Town and gown recruit new volunteers
Eighth annual fair showcases service
By: Max Rose, Staff Writer
Issue date: 8/30/07 Section: City
Volunteering with special-needs individuals is something sophomore Jen Forrest has always done.
At the eighth annual volunteer fair in the Pit on Wednesday, she signed up to help with the newly-formed Carolina Students for Special Olympics.
"I am able to connect with them," she said.
Forrest, whose 25-year-old brother is autistic, said that the kids she has worked with were very loving.
"When I was younger, I used to play the violin for them," she said.
Similar organizations were on hand to recruit students, a vital source of work for nonprofits in the community.
"This event is designed to get students engaged with community organizations," said Amy King, business manager for the Carolina Center for Public Service.
CCPS sponsored the fair along with the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce and The Chapel Hill News.
"It's a good chance for our members to come out and recruit volunteers," said Meg Branson, member relations specialist for the chamber. "Students offer a lot of the manpower that is necessary."
Branson estimated that more than 400 students attended the fair.
Freedom House, which has the only detoxification program in Orange County, had a table to recruit volunteers for office work.
"It's not very glamorous but it's necessary," said Joslyn Ogden, assistant to the executive director. "The volunteer fair is a unique opportunity for us to connect with students."
Jane Armstrong, volunteer coordinator for the Orange County Department on Aging, runs a program that pairs volunteers with senior citizens for weekly visits.
"A volunteer will help a senior, and a senior tends to help the volunteer as well," she said.
Armstrong said that one volunteer joined because she had a grandfather in Vermont whom she was unable to see often.
"She can't be up there, so she's visiting someone here," Armstrong said.
She said that all three students who signed up for the program at last year's volunteer fair still were involved.
At the eighth annual volunteer fair in the Pit on Wednesday, she signed up to help with the newly-formed Carolina Students for Special Olympics.
"I am able to connect with them," she said.
Forrest, whose 25-year-old brother is autistic, said that the kids she has worked with were very loving.
"When I was younger, I used to play the violin for them," she said.
Similar organizations were on hand to recruit students, a vital source of work for nonprofits in the community.
"This event is designed to get students engaged with community organizations," said Amy King, business manager for the Carolina Center for Public Service.
CCPS sponsored the fair along with the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce and The Chapel Hill News.
"It's a good chance for our members to come out and recruit volunteers," said Meg Branson, member relations specialist for the chamber. "Students offer a lot of the manpower that is necessary."
Branson estimated that more than 400 students attended the fair.
Freedom House, which has the only detoxification program in Orange County, had a table to recruit volunteers for office work.
"It's not very glamorous but it's necessary," said Joslyn Ogden, assistant to the executive director. "The volunteer fair is a unique opportunity for us to connect with students."
Jane Armstrong, volunteer coordinator for the Orange County Department on Aging, runs a program that pairs volunteers with senior citizens for weekly visits.
"A volunteer will help a senior, and a senior tends to help the volunteer as well," she said.
Armstrong said that one volunteer joined because she had a grandfather in Vermont whom she was unable to see often.
"She can't be up there, so she's visiting someone here," Armstrong said.
She said that all three students who signed up for the program at last year's volunteer fair still were involved.
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