Volunteer with Emergency

Alachua County Emergency Management

Mission: Alachua County Emergency Management is responsible for coordinating the actions of the County to prevent, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate against the potential impacts of incidents that could adversely impact the health, safety, and general welfare of the residents and businesses of Alachua County.

Volunteer Opportunities: Volunteers in Emergency Management assist with promoting and facilitating safety in daily operations. Volunteering opportunities include project-specific volunteers and amateur radio operators.

Volunteer Hours: Volunteers provide staffing assistance during activations as needed. 

Contact: 
acem@alachuacounty.us
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American Red Cross

Mission: To prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.

Volunteer Opportunities: Volunteers carry out 90% of the humanitarian work of the Red Cross. Our vital work is only possible because of people like you. Whether helping one displaced family or thousands, providing care and comfort to an ill or injured service member or veteran, or teaching others how to respond in emergencies, it’s through the efforts of ordinary people that we can do extraordinary things. Browse Volunteer Opportunities in Your Community on our website today!

Volunteer Hours: Business hours are 9:00am to 4:00pm. However, if your staff choose to volunteer during a disaster, there are potentially 24 hour Disaster Operation Volunteer Programs. Each volunteer listing has the required time commitment listed online.

Contact: Meghan Hotchkiss, Senior Volunteer Specialist
(904) 248–4085
meghan.hotchkiss@redcross.org
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Child Advocacy Center

Mission: A comprehensive, child-friendly facility where professionals from law enforcement, medical, child protection and therapeutic services effectively collaborate to meet the individual needs of child victims and break the cycle of abuse.

Volunteer Opportunities: The Child Advocacy Center has diverse, flexible and meaningful opportunities for those interested in volunteering their time and unique talents toward meeting the needs of children traumatized by abuse.
In-House Volunteers: Those wishing to volunteer within the Child Advocacy Center are screened by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement through background checks and finger print verification. Once approved, volunteers are given a variety of responsibilities to ensure day-to-day operations of the CAC are performed smoothly. Skills and interests of volunteers will be considered in all assignments. Typical opportunities include:
Play Patrol: Play is a big part of what we do and volunteers are needed to hang out and play with children as they wait for therapy appointments. Qualified applicants must be at least 18 years old and able to commit to volunteering for 2-4 hours contiguously each week.
Assisting Staff: You may be asked to assist office staff with their duties including, but not limited to, making phone calls, sending faxes, making copies, restocking brochures, compiling information folders, etc.
Data Entry: Includes, but not limited to, updating mailing lists, media lists, donor lists, etc.
Special Event Volunteers: The Child Advocacy Center coordinates, participates and benefits from many events throughout the year. Our event volunteers help bring these events to life and because we are working outside the CAC, event volunteers do not require background checks/screening. Our 2017 events include the following:
Building a Better Future for Children – April 20, 2017 – 5pm to 7pm - 500 East University Avenue Volunteers needed for event setup/breakdown, guest check-in and bussing tables.
Taste of Greater Gainesville – June 4, 2017 – 4pm to 9pm – UF Hilton Volunteers needed for silent auction setup, event setup, silent auction monitor, trash runners, restaurant assistants, and event breakdown.
Gainesville Wing Bowl – August 27, 2017 – 6:30 to 8:30pm – Splitz Bowling Center Volunteers needed for registration, raffle sales, chicken wing counters and event breakdown
Gainesville Gone Austin – October 26, 2017 – 6pm to 10pm – Santa Fe River Ranch This is our signature fundraising event! Volunteers needed for event setup, registration, silent auction setup, silent auction monitors, silent auction check out, raffle sales, bussers, trash runners, bar-backs, parking attendants, volunteer hospitality and event breakdown

Volunteer Hours: Monday through Friday, 9am – 7pm for in-house volunteers. Special events typically occur nights and weekends.

Contact: Amber Miller
(352) 376–9161
info@cacgainesville.org
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Epilepsy Florida 

Mission: Epilepsy Florida leads the fight to accelerate therapies to overcome the challenges of living with epilepsy, stop seizures, find cures and save lives.

Volunteer Opportunities: At Epilepsy Florida, we are always working to not only help the 1 in every 26 people living with epilepsy, but also to spread epilepsy awareness and seizure recognition and first aid in the community. Therefore, there is always work to be done! We choose your task based on your skill set. Opportunities include but are not limited to: community outreach, distributing flyers, event planning and management and education.

Volunteer Hours: varied

Contact: Jesse Farnham
(352) 378–4324
jfarnhm@epilepsyfl.org
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North Florida Council, Boy Scouts of America, Inc.

Mission: The mission of the North Florida Council, Boy Scouts of America, Inc. is to deliver the highest quality, values-based youth program of character development and leadership training, based on the precepts embodied in the Scout Oath and Scout Law, and to prepare young people to make ethical decisions in order to reach their full potential and to better serve their family, community and country.

Volunteer Opportunities:
Special events (no Scouting experience necessary!):
Program Aid – Cub Scout Day Camp, June 12-16, 2017
Event Staff – Sporting Clays Fundraiser, March 2-3, 2018

Ongoing mentoring (prior experience helpful):
Merit Badge Counselor – Register as a subject matter expert to conduct mentoring sessions at your convenience for 1-5 Scouts on one or more of the topics listed at http://www.scouting.org/meritbadges.aspx.

Register as an Adult Volunteer:
Assist with the program delivery at the meeting location of the elementary age Cub Scouts, middle and high school age Boy Scouts or high school age Venturers (boys & girls ages 14-20). Meetings are held weekly but you can attend when able. Also eligible to participate in weekend campouts and high adventure activities. Prior Scouting experience helpful but not required.

Volunteer Hours: Varied

Contact: Sam Mathis
(321) 482–7406
sam.mathis@scouting.org
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Partnership for Strong Families

Mission: PSF’s mission is to enhance the community’s ability to protect and nurture children by building, maintaining and constantly improving a network of family support services. Our Resource Centers help drive that mission by providing concrete and social supports to families who are at risk of entering crises. Every service offered is tied to one of the five Protective Factors, which when present in families are shown to reduce the likelihood of abuse or neglect. Each of the Resource Centers PSF operates are a partnership endeavor with larger entities as well as local agencies who help provide services at no cost to families. Our goal is to value children, strengthen families and engage the community.

Volunteer Opportunities: Since each center is staffed by only one to two people, volunteers are a critical part of our work. Tasks vary from clerical and administrative tasks, event planning and participation, assisting patrons with applications for services, community outreach, scholastic assistance for children and youth, organizing in-kind donations and being a friendly face for Resource Center patrons to see when they walk into the facility.

Volunteer Hours: Hours vary by location, but most centers are open weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with limited opportunities for weekend and evening volunteering.

Contact: Samantha Tracy
(352) 244–1626
samantha.tracy@pfsf.org
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