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Volunteer Opportunities
January 15, 2008, Volume 54, No. 17

Dear Penn Community,
Thank you for making this one of the most successful holiday gift giving seasons. Your generosity was unprecedented. Many benefited from your willingness to give.

Thank you to President Amy Gutmann for hosting an Annual Holiday Party where over 400 toys and gifts were collected.

Thank you to the many Penn departments and Lower Merion High School for bringing joy to more than 50 families during the holidays by “adopting” them.

Thank you to the entire University community for donating over 1,000  gifts and toys.

Thank you to the Dropsite Volunteers who collected all the gifts and toys and made it possible for us to respond to request for donations from our neighbors listed below:

• Councilwoman Jannie L. Blackwell’s Holiday Dinner for the Homeless

• McMichael School

• Carroll Park Community Council

• Intercultural Family Services

• Church of New Hope & Faith, Inc.

• Women of Peace, Inc.

• Potter’s House Mission

• The Consortium

• The LIFE Center

Please contact me via e-mail (sammapp@pobox.upenn.edu) to volunteer for any of the programs. Thank you for your continued support.

—Isabel Mapp, Penn VIPS

Special request for volunteers with sewing machines or sewing machine skills for MLK Day of Service Project. If you have a portable sewing machine and/or sewing machine skills, please volunteer to assist in sewing pillows and lap quilts for the Helping Hands Project in Houston Hall, on Monday morning, January 21. The pillows and quilts will be distributed to local homeless shelters, senior citizen centers, and hospitals. Sign up on the MLK website www.upenn.edu/aarc/mlk/ to confirm participation.

Volunteers Needed for Shadowing Day. Friday, January 25. Philadelphia area businesses and organizations will welcome high school students from the Philadelphia School District into their workplaces to give them firsthand exposure to the working world. Shadowing is an experience during which students are paired with mentors for the day (9 a.m-2 p.m.) to learn about careers. Join members of the Penn community as they host students from the high schools. Don’t miss this opportunity to make a difference in the lives of students. Visit the Philadelphia WorkReady Site: www.workreadyphila.com.

Tutors needed for adult learners. The Center for Literacy (CFL) has been providing literacy services to adults, youth, and families throughout the greater Philadelphia area since 1968. CFL, located at 48th and Baltimore Avenue, is embarking on a recruitment outreach to area universities to assist with the demand for tutors by their adult learners. They are seeking to collaborate with university volunteers with an interest in tutoring adult learners for a minimum of three months.

Do you play golf? Want to teach it to children? The Youth Golf and Academics Program, established by Garry Maddox is an after-school program being run at Lea and Longstreth schools.  Golf is a large component piece that attracts kids to the program. Instructors are needed one day a week; 3-6 p.m., hours are flexible.

Have a special talent? Teach it at Community School! Volunteer instructors for any class would be welcome. Teach a dance class, yoga, calligraphy, chess, arts & crafts. Your interest can be accommodated. Team teaching, seminars and workshops encouraged. Join the community school teams at local schools and share your special talent.

Volunteers needed for the children’s book fair. The 16th Annual African American Children’s Book Fair will be held on Saturday, February 2 at Community College of Philadelphia, 1-3 p.m., Gymnasium. The free event is sponsored by The African American Children’s Book Project, a nonprofit organization and NBC10. Your help will enable them to continue their mission of making sure that children have access to positive, empowering books. There are two shifts 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m./11 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Almanac - January 15, 2008, Volume 54, No. 17