MLK Day of Service Volunteer Registration

Thanks for your interest in Scotch Plains-Fanwood's MLK Day of Service!

Below you'll find a complete list of the volunteer opportunities being offered on Jan. 18. After you've decided which is best for you, your family or group, click the register link next to the event to sign up each member of your party.

Remember that on MLK Day, the events will start at 10 a.m. with an opening ceremony at the JCC. Everyone will then disburse to their individual projects.

Let's make this first annual MLK Day one to remember! Sign up now!

Note: Online registration is NOW CLOSED. Please attend the opening ceremony at 10 a.m. Jan. 18 at the Jewish Community Center of Central NJ if you wish to sign up to volunteer on the day of the event.

MAKE-AND-TAKE

Volunteers make an item in one site and bring it to people at another site

• Decorating Flower Pots for Seniors: 3 to 13-year-old children, with adults, are invited to join Junior Girl Scout troop #289 at Parker Gardens in Scotch Plains to paint and plant flower pots and decorate "thinking of you cards." When you have finished your project, you will take it to Ashrook Nursing Home to visit with a resident and deliver your gift. PLEASE ONLY REGISTER KIDS 3-13 years old.  We assume that parents will be with them, and the registration will give us the number of pots needed! Registered participants can drop in any time during the 2-hour time slot, from 1 to 3 p.m., though please be patient if you need to wait a few minutes for a spot at the table! Registration is full and now closed for this project.
• Containers that Cure: Make containers (boxes, jars, etc.) to take home as reminders to collect extra change and donate to the Emmanuel Cancer Fund in Scotch Plains. Set a goal or a coin level for your family and donate your extra change when you reach your goal. Collect from now until the spring and teach children about charity. This project will be held at the JCC and will run from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., with 10 families being accommodated per half hour. This project is now full and closed to registration.
• Make Sun Catchers for Hope, Hospice and Palliative Care: The Family Support Organization's youth partnership is looking for volunteers to join them as they make sun catchers to distribute at Center for Hope Hospice. There are 10 members of the group between the ages of 13 and 17 and they'd love 10 volunteers to partner with them during this activity. The program will run from 4 to 5 p.m. at the JCC. No materials are required, but donations from local crafts stores would be greatly appreciated. This project is now full and closed to registration.

ONE-SHOT OPPORTUNITY

Volunteers come in and do a one-shot experience like painting a room, taking part in a walk-a-thon, or preparing a mailing

• Apple Pie Making for Seniors: The JCC invites 6 to 13-year-old children, with adults, to come bake apple pies to be delivered to a local senior home. Please register all members in your group — adults and children — as the JCC Training Kitchen can only hold 25 people. The project will be available at two different times: 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Participants are asked to arrive when the project starts and to bring one can of pre-made apple pie filling. Registration is now full and closed for both times of this project.
• Blood Drive: The JCC is sponsoring a blood drive at the center, with New Jersey Blood Services, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Donors ages 16 and over may drop by any time during that period to give blood. Online registration now closed. Opportunities to sign up will be available during the opening ceremony at 10 a.m. at the JCC.
• Organize the Scotch Plains Library: Student Government and the Senior Class Counsel from SPFHS will lead volunteers, 14 years old and older, in coordination with the Scotch Plains Library Public Library in reorganizing materials, reshelving books, and moving supplies in different areas of the facility. Since the facility is closed for the day, this service will be helpful for the library to do systematic organization, with help of several individuals, that would not be possible on days when the facility is open to the public. Participants may drop by anytime between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Must be able to do light lifting and physical work. This project is now full and closed to registration.
• Writing Down Seniors' Stories: Adults 16 and older are invited to record and transcribe live recountings/retellings by senior adults of their significant life experiences. Seniors will be given directed questions in advance, and will be prepared to speak for 15 - 30 minutes. Volunteers will use a tape recorder (provided) to record senior stories, and then transcribe them (using computer at the JCC).  Stories will be published on www.jccnj.org and the JCC Senior Adult Newsletter. Volunteers should expect to dedicate approximately 2 hours. Must be able to operate basic tape recorder and computer word processing software (Microsoft Word). There will be two shifts of story recording times:  11:15 to 11:45 a.m. and 12:15 to 12:45 p.m. (with extra time for transcribing). This project is now full and closed to registration.
• Help Sort Recycling: Alan Ebersole, member of the Fanwood-Scotch Plains Recycling Association, will give a tour of the Fanwood Recycling Center and describe the recycling process to the participants. Volunteers will also be able to assist the Center by sorting specific recycled materials. This activity is appropriate for children as well as adults and will run from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Please register all participants. Online registration now closed. Opportunities to sign up will be available during the opening ceremony at 10 a.m. at the JCC.
• Clean the Fanwood Nature Center: Individuals 8 and older are invited to spend one hour, from 1 to 2 p.m., in the Nature Center cleaning and maintaining its many pathways and observation areas. Please register all participants. This project is now full and closed to registration.
• Make Sandwiches for the Needy: Individuals 14 and older are invited to join the Yes We Care Soup Kitchen from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. at Zion Lutheran Church in Clark to make sandwiches for distribution to the needy.  Please register all participants. This project is now full and closed to registration.
• Make Cards and Valentines for Troops: Individuals of all ages may join the YMCA to make cards, write letters, and create Valentines for our troops overseas. Cards will be distributed by the American Legion and YMCA - Armed Forces. Opportunities are available from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; 2 to 3 p.m.; and 3 to 4 p.m. This project is now full and closed to registration.
• Make Room Decorations for Nursing Homes: Individuals of all ages may join the YMCA to make room decorations for residents of our local nursing homes. Items will be taken by YMCA staff to the sites.  Online registration now closed. Opportunities to sign up will be available during the opening ceremony at 10 a.m. at the JCC.
• Preparing Clothes for Donation: Individuals 10 and older, with adults, are invited to join the YMCA to wash, fold and sort clothing to be donated to foster homes and children's services in our area. Opportunities are available from 1 to 2:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. This project is full and now closed to registration.
• Mailing: Prepare a mailing for Resolve Community Counseling Center's fundraiser - Annual Dinner at the Stage House Inn. Sort materials and affix address labels. Light refreshments will be served. Agency tour and video about Resolve and its service activities will also be given. The program starts at noon at Resolve, located at 1830 Front Street, and is for individuals age 10 years old and older. Must be accompanied by an adult. This project is now full and closed to registration.
• Make Cloth Wheelchair Bags: Participants pick a pattern and material and get help cutting and pressing. Sponsored by Fanwood Presbyterian's women. Activity leaders will do the sewing while you watch. Bags can be donated to one of the many nursing homes or hospitals in the area. Volunteers can make as many bags as they wish as materials and time allow. Individuals 10 and older are welcome. You may drop by the church anytime between 11:15 a.m. and 4 p.m. Online registration now closed. Opportunities to sign up will be available during the opening ceremony at 10 a.m. at the JCC.
• Make Valentines for Children's Specialized Hospital: Kids helping kids! Children 2 to 13 years old, accompanied by an adult, are invited to join Girl Scout Brownie Troop 857 to make and decorate Valentines to cheer the patients at Children's Specialized Hospital.  The project is from noon to 2 p.m. at the JCC. Participants may drop by at anytime. Please register children only (though we assume adults are with them). This project is now full and closed to registration.
• Valerie Fund: The Valerie Fund's project for the Scotch Plains/Fanwood MLK Day of Service will help spread the word about our 2010 Walk-A-Thon and 5K Run on June 12, 2010. We are starting early so that we can build on the success of last year. Together we raised $207,000 with 180 teams over 1500 walkers and 500 runners. Let's make 2010 an even bigger success!  On MLK Day we'll be hanging posters and putting out brochures in local stores in the area. We'll gather at 11 a.m. at the JCC for a presentation about The Valerie Fund and to see a short video. Then volunteers can go out into town to deliver materials and hang posters. (Max participants - 20) Online registration now closed. Opportunities to sign up will be available during the opening ceremony at 10 a.m. at the JCC.
• Blood Drive: Individuals are invited to stop by NJ Blood Services' Scotch Plains Donor Center to donate blood. NJ Blood Services supplies blood to 60 hospitals throughout the state. Donors may drop by the center, located at 2279 South Avenue, from 2 to 5 p.m. Online registration now closed. Opportunities to sign up will be available during the opening ceremony at 10 a.m. at the JCC.
• Feeding the Hungry The Girl Scouts of Troop 1 will be baking cookies, making sandwiches and packing lunches to be handed out to the hungry in a nearby city. We will meet in the Fanwood Presbyterian Church kitchen/dining room at 1130 a.m. and will finish by 130 p.m. All participants are asked to bring $5 to help defray the cost of the food. Parents must accompany children younger than 14, but only register children, please. This project is closed to registration.

TRAINING

A direct service organization provides training to those who are interested in volunteering there on a longer-term basis

• Docent at the SP Library: In preparation for the upcoming exhibit, "Abraham Lincoln: A man of his time, a man for all times," high school students will be trained as docents to lead other students and visitors through the library in May 2010. Trainers from other libraries will assist in the education of students for this purpose. In addition to docent training, student volunteers will begin constructing supplemental materials for the exhibit to go with the national traveling exhibit. Interested SP-F High juniors and seniors must sign up here and speak to Mr. Siegel at the school.
• New Jersey Blood Services: NJ Blood Services, which supplies blood to 60 hospitals throughout the state, is in need of volunteers to work blood drives. The blood mobile volunteer is an integral member of the blood collection team whose task it is assist donors with registration, perform canteen duties and make appointments for their next donation. Those interested in helping with this work can join us from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Scotch Plains Donation Center, located at 2279 South Avenue, to learn more. (Max participants - 20) Online registration now closed. Opportunities to sign up will be available during the opening ceremony at 10 a.m. at the JCC.

EDUCATION

Direct service organizations run a seminar teaching about the work that they do

• "The Right to Dream": In the spirit of MLK Jr., Living Voices presents a one-man theatrical, multi-media, interactive presentation designed to educate and engage participants in fascinating and powerful aspects of Civil Rights history — "The Right To Dream." For more information on this unique program, sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey, please go here. This program, designed for 6th graders and older, illuminates the issues of civil rights, leading audiences to understand how the fight against prejudice has shaped our history. Admission is free. There will be two performances at the JCC Wilf Community Campus: one at 11:15 a.m. and one at 12:45 p.m. Please register all participants as space is limited to 40 seats per performance. Online registration now closed. Opportunities to sign up will be available during the opening ceremony at 10 a.m. at the JCC.
• Fanwood CERT: Members of Fanwood CERT will be giving a presentation on the CERT program and how you can volunteer to become a CERT member in your town. Fanwood's CERT program started in 2004 and serves as a community emergency response team. This is a 30-minute presentation and Q&A. You can learn more about the team at www.FanwoodCERT.org. The program starts at 11:30 a.m. at the JCC and is for adults. (Max participants - 30) Online registration now closed. Opportunities to sign up will be available during the opening ceremony at 10 a.m. at the JCC.
• Red Cross Emergency Shelter Program: Individuals 14 and older are invited to attend this 30-minute seminar at 12:30 p.m. at the JCC to learn more about our free shelter training program to increase the number of qualified volunteers who can support an emergency shelter in the event of a disaster or flood. The training is only 9 hours — done over 3 nights or a weekend — and is free to participants. There is no cost to this seminar, and all disaster training from the American Red Cross is free. (Max participants - 30) Online registration now closed. Opportunities to sign up will be available during the opening ceremony at 10 a.m. at the JCC.
• Learn about the F-SP Service League: The F-SP Service League, located at 1730 E. Second Street, has operated a thrift shop in Scotch Plains for over 37 years and donated nearly $1,000,000 to various organizations and programs in Fanwood, Scotch Plains, and the surrounding area. Come and see how the Thrift Shop operates, from processing donations to the displaying and sales of merchandise. Meet some of our volunteers and learn about the jobs we do and the commitment necessary to see that the shop runs smoothly. Take a tour of the shop and enjoy some light refreshments. Please register all participants. Program runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and participants can drop by anytime. Online registration now closed. Opportunities to sign up will be available during the opening ceremony at 10 a.m. at the JCC.
• CONTACT We Care: Recognized as "The Best Statewide Volunteer Organization" by the NJ Governor's Office of Volunteerism, CONTACT We Care is currently accepting registrations for its Volunteer Training Class, which begins February 17 in Westfield. If you think you have that certain way with people — a knack for listening empathetically and an ability to provide unconditional acceptance — we invite you to make a difference in people's lives and enrich your own life by becoming a CONTACT Listener. As a CONTACT Listener you will answer calls to CONTACT's Caring & Crisis Line. Come find out more about volunteering with us on MLK Day. Must be 18 or older. The program will be held at noon at the JCC. Online registration now closed. Opportunities to sign up will be available during the opening ceremony at 10 a.m. at the JCC.
• Autism Tours with Brianna,  Inc.: Fanwood-based nonprofit Autism Family Tours with Brianna has partnered with Pathways for Exceptional Children to provide hands on learning centers that will help to educate those interested in becoming a mentor for special needs children. Participants will learn about the various diagnoses such as Autism, visual and hearing impairments, developmental disabilites, etc.  The training course will give the opportunity to feel what it is like to be disabled and how to work with and be a companion to special needs children. A certificate of completion will be awarded to all who attend.  The certificate will enable you to work as a Peer Mentor in any of our special needs programs at Autism Family Tours with Brianna, Inc. 10 to 18 year olds may sign up for this two hour training, being held from 2 to 4 p.m. at the JCC. We are looking for mature young leaders in our local schools that care about being a friend to another person with learning, and physical challenges. (Max registration - 25) Online registration now closed. Opportunities to sign up will be available during the opening ceremony at 10 a.m. at the JCC.
• Family Support Organization of Union County: The Family Support Organization is devoted to improving the lives of children with special emotional and behavioral needs, as well as their families. Linessa Lawson, FSO's outreach coordinator, will give a brief presentation on the organization and their youth partnership program from 3:30 to 4 p.m. at the JCC. (Max participants - 20) Online registration now closed. Opportunities to sign up will be available during the opening ceremony at 10 a.m. at the JCC.
• Emmanuel Cancer Foundation: The Emmanuel Cancer Foundation will be hosting an open house from noon to 3 p.m. at its headquarters, located at 1833 Front Street. All visitors are invited to stop by and learn about who we are and what we do. During this time, visitors can also view our 8 minute DVD,which will run every half hour beginning at 12:30 p.m., then again at 1 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. Donations are not required, but a boxed food item would be greatly appreciated as we have several families who receive food on a monthly basis.

DONATE/DROP-OFF SITE

Location at which people can drop off requested items for an organization

• Donate Crayons: Children's Specialized Hospital in Mountainside seeks donations of small new boxes of crayons and coloring books. The hospital tries to always have new crayons and coloring pages for its patients and their siblings to keep them occupied and happy during these long trips to the hospital. In order to prevent any germs from spreading, they are constantly replacing our crayons in all of our waiting areas and treatment rooms. Your donation of crayons on MLK Day would be greatly appreciated by our patients, families and staff! Donations may be made anytime between now and Jan. 18.
• Donate Toothpaste, Cell Phones, Ink Cartridges: Stop by the  JCC on MLK Day and please bring new (unopened and not expired) small tubes of toothpaste - like the kind you get from the dentist or a hotel - to donate to the Red Cross disaster comfort kits. We are also seeking used toner cartridges (printer or fax) to turn in to Staples, to get credit on future office supply purchases. Every dollar we save on this stuff is a dollar we can spend on aid to disaster victims. We are also seeking old cell phones, which we send to a charity that processes them, and then provides us with free phone cards for the US troops overseas. We will have drop-off boxes at the JCC starting at 11:30 a.m. on MLK Day. 
• Blankets: Please drop off knit/homemade blankets at any of the local F-SP YMCA sites to be donated to local police departments for emergency calls (ongoing, will collect anytime).  
• Donate Household Items for Distribution to Needy: Don't wait for your town's pickup day - donate usable small household items to help others now! Join Fanwood-Scotch Plains Cadette Girl Scout Troop 40052 in donating usable household items for families in financial need. We will be accepting the following items: Children's toys (including electronic games) and books; Kitchen and cooking items, like cutlery, dishes, pans, etc.; Small appliances like toaster, clocks, hand blenders, coffee machines.; Gently used clothes, shoes, coats, bed linens, curtains; Wall hangings, vases and decorative household items; Seasonal decorations. Items collected will be delivered to Furniture Assist warehouse facility in Kenilworth (www.furnitureassist.com). The collection drive will run between 11:30a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 18 at the Forest Road Park Building in Fanwood. Please park in the parking lot off Woodland Ave, Fanwood. Volunteers will be available to assist with unloading donations.
• Donate for Shelter Boxes for Haiti: Display a "Shelter Box" which is a Rotary Club project that provides a box containing a tent sleeping bags, blankets, cooking facilities, dishes. rain gear, tools and other essentials to provide shelter for a family of 10 for severals week immediately following a major disaster. All funds raised go to the cost of the box and direct distribution. Also general information about all of the local/international Rotay projects and our local club information. Each shelter box costs $1000, so any donations are accepted. Drop by the JCC anytime between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to see it.