Volunteer Opportunities
January 29, 2008, Volume 54, No. 19	Print Issue

Dear Penn Community,

More than 450 of us along with our families volunteered for the University of Pennsylvania’s Dr. Martin Luther King Commemoration sponsored by the African American Resource Center. We undertook a major book sorting project and transformed several classrooms, the library and storage areas at Shaw Middle School. We put books on tape for children, made pillows for area hospitals and hosted a one-day mentoring program for local high school students.

Departments are currently planning summer internship opportunities. Penn VIPS is available to provide you with assistance in developing internship programs. Please contact me at sammapp@pobox.upenn.edu for assistance.

Below is a list of current opportunities. I look forward to working with you as we strive to be good neighbors. Thank you for all you do.

—Isabel Mapp, Penn VIPS

The Digital Divide Program   is in need of volunteers to provide training and supervision for our work-study students. Students refurbish donated computers that are then distributed free of charge to local agencies, communities of faith and deserving families. Join the team and help bridge the digital divide.

Teach at Community School. Have a special hobby?  Share it with our surrounding neighborhood. University City High School Community Night at 36th and Filbert Street is where we offer free evening classes and workshops for residents of the West Philadelphia area. For the past three years, students have volunteered an hour or two each week to teach classes like yoga, belly dancing, hip hop, arts and crafts, kids cooking classes and host music lessons during the fall and spring semesters.

We are looking for instructors to share their talents with the youths and adults of the West Philadelphia Community. The classes will run from February 12 through April 18 on Mondays, and Wednesdays, 6–8 p.m. (no classes 1st week of March or April). If you are interested in volunteering 1-2 hours of your week with the program, we need you!

Volunteer for the Center for Literacy (CFL) CFL helps a diverse population of learners, from birth through senior years, meet their needs and achieve personal and employment-related goals by providing reading, writing, math, life, and work skills services free of charge. These services include classes and one-on-one tutoring. They are seeking to collaborate with university volunteers with an interest in tutoring adult learners for a minimum of 3 months in the West Philadelphia area.

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., in the gymnasium. The free event is sponsored by The African American Children’s Book Project, a nonprofit organization, and NBC10. The book fair exposes the Delaware Valley region to the best and brightest children’s authors and illustrators. In addition, it provides resources to parents, educators, and children that encourage the love of reading. They are in need of volunteers to support their program. Your help will enable them to continue their mission of making sure that the children have access to positive, empowering books. They have two shifts: 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m./11 a.m.-3:30 p.m.