Volunteer Opportunities: October 2007 Archives

Jackson County Habitat For Humanity's retail/resale store in downtown Sylva is now open for business on Wednesdays from 12-5, Thursdays from 2-7, Fridays from 12-5 and on Saturdays from 9-2.

For information, see our earlier online article (click).

On Wednesday (Oct. 31), the Community Table in Sylva will host a special lunch for all members of the general public. The $5 cost will provide needed operating funds for Jackson County's only source of free and reduced cost meals for the needy.

This week's "Blue Plate Special" begins at 11 a.m. and runs through 2 p.m.

The meal will be prepared by Wanda Moss, who for many years owned the Riverhouse Restaurant in Cullowhee, will be guest chef. She’ll prepare two soups: one vegetarian and the other a vegetable beef brew she is famous for. Sandwiches will be her homemade pimento cheese served on pumpernickel or rye bread.

The Community Table's Kitchen Manager, Samantha, will make a graveyard cake and witches' fingers cookies for dessert. Staff and servers will be in costume, so come prepared for pleasant spookiness and treats!

To-go orders can be placed by calling 586-6782. Also, deliveries can be made in the Sylva, Cullowhee and Dillsboro area.

The Community Table is in Sylva's former "Pumpkin Patch" neighborhood, on Bartlett Street across from the Sylva Church of Christ. [View directions on Mapquest.com (click)]

A Blue Plate Special occurs on the last Wednesday of each month. Jackson County Magazine says: Put it on your calendar!

The Community Table is a nonprofit, volunteer group. Since 1999 the Community Table has provided meals four days a week to those in need, on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, from 4 to 6 p.m.

To volunteer or for more information, call Executive Director Timara McCollum at 586-6782.

WestCare Health System is celebrating Pastoral Care Week from October 21 through 27. The hospital is recognizing its volunteer chaplains who provide care to patients around-the-clock.

The program is headed by WestCare Chaplain Ron Allen, and utilizes the services of 16 volunteer chaplains in Jackson County, 6 in Swain County, and several at nursing homes of both counties.

During the past year these volunteers made more than 2,100 visits to patients, answered 209 emergency calls and made more than 240 phone calls on behalf of patients seeking local pastors.

Over half of the support for the Chaplaincy program comes from local churches and individuals, who donate money, resources and volunteer their time.

To get involved or just to say thank you, call the WestCare Foundation at 586-7669.

It's a breezy, warm October weekday, and in the Wilmot community off of Highway 23/74, the Purvis family is getting new wheelchair-accessible ramps added to their house. Mrs. Purvis, however, doesn’t have to do any of the work; she's just coming out every once in a while to check on the "boys" hammering away at the back entrance to her home.

The "boys" are First United Methodist Church’s volunteers. Pictured below, from the left, are Tommy Ginn, Tom Schutte, Jim Wisdom and Max Browning. They're using construction supplies and plans provided by the county’s Department on Aging. They're replacing Mrs. Purvis' steps with ramps.

Today, as happens often, the volunteers are joined by a family member, Otis Purvis, who helps with everything from putting rails together to tacking down matting over the wood.

The Purvis home is one of hundreds served by the program, which utilizes volunteers to bring these additions to the homes of seniors in need all over the county.

The FUMC group has been donating one day a month to the program for the last several years, as do several other Jackson County churches.

If your group would like to volunteer, or you or someone you know is in need of the service, call the Department on Aging at 586-8562.

Jackson County Magazine says: this kind of partnership between government and volunteers is citizenship at its finest. We applaud the Department of Aging and our local church volunteers!

Volunteers are asked to assemble at Smoky Mountain High School this Saturday morning beginning at 8:30, to do weeding, mulching, planting and general cleaning. The event is sponsored by the Parent-Teacher Organization.

Bring your rakes, wheelbarrows, shovels and brooms. At 1 p.m. SMHS principal Jay Grissom will provide a cookout lunch for the volunteers.

The PTO can provide more information, at 226-1078.

Sylva’s Harris Regional Hospital Auxiliary Thrift Shop -- known to regulars as "the H.A." -- is enjoying as much success at its new location near the intersection of Skyland Drive and Hospital Road as it did at its former location in downtown Sylva.

The shop sells clothes, toys, kitchen items, fabric, craft supplies, shoes and more. The Hospital Auxiliary's sales proceeds go to Westcare Health System projects. One such project is to purchase playground equipment for a planned community childcare center next to the store.

You won't find furniture or appliances for sale, because the volunteers, many of whom are older ladies, can't handle them. But it's nothing short of amazing to see how they handle everything else. Every item for sale has been taken out of boxes, cleaned, priced, sorted and arranged by the cheerful, friendly volunteers.

Each Wednesday, Friday and Saturday the parking lot is filled and the store is crowded with people hunting for needed supplies or just out for bargains. On those days you'll also see a big white sign on the sidewalk, asking for more volunteers.

Can you help? Visit the store for an application or call volunteer coordinator Carol Douglas at 586-7405.

Also, you can click here for more information, published by Western Carolina University's Office for Student Affairs as part of a directory of volunteer opportunities for students.

The enormous creekside building that once housed Ace Hardware in downtown Sylva is being renovated for use as a store for Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit group that renovates and builds houses for low-income families in Jackson County.

The store opens this month (October) and will sell discounted and donated building materials, furniture, knick-knacks for the home, construction supplies and more. Donations of any items except clothes are sought. The store hopes to offer mostly like-new merchandise.

Habitat for Humanity (or HFH) is a Christian housing ministry it helps eligible needy people to renovate or purchase their homes. A program participant must meet income requirements, prove substantial need, and put in "sweat equity" hours by helping to build the home along with the many community volunteers who provide the labor needed to erect or renovate the house. The program participant receives an interest-free loan if a traditional home loan is unavailable, and is able to purchase the home at a reduced amount because the price basically consists of the cost of land and materials.

Seven houses have been completed by the Jackson County HFH since June 2006. Two house projects currently are underway, on Cullowhee Mountain.

For more information or to find out how you can volunteer, call executive director Joyce Russell at 586-1232.