My search for a volunteer position was kind of a long one, emailed, called and visited TONS of places!! I really tried to find a place that had an Anthropological background or was involved with certain cultural groups. I received little to no response emails back and many of the places I called were not accepting short-term volunteers and I am leaving for Belize in June so I could not commit the six months many of the places required.
Here is an example email I sent out to the many places I contacted...
Ms. XXXXX,
My name is Kristen and I am a senior Anthropology major at CSUEB. I am looking for a possible service learning internship in the amount for 15 hours for the Spring quarter which starts in April and ends the beginning of June. I am interested in the American Indian Child Resource Center because being an Anthro major I love learning about culture, especially those which I am not familiar with. I have a pretty open schedule and am available at any time to come in and speak with you further.
Thank you.
Kristen ConzamanWith many of my emails going unanswered I decided to make calls to the places I had already emailed. Let me tell you, very few of them were open during the day, many of the places I had desired to volunteer were after-school programs so their business hours were from like 4-6:30 every day and some on Saturdays.
I finally heard back from the Alameda County Community Food Bank, the volunteer manager, Sheila got right back to me. She invited me to attend a 1 hour volunteer orientation to learn more about what the food bank does and who it supplies food to. When I attended the orientation I learned so many things I had not known before, such as, the food bank supplies nourishment to 1 out of 6 families in Alameda county. Also, the food bank is more of a distribution center to smaller non-profit entities that actually dole out the donations. At the food bank they prepare the packages that are sent out as well as, sort all the donations that come in to Alameda county.
The mission statement of the Alameda County Community Food Bank is:To alleviate hunger by providing nutritious food and nutrition education to people in need, educating the public, and promoting public policies that address hunger and its root causes.
At the Volunteer Orientation I learned about the many opportunities I would have to volunteer at the food bank, I could work their Emergency Food Helpline where members of the community can call in and let us know where they need aid and we tell them the closest place they can go to take advantage of the donated food. I can also do general sorting to load boxes that are distributed to the partner agencies. I can also help arrange food drives in the community and do general office work. The volunteer coordinator Sheila was so appreciative and genuinely excited about the volunteers, she did not seem to care what had brought the people to the food bank to volunteer she was just happy to have us.
I have yet to have my first day of actual volunteering but I told Sheila to use me wherever she needs me, so I will update soon to let you know how it goes! I am hoping that during my time at the food bank I am able to identify who is able to gain access to the food donated and how information about food stamps reaches the community. I would also like to know why so many people choose not to take advantage of these programs and if there is a way it could be better executed or find out the steps the food bank and the public take to make people aware of these programs. I am also excited to interact with my fellow volunteers, It will be interesting to see who is there and for what reasons. During the tour of the facility I noted the diversity among the volunteers it is nice to see everyone coming together to better the community we live in, I am looking forward to learning from my fellow volunteers and I hope that they can learn from me too!
I finally heard back from the Alameda County Community Food Bank, the volunteer manager, Sheila got right back to me. She invited me to attend a 1 hour volunteer orientation to learn more about what the food bank does and who it supplies food to. When I attended the orientation I learned so many things I had not known before, such as, the food bank supplies nourishment to 1 out of 6 families in Alameda county. Also, the food bank is more of a distribution center to smaller non-profit entities that actually dole out the donations. At the food bank they prepare the packages that are sent out as well as, sort all the donations that come in to Alameda county.
The mission statement of the Alameda County Community Food Bank is:To alleviate hunger by providing nutritious food and nutrition education to people in need, educating the public, and promoting public policies that address hunger and its root causes.
At the Volunteer Orientation I learned about the many opportunities I would have to volunteer at the food bank, I could work their Emergency Food Helpline where members of the community can call in and let us know where they need aid and we tell them the closest place they can go to take advantage of the donated food. I can also do general sorting to load boxes that are distributed to the partner agencies. I can also help arrange food drives in the community and do general office work. The volunteer coordinator Sheila was so appreciative and genuinely excited about the volunteers, she did not seem to care what had brought the people to the food bank to volunteer she was just happy to have us.
I have yet to have my first day of actual volunteering but I told Sheila to use me wherever she needs me, so I will update soon to let you know how it goes! I am hoping that during my time at the food bank I am able to identify who is able to gain access to the food donated and how information about food stamps reaches the community. I would also like to know why so many people choose not to take advantage of these programs and if there is a way it could be better executed or find out the steps the food bank and the public take to make people aware of these programs. I am also excited to interact with my fellow volunteers, It will be interesting to see who is there and for what reasons. During the tour of the facility I noted the diversity among the volunteers it is nice to see everyone coming together to better the community we live in, I am looking forward to learning from my fellow volunteers and I hope that they can learn from me too!
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