We would like to present here some opportunities for individuals to contribute their time or gifts to various causes and charities in our community.

Overflow Shelter Volunteering

During the cold winter months, local churches and other organizations in Iowa City work to provide an area where people who do not have a bed in the local shelter, because of a lack of space, can find a warm place to sleep. This winter, St. Patrick's Catholic Church has volunteered the use of their parish hall for this purpose. St. Raphael Church has volunteered to provide staffing for the week of January 17-23, 2010 for this overflow shelter. Three volunteers are needed each night, for shifts of 3-4 hours in length. Volunteers need to attend one of the required training sessions:
For further information, or to volunteer, please contact Amy Jongeling at 319-331-2275 or ajongeli@gmail.com

Help with the Free Lunch Program

Every first Tuesday of the month, St. Raphael Church sends 3-4 people to help serve food at the Free Lunch Program from 11:30AM-1:30PM. This program serves approximately 100-150 meals a day, six days a week. Lunch is served in the lower level of the Wesley Center at 120 N. Dubuque St., between Jefferson and Washington streets. This is a wonderful chance to serve our community and to help those who have less than they need in life.

Non-Perishable Food Donations

We collect non-perishable food year round to donate to the local food bank at the Crisis Center.
If you haven't donated anything in awhile, the season leading up to Christmas is a perfect time to do so. There is always a need.

Translators Needed

Jasmina Popaja writes,

"I am writing from Iowa Legal Aid, a not for profit law firm that provides free legal services to elderly and low income Iowans. We strive to provide high quality services to our non English speaking clients through the assistance of our volunteer translators and interpreters.

Due to our budget restrains we rely on volunteer interpreters and translators.

We would like to inquire if there are members in your organization that would be willing to volunteer as interpreters/translators. We are in need of translating services for a wide range of website materials, client related documents and Iowa Legal Aid brochures. This opportunity is generally flexible in terms of time commitment and the volunteers can communicate with Iowa Legal Aid via e mail, so avoiding the need for them to be physically present in a particular office.

We are looking for volunteer assistance with the following languages: Arabic, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese, Swahili, and any other languages spoken in Africa.

Iowa Legal Aid is eager to recognize the volunteer efforts and provide a volunteer certificate and references when necessary.

Please let me know at your earliest convenience if you or any of your members would be interested to volunteer as interpreters/translators at Iowa Legal Aid.

Sincerely,
Jasmina Popaja
jpopaja@iowalaw.org