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Service Feature
About Service Opportunities
Ways You Can Help
Things You Can do at Home
Other Helpful Links
Before you Take Your Child Volunteering
Our Club's Service History
Service Project Committee
Service Project Suggestion for July
Tired of that Raffi CD hanging around your house? Had enough of your Disney sing-along? Now is the time to pass on the music you are finished with to a deserving group of children. Meredith Sause, a speech-language
pathologist, is gathering music to donate to the Alamance Regional Medical Center’s Pediatric Rehab Clinic. The clinic provide therapies for children with speech and language needs, orthopedic disorders, and with a wide range of special needs, including cerebral palsy, Down’s syndrome, autism and other conditions.
A variety of musical genres are needed—including children’s music, instrumental, folk, world music, show tunes, pop, R&B, classical—anything appropriate for children up to 12 years old. The music will be used by the
clinic’s therapists during sessions. Music can help in language development, teaching concepts, teaching social skills, and as a tool to energize or calm children. The current musical selection is limited, dated, and lacks variety for
the wide range of children being served.
There are two ways to donate your music:
- Mail the CDs directly to Meredith (merrybellepark at gmail.com)
ARMC Pediatric Rehab Services
Attn: Meredith Sause
PO Box 202
Burlington, NC 27216
- Call 919-240-4834 or e-mail Kara Hume (karahume at aol.com), Service Committee Member, to arrange a pick-up. The Mothers Club can then send a package of CDs to Meredith.
Thanks for thinking of the children at Alamance Regional Medical Center’s Pediatric Rehab Clinic as you go through your music!
About Service Opportunities
The Mothers Club values community contributions. We realize that with
children it is difficult to get out there and volunteer as much as you want to. Just planning
it can be time consuming. This webpage features a monthly service feature that is a quick, pre-organized or pre-researched event that you can easily participate in. Also, we
highlight services or items that are urgently needed in the community on a rotating
basis. Don't forget to email us (service at chapelhillmothersclub.org)
and tell us what you have been doing!
Use the "color-codes" to match age groups with each service project.
Open to children of all ages and adults
Open to children ~3+ and adults
Open to children ~ 6+ and adults
Open to children ~14+ and adults
Open only to adults
Ways You Can Help
Donate Food to a Food Pantry.
Have your child pick out one item
each time you go to the store. When you get a bagful, take it to a local food pantry. Or
lead a drive with your playgroup, neighborhood or church.
Walk For a Cause. Many organizations use walks to increase awareness and raise funds.
Kids aged five and older can walk a few miles, and you can push little ones in a stroller.
- Girls on the Run of the Triangle. Girls on
the Run is a character development program for girls ages 8-12 that uses running to teach
values and a sense of self. The program combines training to participate in a non-competitive
1 or 3.1 mile walk/run event with self-esteem enhancing, uplifting workouts and a community
service project. Open to children of all ages and adults
- The Great Human Race. The Great
Human Race is a fundraiser for all Triangle area nonprofits. Hosted by the Volunteer Center of
Durham, the race is in two parts: a 5K competitive run/walk and a 5K non-competitive walk for
nonprofits and their supporters. Open to children of all ages and adults
Assist the Elderly. Your family can be matched with one person to call on regularly.
- A Helping Hand, Chapel Hill. Volunteers
give companionship, provide transportation to doctor appointments, run errands, and
assist with correspondence and simple household chores. Children can participate by
visiting a nursing home resident, raking leaves or planting flowers, singing to nursing home
residents, doing a craft to be presented as a birthday gift, or making cards. Call 919-969-7111
or e-mail Lauren Robison at lauren at ahelpinghandnc.org. Open to children of all ages and adults
- Friends of Triangle Seniors and Food Assistance,
Chapel Hill. Services provided to seniors include transporting them to doctor
appointments, grocery stores, banks, etc.; picking up prescriptions/medications from
pharmacies; paying bills; organizing mail/paperwork/forms;
creating monthly budgets; cleaning homes; preparing meals; providing companionship; and doing
yard work or home repairs. Call A. J. Rosenberg at 919-806-4922. Open to
children of all ages and adults
Respect the Environment. Pick up litter at a local park or while you take a walk in the
neighborhood.
- North Carolina Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill.
Many opportunities to volunteer including being a tour guide, teaching assistant, or summer
camp assistant; taking care of gardens doing weeding, raking, and supervised plant care; working
in the library, gift shop, or reception, and more. Call Shanna at 919-962-0522. Depending upon
the volunteer activity, could be open to children ~ 6+ and adults
- Carolina Farm Stewardship Association.
Opportunities to assist a farm on the annual Farm Tour. Call Elizabeth at 919-542-2402. Open to children ~ 6+ and
adults. Administrative support: Open only to adults.
- SEEDS. A non-profit urban gardening
and greening organization that supports 10 community gardens in Durham and one in Carrboro. For
information about volunteering, contact Emily Boynton at 919-683-1197 or info at seedsnc.org.
Befriend Someone With a Developmental Disability. Call a residential treatment center
for the developmentally disabled in your area and ask to be matched with an adult whom you
can include in family events, holiday activities, and outings.
- Compeer of Orange County.
Compeer matches community volunteers with children and adults receiving mental-health treatment. Open to children of all ages and adults (at the discretion of
the parent and the adult receiving treatment).
- The Mental Health Association in North Carolina, Raleigh.
To learn about volunteer opportunities, contact Jennifer Mahan at 919-981-0740, ext 239.
- NC Therapeutic Riding Center (NCTRC), Durham.
A non-profit organization that provides horseback riding lessons for children and adults
with mental and physical disabilities, as a source of therapy and for fun. NCTRC is looking
for volunteers to serve as leaders and sidewalkers. Leaders lead the horses around the arena.
Sidewalkers walk beside the horse and rider and provide physical and mental support as
needed. Contact Amber Windham at 336-592-0578 or amberkw24 at hotmail.com.
Deliver Meals. You and your child can bring both hot food and companionship to homebound
people through a local charity food service.
- Chapel Hill-Carrboro Meals on Wheels. Delivers meals to homebound individuals.
Call 919-942-2948. Open to children of all ages and adults
- Fearrington Cares, Pittsboro.
Volunteers can pick up and deliver meals or groceries on request. Call 919-542-1930. Open to children of all ages and adults
Offer a Lift. Take your kids along to drive elderly people or patients with AIDS or cancer
to their medical appointments, or take nursing-home residents or isolated seniors to the
grocery store or to visit friends.
Help Patients in Hospitals.
- Ronald McDonald House, Chapel Hill. Help
prepare dinner for 30-35 families staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Chapel Hill as
their children receive medical treatment in nearby hospitals. Volunteers will be contacted
by the Project Leader and asked to bring $5-$10 worth of ingredients to help in the cooking.
Contact Laura Webb at 919-913-2040.
- UNC Hospitals, Chapel Hill.
Children younger than college age aren't able to volunteer
due to infection control and privacy issues, but there are lots of ideas for donations for
individual families or groups. Adult patients may not have family nearby and often are
especially in need. Donate holiday presents for adult or pediatric patients; new clothing
items, especially bathrobes, slippers, etc. for in the hospital or sweatsuits for discharge;
craft items for kids; books, magazines and crossword puzzles for adults; phone cards or
grocery store cards for families. Contact the main volunteer office at 919-966-4793.
Be Kind to Animals. Volunteer to care for abandoned dogs or cats.
Fight Poverty and Homelessness.
- PTA Thrift Shop, Chapel Hill. Volunteer opportunities include sorting through donations,
stocking shelves, collecting grocery bags, gardening/groundskeeping, using computer skills, and
special projects such as making floats for the annual Holiday Parade. Age limit for retail
stores is middle school, due to insurance and safety issues. For middle school age, ratio
has to be 1 adult for every 3 children. Contact Emily Gordon, volunteer coordinator, 919-942-6565, emilygordon at bellsouth.net
- Stand up for Kids, Durham. Empower homeless and
street kids toward lifelong personal growth through a national on the streets program. Create in
these youths a caring and belief in themselves through open straightforward counseling and
educational programs.
- Inter-Faith Council for Social Service, Chapel Hill. Serve meals in the soup kitchen (children
12 & over). Cook at home with the kids then bring a meal to the transitional housing program. Help with
Project Happy Birthday by preparing bags of goodies. Collect food, clothing, or other needed items
listed on the website. Contact Elizabeth Garfunkel, 919-929-6380 or volunteer at ifcweb.org.
Things You Can Do at Home
- Make a Child Smile. Every month children with
life-threatening illnesses are featured on their website. All you have to do is go to each child's
individual page, read their story and write down their mailing address posted right next to their
picture. Then just be creative and mail them cards, letters, gifts, crafts, etc.
- The Box Project. Their mission is to help families
living in rural poverty in America to become self-sufficient and overcome the cycle of poverty by
offering them friendship, education, and material aid. Send an impoverished family gift boxes
filled with clothing, food, and more. 1-800-268-9928.
- Canine Companions for Independence. Help raise
and train a puppy that will eventually assist children and adults with physical disabilities.
1-800-572-2275.
- Locks of Love. Donate your (or your child's)
just-cut hair (10-inch minimum) to help provide hairpieces for children suffering from
long-term medical hair loss. 1-866-896-1588.
- Project Linus. Provide love, a sense of security,
warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through
the gifts of new, handmade, blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer "blanketeers." Call 1-309-664-7814 or e-mail information at projectlinus.org.
Other Helpful Links
- www.kidsconnectnc.org. A wonderful site with everything
you need to know for lots of volunteer opportunities. Includes contact information, age restrictions, specific
volunteer tasks and time commitment.
- www.doinggoodtogether.org. Lists lots of great ideas
for families and groups for one-time or on-going volunteer ideas. Includes suggested ways to talk
with kids about volunteering before, during and after the experience.
- www.volunteermatch.org. Provides opportunities for
volunteering in your community by a zip-code search. Some opportunities are on-going, while others
are short-term. Gives a good idea of what positions are good for which age group.
- www.servenet.org. Provides opportunities for volunteering
in your community by a zip-code search. Some opportunities are on-going, while others are short-term.
Before You Take Your Child Volunteering
See www.doinggoodtogether.org/talkandlearn.html for a very helpful list of questions and ideas to bring up before, during and after the volunteer
experience.
Our Club's Service History
Since it
was founded, the Chapel Hill/Carrboro Mothers Club has given back
to the community in various ways, including:
- collecting toys to donate to Toys for
Tots
- collecting food to donate to the Inter-Faith
Council for Social Service
- collecting food and other items for the Food Bank of Central and
Eastern North Carolina for delivery to those affected by Hurricane Katrina (August 2005)
- collecting baby items and other needed supplies for the Family Wellness and Recovery Services of North Carolina Inc. (Spring 2006)
- visiting residents at Carolina Meadows
retirement community in Chapel Hill
- participating in the Smart Start Family
Fest, which includes entertainment and learning activities for
children and their parents, while providing extensive information
about services available to families in Orange County.
- organizing the annual Mothers Club Preschool
Fair to help local parents learn about the many varied preschool
options in the Orange County area.
- Donating food, money and time to a brunch at the Ronald McDonald House in Chapel Hill
(September 2007).
The Mothers Club has also made donations from
its membership dues to:
- Carrboro
Parks Project
- Child
Care Services Association
- Family Wellness and Recovery
Services of North Carolina Inc. (Fall 2006)
- Orange
County Partnership for Young Children
- Orange
County Partnership for Young Children's Healthy Kids Campaign (December 2006)
- Orange County
Rape Crisis Center (Fall 2006)
- SEEDS community
garden project (Fall 2006)
- Source Force, an
organization helping people with serious illnesses (Spring 2007)
- UNICEF
Tsunami Relief (South Asian Tsunami, December 2004)
- N.C. Helping Neighbors Fund (Hurricane Katrina, August 2005)
Service Project Committee
Vivienne Carosso
Kara Hume
Meg McGurk
To contact the service project coordinator please send e-mail to serviceprojects at chapelhillmothersclub.org.
Last Updated: 11 July 2009
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