efficiency and success in all three areas.

Cost: $54
Instructor: Lisa Arnold.

For more info, contact The Evergreen State College Extended Education Dept. at 360.867.5515, or Lisa Arnold at 206.755.8958.

Join Olympia Volunteers in Parks on Saturday, October 4th from 9-noon as we clip ivy from trees at Garfield Nature Trail. Meet at the top trailhead at 620 Rogers Street NW. Parking is extremely limited, so please consider walking, cycling or public transit. Tools, gloves and refreshments will be provided. Please dress for the weather.

All are welcome, but those 17 and under must have signed parental permission, 14 and under must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Questions? Contact Olympia Volunteers in Parks (VIP) Coordinator Todd Smith at 753-8365.

via email:

Join Volunteers from all over Olympia Saturday, September 27 from 9-noon. We’ll be removing ivy and holly in our last No Ivy Day of the year! Tools, gloves and refreshments will be provided. Meet at the Rose Garden parking lot and dress for the weather.

All are welcome, but those 17 and under must have signed parental permission, 14 and under must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Questions? Contact Olympia Volunteers in Parks (VIP) Coordinator Todd Smith at 753-8365.

The Close the Gap Coalition is seeking volunteers to help eliminate unsheltered or “street” homelessness. The Coalition aims to boost the volunteer base for existing programs to an extent that opportunities for capacity growth open up.

“A shortage of volunteers is among the primary causes of the shelter gap – or the difference between the number of shelter beds and the number of people actually needing shelter,” explains Selena Kilmoyer, a homeless advocate and volunteer for Camp Quixote. “If we can recruit a greater number of volunteers, we should be able to create new shelter opportunities, new alternatives to street camping, and close the service gap that leaves people sleeping alone in the woods.”

Setting a target of eighty new regular volunteers, the Coalition seeks volunteers to staff Camp Quixote’s host tent, Interfaith Work’s emergency overflow shelter, and the Family Support Center’s homeless outreach and shelter referral programs. The Coalition will be conducting a high visibility volunteer recruitment drive from late September through mid-October.

According to a census taken of the homeless last January, 135 households went without shelter. This represents 34% of all households without housing (392 households). A shortage of shelter beds is the most common cause of people sleeping outdoors, according to Kilmoyer. Most of the unsheltered homeless make do by sleeping in cars or under tarps in the woods.

Downtown Olympia has taken the bulk of the public impacts of unsheltered homelessness, spurring the City Council to enact bans on sidewalk-sitting and overnight RV parking. The Close the Gap Coalition intends to reduce or eliminate unsheltered homelessness and its public impacts – thereby eliminating the need to pass similar laws in the future.

I will be at Oly Salvage finishing the construction of the cob bench. Come have fun in the, er, ahem SUN (I hope I hope I hope) and learn a simple building technique.

If it rains, all bets are off (i.e. no work party).

Hello everybody,

I need some help at the Olympia Salvage cob couch site: I need experienced carpenters to help me build a roof over this bad boy. It's a simple affair, four posts, some braces and a small roof structure to protect the couch and its couchers from all the liquid sunshine we get.

I also need some material donations to the tune of: 4 4x4x10s and some 2x6s, 12' and 8' and some galvanized brackets that can weather the storms of Oly winter. Roofing material. What you got?

Experience the thrill of doing things for FREE for your community and put a big ol' smile on my face!

Contact me at brillaba@gmail.com if you are interested in being awesome.

Thank you,

Larissa

On Saturday July 12th, four new families became homeowners when South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity dedicated four homes to deserving families. With perfect weather the keys were given to the families and members from the local community spoke about the importance of this day. After the dedication tours of the homes and pats of the back were given, it was a great day for the families, the more the 650 volunteers that made these houses possible and community on a whole.

The families that are moving in include, a young couple with two kids, a single dad with two sons and two single moms with 13 year olds and medical issues. All the families put more then 500 hours of "sweat equity" (work) into their homes before they could get the keys. The homes were built almost entirely with volunteer labor and the love of the community.

These homes mean a lot more for Olympia and Thurston Co. then just helping another family gain stability. These homes are also built green, they use products that have a long life span, emit less toxins, are diverted from the landfill or are energy and water efficient. These homes will be less expensive to run and healthier for the families to live in. Also, the site is deigned with the environment involved and has many aspects that help create less impact.

To learn more about SPS Habitat, see pictures, sign up to volunteer or donate please visit www.spshabitat.org

Is your favorite place to shop a hardware store? If yes (or no), we need you, The Habitat for Humanity ReStore is looking for people to volunteer with all aspects running our ReStore.

What is it? - - The South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity ReStore is a new and used building supply and home furnishing store located in Downtown Olympia. All items are donated by individuals and businesses and then sold to the public to raise funds so we can keep building homes. Last year the ReStore diverted over 150 tons of usable items from the landfill. The store run mostly on volunteers and more are always needed.

ReStore Board - - Help bring in donations of materials and decide the direction of the store. Background in hardware is a plus but not needed. Just have some time each month for a meeting and a few phone calls, if you have more time to invest that is up to you.

Store Associate - - If you are looking for something hands on and you have got a few hours a week to spare then this is the perfect place to volunteer. Duties would include helping customers, organizing and pricing items. At least 5 hours a week is requested, more if you want.

Pick-Up Driver - - Do your friends call you when they are moving? Then we are calling you too. Pick- up drivers are always needed to bring in donations of materials to the ReStore. Our vans and our gas, you just drive. A few hours a week is all you need to give. Have a good driving record.

More Info - - Alex at 360-956-3456 or sign up online at www.spshabitat.org or just stop by 210 Thusrtson Ave NE in Downtown Oly.