Our Community in Fairfax County, Virginia
Are you willing to help your community during a public health emergency? Here is an opportunity!
The Fairfax County Health Department is recruiting volunteers for the Fairfax Medical Reserve Corps (MRC). To date, approximately 3,000 medical and non-medical volunteers are signed up and receiving training.
The all-volunteer MRC is designed to augment the capacity of the public health system to respond to large-scale events related to bioterrorism or natural, widespread epidemics. During a public health emergency, MRC volunteers would staff dispensing sites where vaccination or medication would be provided to county residents, usually at a local high school. To accomplish this, 54 teams of 232 people per team are needed.
"Despite the name of the program, the majority of the volunteers needed for the Medical Reserve Corps are individuals without a medical background," said Donna Foster, MRC coordinator for the Health Departments.
Especially needed are seasoned, experienced managers to fill MRC leadership positions, including incident coordinator, branch director, volunteer coordinator, and unit leader. All volunteers will receive the necessary training to fulfill their responsibilities.
Those wishing to volunteer may register online at www.fairfaxmrc.org or by calling 703-246-2433, TTY 703-591-6435.
Volunteers for Change is a group of busy, adult volunteers who sign up for a variety of projects on weekends and weeknights. The hallmark of the Volunteers for Change program is providing flexible weekend and evening volunteer opportunities for active, dedicated adults who have a desire to serve. The program offers such diverse projects as packing emergency food kits for families in crisis, tutoring adults in alternative learning programs, spending some quiet hours socializing with seniors and planting trees to prevent erosion.
Every month, Volunteers for Change has additional special projects. These are events which are not held on a regular basis and usually are not with our regular community service partners. Special projects in the past have included...theatre ushering, benefit events, thrift shop grand openings, gift wrapping, tree plantings, park and trail cleanups, house building, painting, holiday related events, and much more. Volunteers for Change projects typically last 1 to 4 hours and are on weekends or weekday evenings. Projects range from direct service, one-to-one contact with clients, to behind the scenes volunteer opportunities. Sample projects include:
A one-hour orientation for new volunteers who wish to participate in Volunteers for Change is held at Volunteer Fairfax. Orientations are typically held the first week of the month, one during the week from 6:30 to 7:30 pm and the other on the weekend from 2:00 to 3:00 pm. Only volunteers who have attended an orientation may participate in projects. To register, please contact Volunteer Fairfax at (703) 246-3460 or eswenson@volunteerfairfax.org. Most projects are designed for adults and are located throughout Northern Virginia.
One volunteer was asked what advice he would give to other volunteers to get involved further. "Getting involved is easy with Volunteers for Change. The staff utilizes the Internet and e-mail to get the word out about the wide array of projects available each week/month. Not to mention that typically many of the projects can use volunteers up to the day of the project. This is great for people like me with very busy work schedules. My recommendation is to set a personal goal of volunteering for two or three projects each month and try at least one new project each month."
This program is a great way for volunteers to meet new people and become better connected to their community. Make a difference today by joining this corps of dedicated volunteers!
Do you ever want to help out, but don't know where to go to find out who needs help? Well, if so, the Volunteer Center of Fairfax County is for you. The Volunteer Center is a private nonprofit corp., which maintains listings of volunteer opportunities in Fairfax County. If you have a specific area of interest the Volunteer Center can match you up with a group or a need that could use your help. You can reach the Volunteer Center at (703) 246-3460.
Library Volunteers Needed
Lend a hand-volunteer at Thomas Jefferson Library! Check books in and out, Adopt-a-Shelf, provide clerical support, repair books or cassette players, deliver books to the homebound, or research local history.
If you have experience teaching software applications, join the Public Library's Tech Force and train library users in how to navigate the Internet or use word-processing tools. Spanish speakers, MLS-degreed librarians or candidates, academic interns, and employee volunteers are welcome. For more information, call 703-324-8332, TTY 703-324-8365, or visit http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/.
Saturday Morning Volunteers Needed
Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court needs volunteers to supervise small groups of court-involved youth as they perform four hours of community service on Saturday mornings. Sites currently receiving services are a residential facility for the mentally retarded and a nursing home. However, other sites may be added. A six-month commitment is needed, although volunteers do not need to be available every Saturday. Training will be provided. For more information, call Carol Coile at 703-246-4908 or e-mail carol.coile@co.fairfax.va.us.